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Thomas Ryum Amlie

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Thomas Ryum Amlie
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 1st district
In office
January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1939
Preceded byGeorge W. Blanchard
Succeeded byStephen Bolles
In office
October 13, 1931 – March 3, 1933
Preceded byHenry A. Cooper
Succeeded byGeorge W. Blanchard
Personal details
BornApril 17, 1897
Binford, North Dakota, US
DiedAugust 22, 1973(1973-08-22) (aged 76)
Madison, Wisconsin, US
Political partyRepublican (until 1934)
Wisconsin Progressive Party (until 1941)
Democratic (from 1941)
Children5
Alma materUniversity of North Dakota attended
University of Minnesota attended
University of Wisconsin Law School (J.D.)

Thomas Ryum Amlie (April 17, 1897 – August 22, 1973) was a U.S. representative from Wisconsin, elected to Congress as a member of the Republican Party from 1931 to 1933 and again from 1935 to 1939 as a member of the Wisconsin Progressive Party.

Biography

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Amlie was born on a farm near Binford, North Dakota. During his youth, Amlie went to the high school in Cooperstown, North Dakota.[1] Following his graduation he then went on to attend and then to the University of North Dakota from 1916-1918, after which he spent a short period of time in the United States Army.[2] Following his return, he then attended the University of Minnesota for a year, but became disinterested in pursuing a career in teaching sociology and economics and began organizing for the Nonpartisan League.[2] After a short period of organizing for the League in Wisconsin, Amlie then enrolled in the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he received his law degree. After receiving his degree, Amlie began practicing law in Beloit, Wisconsin, where he helped established the firm Fiedler, Garrigan, and Amlie.[1] Three years later, he moved to Elkhorn, Wisconsin, which became his permanent residence.[2]

In October 1931, Amlie was elected as a Republican to represent Wisconsin's 1st congressional district in the 72nd United States Congress, replacing Henry A. Cooper who had died in office, and served until March 1933. He then switched to the Wisconsin Progressive Party, an alliance established in 1934 between the longstanding "Progressive" faction of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, led by the La Follette family and their political allies, and certain radical farm and labor groups active in Wisconsin at the time.[3] He was reelected on the party ticket to the 74th and 75th United States Congresses and served from January 3, 1935, until January 3, 1939.

From 1936, Amlie and the Progressives were informally allied with the New Deal coalition and supported the reelection of President Franklin Roosevelt.[4] After Amlie left Congress in 1939, the President nominated him to the Interstate Commerce Commission, but Amlie asked that the nomination be withdrawn.[5]

In 1938, Amlie declined to run for re-election, instead seeking to challenge Senator F. Ryan Duffy in the senate election that year, but was defeated in the Progressive primary by Herman Ekern, the incumbent lieutenant governor. Amlie would later blame his defeat on William T. Evjue, the Capital Times, and various elements of the Wisconsin Progressive Party.[2]

By 1941, Amlie had joined the Democratic Party, and ran under its banner in a special election that year for his old seat. He was defeated by a wide margin in the general election.[2]

In 1938, Amelie served on a committee for the defense of Fred Beal. Returned from the Soviet Union, Beal was facing recommittal in North Carolina where in 1929 as a union organiser he had been convicted in a conspiracy trial. He had been deserted by the Communist-controlled International Labour Defense because of the witness he was now bearing to the realities of Soviet collectivization. Serving with Amlie on the committee were Homer Martin of the UAW,[6] Democrat Jerry Voorhis; the sociologist and pacifist Emily Greene Balch, the New York attorney and feminist Dorothy Kenyon and the poet Sara Bard Field.[7] The Committee reported hostile pressure from members of the ILD and anonymous threats.[8]

Returning from Washington DC, Amlie resumed the practice of law in Madison, Wisconsin, where he resided until his death August 22, 1973.[9] Through his brother Hans, he was the brother-in-law of Milly Bennett.[10]

Personal life and family

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Amlie was married twice throughout his life. He first was married in 1925, to Marian Caldwell Strong, who had died in 1930. Two years later, he married Gehrta Farkasch Beyer, who he remained married with until his death. Amlie also had 5 children, four sons and one daughter.[2]

Electoral history

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U.S. House, Wisconsin's 1st district (1931–1936)

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Wisconsin's 1st congressional district election, 1934[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Progressive Thomas Ryum Amlie 32,397 37.40
Republican Judson W. Staplecamp 28,459 32.85
Democratic Ralph V. Brown 23,532 27.17
Socialist Frank S. Symmonds 2,237 2.58
Total votes 86,625 100.00
Progressive gain from Republican
Wisconsin's 1st congressional district election, 1936[12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Progressive Thomas Ryum Amlie (incumbent) 49,402 43.08
Republican Paul E. Jorgensen 44,687 38.97
Democratic John N. Wolf 20,597 17.96
Total votes 114,686 100.00
Progressive hold

U.S. Senate (1938)

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U.S. House, Wisconsin's 1st district (1941)

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Wisconsin's 1st congressional district special election, 1941[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Lawrence H. Smith 29,638 63.62
Democratic Thomas Ryum Amlie 16,949 36.38
Total votes 46,587 100.00
Republican hold

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1949)

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U.S. House, Wisconsin's 2nd district (1958)

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b 'Wisconsin Blue Book 1937, Biographical Sketch of Thomas Ryum Amlie, pg. 19
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Thomas Ryum Amlie Papers, 1888-1967 - Biography/History". University of Wisconsin–Madison. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  3. ^ Wisconsin Progressive Party The Historical Marker Database
  4. ^ Leuchtenburg, William E. (1963). Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal. United States of America: Harper and Row Publishers. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-06-183696-1.
  5. ^ "Withdrawal of the Nomination of Thomas R. Amlie for the Interstate Commerce Commission. | The American Presidency Project". Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  6. ^ Benedict, Daniel (1992). "Good-Bye to Homer Martin". Labour / Le Travail. 29: (117–155) 117. doi:10.2307/25143571. ISSN 0700-3862. JSTOR 25143571.
  7. ^ "Martin, Kenyon, Hays Join Beal Defense Group". Socialist Appeal. 2 April 1938. p. 2.
  8. ^ "Workers Must Rally Around Beal To Fight Sabotage of His Defense" (PDF). Socialist Appeal. February 19: 3. 1938.
  9. ^ "AMLIE, Thomas Ryum | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  10. ^ Kirschenbaum, Lisa A. (July 28, 2015). International Communism and the Spanish Civil War. Cambridge University Press. p. 179. ISBN 978-1-107-10627-7. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  11. ^ "Our Campaigns - WI District 01 Race - Nov 06, 1934". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  12. ^ "Our Campaigns - WI District 01 Race - Nov 03, 1936". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  13. ^ "Our Campaigns - WI District 1 - Special Election Race - Aug 29, 1941". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
[edit]
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 1st congressional district
October 13, 1931 – March 3, 1933 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 1st congressional district
January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1939 		Succeeded by
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