The Farmer-Labor Movement: A Minnesota Story

SUMMARY
The Farmer-Labor movement founded the most successful third-party in U.S. political history. Directly based on the militant organizing of the state's emerging labor and farm organizations, this progressive movement elected candidates and advanced political change in Minnesota from 1917 until it merged with the Democrats in 1944, to form the DFL, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.

The documentary portrays this history through the voices of Farmer-Labor leaders and their descendants, as well as contemporary historians, union, farm and co-op activists. Animated segments bring the personal stories of Farmer-Labor men and women to life, while songs from the period convey the spirit of the movement.

SYNOPSIS
The Farmer-Labor movement founded the most successful third-party in U.S. political history. The grassroots coalition fought for social and economic equality, supporting protests, strikes and fair prices for farmers’ produce.

This progressive movement advanced political change in Minnesota and elected state and national leaders from 1917 until it merged with the Democrats in 1944, to form the DFL, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.

The documentary follows the ways farmers and workers overcame urban/rural and ethnic divisions to challenge the inequities and the commercial and political powers of their day. The movement established union bargaining rights, saved farms from foreclosure and founded state parks, leaving Minnesota a lasting progressive legacy.

Internal fissures, a changing political climate and the tactics of political opponents precipitated the party’s loss of power and merger with the Democrats. The memory of the once independent movement’s history and accomplishments has largely faded.

The documentary revives this history through the voices of Farmer-Labor leaders and their descendants, as well as contemporary historians and activists. Campaigns, events and political trends are interwoven with the lives of individuals. Nellie Stone Johnson describes her activism from age 13, when she distributed radical newspapers, through her labor and civil rights organizing to her role in bringing the Farmer-Labor and Democratic Parties together.

Other highlighted individuals give voice to the conflicting views of the period. St. Paul newspaper editor, labor leader and mayor, William Mahoney, cofounds the Farmer-Labor Party, but leaves it over differences with its left wing. Susie Stageberg, socialist, journalist and Sunday school teacher of Red Wing, MN, brings urban and rural factions together with her rousing calls for unity.

Ojibwe union president Fred Lequier leads lumberjacks in a successful strike against the powerful lumber companies. Democratic, Republican and Farmer-Labor candidates debate contrasting visions of how to deal with the Great Depression.

Miner, labor organizer and Iron Range congressman, John Bernard, reflects on being blacklisted, but ends the show with a hopeful song expressing the movement’s aspirations. Throughout the show, Duluth writer Irene Paull’s astute observations assesses movement challenges and victories, concluding the show by exclaiming how Farmer-Laborites "made the impossible possible."

Animated segments bring such personal stories of men and women to life, while songs from the period convey the spirit of the movement.

The opening and conclusion of the show juxtapose 1930s issues and protests with recent images of movements addressing the same concerns. The Farmer-Laborites’ struggles and progressive legacy remain startlingly relevant today.