Social-Democratic Party of Wisconsin | |
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Founders | Victor L. Berger Frederic Heath |
Founded | 1897 |
Dissolved | 1972 |
Newspaper | Wisconsin Vorwärts |
Ideology | Democratic socialism Christian socialism [1] |
Political position | Left-wing |
National affiliation | Social Democratic (1897-1901) Socialist (1901-1972) |
Colors | Red |
The Social-Democratic Party of Wisconsin (SDPW) (German:Sozialdemokratische Partei Wisconsin) was established in 1897 as the Wisconsin state affiliate of the Chicago faction of the Social Democratic Party of America. When that organization merged in 1901 to form a political party known as the Socialist Party of America, the Social-Democratic Party of Wisconsin became the state affiliate of that organization, retaining its original name. For most of its 75 years, the Social-Democratic Party of Wisconsin was the state affiliate of the Socialist Party of America, established in 1901. The party was one of the largest state organizations which together comprised the Socialist Party of America.
The party was responsible for electing the first socialist member of the United States Congress and was the governing party in the city of Milwaukee for many years, electing several long-time mayors. The SDPW experienced a golden period in the 1920s and early 1930s with many electoral successes and extensive influence on state-level legislation.[1]