Farmers and laborers - rural and urban working people - saw their dreams for a better life slipping through their fingers. But, in 1917, they reached out and joined hands with neighbors and coworkers, forming social and political alliances to do something about their situation. These alliances grew and united into the Farmer-Labor movement - leading Minnesota for a quarter of a century and leaving a legacy that resounds today. Yet, few Minnesotans know about the existence of the independent progressive Farmer-Labor Party, let alone the party’s history before it merged with the Democrats to form the DFL in 1944.
The Farmer-Labor Education Committee produced this video documentary to bring the story of the Farmer-Labor movement to a wider audience. A group of historians and video producers worked on the project for more than eight years. We have done research across the state and in Washington, DC, located historical films and photographs, recorded interviews with historians and families of F-L activists, and shot footage of relevant locations throughout Minnesota.
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Acting on a vision of the common good, the Farmer-Labor movement bridged political and economic differences to forge the most successful alternative to the two-party political system in United States history. Farmer-Laborites brought three Minnesota governors to office, elected four U.S. Senators, nine U.S. Representatives, and a host of local political leaders. The party vied with the Republicans to govern the state from 1917 through the 1944 merger with the Democrats. To this day, Minnesota’s DFL is the only state party in the nation that acknowledges farmers and workers in its name.
The movement’s success flowed from its grassroots structure. Local clubs and co-ops of the Farmer-Labor Association forged a vision of a more equal society. They worked to elect Farmer-Labor Party candidates, who would make their vision a reality. The movement established government in the public interest, from founding state parks to adopting social support programs and a graduated income tax.
The Farmer-Labor movement had a national impact too, prompting federal farm, labor, and unemployment policies. Farmer-Labor ideas continue to influence Minnesota’s civic culture: an educated citizenry, strong voter participation, social movement activism, and a belief in government for the public good.
The FLEC documentary seeks to answer two questions: How did this movement unite people to accomplish so much for the common good? Why don’t more people today know the history and legacy of the Farmer-Labor movement?
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We have been struck by the lasting impact of the Farmer-Labor movement on characteristics of Minnesota that we often take for granted. We have also become aware of the similarity of issues Minnesotans face today and those confronting the state during the Farmer-Labor period. Our visual approach to the video reflects our awareness of these connections.
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.
The overall look of the program also suggests the continuity between past and present. Visuals dissolve back and forth from historic black and white images to current color video of places where important events occurred in the history of the party and in the lives of individuals we highlight. We trust that our approach will convey a living history of the movement.
Landscapes and specific historic locations in major areas across Minnesota are visually emphasized in the show, as geography influenced people’s outlooks and actions. Each of the nine activists highlighted in the show is identified with one or more regions of the state. These nine people represent different strands of the Farmer-Labor coalition. Their stories inform and personalize the broader history of the movement.
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John Bernard – Corsican immigrant, Iron Range miner, Farmer-Labor Congressman, Popular Front advocate
John Bosch –Southwestern Minnesota, Kandiyohi County Farm Holiday Association leader
Frank Ellis – Austin, MN meatpacking worker and organizer of the nation’s first sit-down strike at Hormel
Nellie Stone Johnson – From a Pine County Nonpartisan League farm family, Minneapolis labor organizer, civil rights activist, and associate of Hubert Humphrey. She helped negotiate the merger of the F-L with the Democratic Party.
Fred Lequier – White Earth Ojibwe labor organizer, president of the timber workers union that won a strike against the powerful lumber companies in 1937.
William Mahoney – Labor leader, newspaper editor, and St. Paul mayor; leading founder of the Farmer-Labor Party.
Irene Paull - Duluth Communist union organizer, writer and journalist, aka “Calamity Jane”
Susie Stageberg - Red Wing farmer journalist, Nonpartisan League leader; known as the “Mother of the Farmer-Labor Party” for her comments catalyzing the unity of rural and urban workers.
Chester Watson – Otter Tail County native, Minneapolis Workers Alliance president and organizer of the unemployed
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We located images to accompany the narration and interview excerpts to “cover” virtually all of the script. But, we came to the conclusion that there are no surviving visual records of some seminal events in this history. Examples include a convention during which farmers and union members pledged to work together; young Nellie Allen delivering Nonpartisan League newspapers to neighboring farms; and the encounter between a union steward and Irene Paull that sparked her career as a labor journalist.
Some documentaries have relied on re-enactments to fill in these visual and dramatic gaps. But to recreate these scenes well is very expensive. We also have philosophical reservations about re-enactments because they purport to show details we can’t know. It seems honest, and dramatically compelling, to use animation to suggest the essential emotions and significance of a few events. Animated graphics also serve as transitions between scenes and illustrate some concepts, such as the Farmer-Labor organizing model.
Animation that suggests people’s actions are drawn in greyscale, keeping with the visual convention in the rest of the show that uses black and white for historical events and people. For example, rough drawings suggesting a large crowd, close-ups of hands clapping, legs rising to stand, and hats thrown into the air will accompany quotes from an activist leader at a convention where 7,000 farmers and union workers pledged to support one another.
Music spurs the pace and sets the tone of the show. Contemporary musicians perform songs from the period, such as the “Commonwealth of Toil” and “Seed for Tomorrow,” as well as songs from the IWW Little Red Song Book.
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Thomas O'Connell is Professor Emeritus in Political Studies at Metropolitan State University. He has expertise in Farmer-Labor history and chairs the Farmer-Labor Education Committee. He provided critical input throughout the video process and co-wrote the script.
Anna Kurhajec has a Ph.D. in History from the University of Illinois with a focus on social movements. She taught history at Metro State College and currently teaches at St. Thomas. She has played a major role in the research, and identification of documentary elements and co-wrote the script.
Project video producer/editor Randy Croce has shot and edited hundreds of video programs, including five broadcast by Public TV. He retired in 2018 after 28 years as video producer for the Labor Education Service at the University of Minnesota. Randy directed, the video, co-wrote the script, shot much of the footage, and edited the show.
John Akre created animation for the documentary. John is an animator and documentary video maker with over twenty years of experience teaching his craft and creating community through media. He has made over 100 animated shorts and three animated features that have been screened all over the world. John has been awarded grants from the Jerome Foundation and the Minnesota State Arts Board, and his films have won awards at film festivals around the world. He organizes the annual “MinnAnimate” festival in the Twin Cities. He taught animation classes in the Digital Media Arts Department of Hamline University.