Frederick Carl Brockhausen, Jr. (May 20, 1858 – June 16, 1929) was a

cigar maker A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be Tobacco smoking, smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the fill ...

and trade union activist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who spent four terms as a Socialist member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Background

Brockhausen was born in Fredericia, Denmark on May 20, 1858. He attended

public schools Public school may refer to: *State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England and ...

and became a journeyman cigar maker in 1877. While working on the

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island of Föhr in North Frisia, he joined both the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

and the cigarmakers' union. He migrated to the United States in 1879, and to Milwaukee soon after; but later spent some time in

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, Iowa, Montana, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and

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, before finally settling permanently in Milwaukee in 1894. He joined the

Cigar Makers' International Union The Journeymen Cigar Makers' International Union of America (CMIU) was a labor union established in 1864 that represented workers in the cigar industry. The CMIU was part of the American Federation of Labor from 1887 until its merger in 1974. Org ...

in 1890 while working in St. Paul, and in 1897, after participating in the People's Party during the 1896 election, joined the Milwaukee branch of the

Social Democracy of America The Social Democracy of America (SDA), later known as the Cooperative Brotherhood, was a short lived political party in the United States that sought to combine the planting of an intentional community with political action in order to create a s ...

. He was an associate of fellow Socialist Frank J. Weber in the early years of the

Wisconsin State Federation of Labor The Wisconsin State Federation of Labor (WSFL), affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, was the largest federation of labor unions in Wisconsin, from its formation in 1893 at the behest of the Milwaukee Federated Trades Council to its 195 ...

, and served as its unpaid

secretary-treasurer Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

from 1900 to 1912; the Wisconsin Historical Society's ''Dictionary of Wisconsin History'' describes him as "in effect, its executive officer and legislative representative". In 1903 he was among the leaders of the push for worker's compensation: statutory recognition of an injured worker's right to compensation without court action.

Legislative service

He was first elected to the Assembly from

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous coun ...

's 11th Assembly district (the 11th Ward of the City of Milwaukee) in 1904, defeating former Assemblyman Republican

Herman Pomrening Herman may refer to: People * Herman (name), list of people with this name * Saint Herman (disambiguation) * Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman Places in the United States * Herman, Arkansas * Herman, Michigan * Herman, Minn ...

by 9 votes in a three-way race, with 1924 votes for Brockhausen, 1915 for Pomrening, and 1163 for

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Charles Miksch. (Democratic incumbent Frank Haderer, who had ousted Pomrening in 1902, was not a candidate.) Brockhausen was assigned to the standing committee on manufactures. He was more easily re-elected in 1906, and remained on what was now the committee on manufactures and labor. In 1908, with no Republican in the race, he defeated Miksch 1575 to 1288, and moved to the committee on municipalities. In 1910, with the Socialists sweeping Milwaukee's elections, he won 1983 votes to a total of 998 for his three opponents combined. He moved to the committees on taxation, on charitable and

penal institution A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, English language in England, standard English, Australian English, Australian, and Huron Historic Gaol, historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention cen ...

s, and the newly created committee on workmen's compensation. This session of the Legislature was to see worker's compensation enacted into law in 1911, the first such statute in the United States.

After the Assembly

In 1912, his Assembly district had been merged with part of that represented by fellow Socialist

James Vint James H. Vint (January 14, 1881 – January 7, 1965) was a machinist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who served three terms as a Socialist member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. In later years, he moved to Union Grove, Wisconsin and became a farmer. ...

. Rather than run against Vint (who won re-election) he ran for the Wisconsin State Senate, losing to Democrat

Alexander E. Martin Alexander E. Martin (October 9, 1867 1943) was an American businessman and Republican politician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He represented Milwaukee's south side in the Wisconsin Senate during the 1913 and 1915 sessions. Background Martin was b ...

by a narrow margin in a five-way race. After his loss, he relinquished his union and party responsibilities to devote his time to his cigar business, but retained his Socialist and labor zeal. In 1916 he ran again for the Assembly's 14th Milwaukee County district, losing by 29 votes to Democrat

Thomas Szewczykowski Thomas Szewczykowski (February 14, 1881 – April 14, 1947) was a moulder and saloonkeeper from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who served one term as a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from Milwaukee County. Background Szewczykows ...

. He served on the State Council of Defense (chairman of its labor committee) during World War I, and on the board of trustees of the

Institutions (1921–1929). He died in Milwaukee on June 16, 1929. His papers are in the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Society.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brockhausen, Frederick 1858 births 1929 deaths Cigar makers Danish emigrants to the United States Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly People from Fredericia Politicians from Milwaukee Socialist Party of America politicians from Wisconsin American trade union leaders Wisconsin State Federation of Labor people