Joseph David Beck (March 14, 1866 – November 8, 1936) was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. Born near Bloomingdale, in

Vernon County, Wisconsin Vernon County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,714. Its county seat is Viroqua. History Vernon County was renamed from Bad Ax County on March 22, 1862. Bad Ax County had been created on ...

, Beck graduated from Stevens Point Normal School and the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. He worked in the Wisconsin Bureau of Statistics and was a farmer and livestock dealer. Beck was elected a

to the Sixty-seventh United States Congress and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1929). He was elected as the representative of

Wisconsin's 7th congressional district Wisconsin's 7th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in northwestern and central Wisconsin; it is the largest congressional district in the state geographically, covering 20 counties (i ...

. In 1928 he passed on running for another term in office to instead unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination of

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's army and air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Wiscons ...

. Later Beck worked with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture. He died in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

.Joseph D. Beck, Wisconsin Historical Society
/ref>

Workers' compensation

Beck, along with

John R. Commons John Rogers Commons (October 13, 1862 – May 11, 1945) was an American institutional economist, Georgist, progressive and labor historian at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Early years John R. Commons was born in Hollansburg, Ohio on ...

of the

, wrote and helped to pass Wisconsin's

workers' compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...

law, the first law of its type in the United States. (New York had passed a first Worker's Compensation Law, but that was nullified by the courts.) The aim of the law was to protect business corporations from

tort A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...

suits. Workers who had sustained a work injury that rendered them unemployable could be awarded permanent and total disability payments, but were not allowed to sue their employers.

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External links

1866 births 1936 deaths People from Vernon County, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point alumni Businesspeople from Wisconsin Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin {{Wisconsin-Representative-stub