Thomas H. Van Lear (April 26, 1869 – March 4, 1931) was an American politician who served as the 28th

Mayor of Minneapolis This is a list of mayors of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The current mayor is Jacob Frey (DFL). Minneapolis From 1867 to 1878 mayors were elected for a 1-year term. Beginning in 1878 the term was extended to 2 years. As the city became larger and mor ...

from January 1, 1917 to January 6, 1919. Van Lear was a member of the

Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of Ameri ...

Early life

Van Lear was born in Maryland in 1869. As a boy, he worked in the area's coal mines and, at the age of 18, he joined the

Knights of Labor Knights of Labor (K of L), officially Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was an American labor federation active in the late 19th century, especially the 1880s. It operated in the United States as well in Canada, and had chapters also ...

. He later served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

(including a year during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

) before relocating to Minneapolis to work as a machinist. He soon became active with the

International Association of Machinists The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is an AFL–CIO/ CLC trade union representing approx. 646,933 workers as of 2006 in more than 200 industries with most of its membership in the United States and Canada. Or ...

and other trade and union groups in the city.

Career

Van Lear led two unsuccessful campaigns for the mayoralty before he was elected on November 7, 1916, with over 33,000 votes. Van Lear did not win control of the city council, and Sheriff Otto Langum worked closely with the Minneapolis Citizens' Alliance, an anti-labor coalition of wealthy business magnates. In office, Van Lear welcomed the People's Council of America for Democracy and the Terms of Peace to Minneapolis and refused to approve a law that would effectively ban the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines genera ...

(IWW). The only Socialist mayor in the city's history, Van Lear was defeated for re-election in 1918, amid accusations that he and his supporters secretly desired a German victory in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Van Lear was expelled from the

in 1918 and later helped to form a local section of the

Nonpartisan League The Nonpartisan League (NPL) was a left-wing political party founded in 1915 in North Dakota by Arthur C. Townley, a former organizer for the Socialist Party of America. On behalf of small farmers and merchants, the Nonpartisan League advocat ...

that firmly supported the policies of Democratic

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Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

. In 1919, Van Lear worked with Herbert Gaston to found the populist ''Minnesota Daily Star'' newspaper. The first issue was printed in August 1920. While the paper had some success as a political tool, it had a difficult time attracting advertisers and went bankrupt in 1924.

Death

Van Lear died on March 4, 1931. He is interred at Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery in Minneapolis.

Early life

Career

Death

See also

References

Further reading