Francis Edward McGovern (January 21, 1866 – May 16, 1946) was an American lawyer and politician 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 ...

. He served as the 22nd Governor of Wisconsin from 1911 to 1915. In 1911 especially he sponsored a major series of progressive achievements through the legislature. Originally a close ally of Senator

Robert M. La Follette Robert Marion "Fighting Bob" La Follette Sr. (June 14, 1855June 18, 1925), was an American lawyer and politician. He represented Wisconsin in both chambers of Congress and served as the 20th Governor of Wisconsin. A Republican for most of his ...

, the two progressive leaders held an uneasy truce for McGovern's reelection in 1912. The two became bitter enemies in 1913-1916 and McGovern lost his bids for office and retired from poliitics.

Early life

McGovern was born in Elkhart Lake,

Sheboygan County, Wisconsin Sheboygan County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is named after the Sheboygan River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 118,034. Its county seat is Sheboygan. The county was created in 1836 and organized in 1846. At t ...

. He graduated from 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, ...

in 1890, and served as high school principal in Brodhead, Wisconsin and

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton ( mez, Ahkōnemeh) is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. One of the Fox Cities, it is situated on the Fox River, southwest of Green Bay and north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the c ...

. He studied law and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1897. He began the practice of law in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

Political career

He was elected District Attorney in Milwaukee in 1904, and served as District Attorney from 1903 to 1904 and from 1905 to 1908. In 1908, he ran for U.S. Senator but was defeated. He was elected Governor of Wisconsin in 1910 and 1912. McGovern supported the La Follette progressive wing of the Republican Party. He broke with La Follette in 1912 by supporting

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

for the Republican nomination. LaFollette did support McGovern's reelection in 1912. La Follette worked to defeat him in 1914, in conjunction with anti-tax conservative Republicans. as Governor McGovern had helped introduce the State income tax. He ran for U.S. Senator in 1914 and was defeated. After leaving the governorship, he resumed the practice of law. When World War I began he entered the U.S. Army as a major, and served as

Judge Advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that prov ...

of the 18th Division. In 1920 he served as general counsel for the

U.S. Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting the World War ...

.< He resumed the practice of law in Milwaukee in 1921 and served as president of the Milwaukee Bar Association in 1923. He was a member of the executive committee of the Wisconsin State Bar Association. He died on May 16, 1946, in Milwaukee, and is interred in

Forest Home Cemetery Forest Home Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in the Lincoln Village neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is the final resting place of many of the city's famed beer barons, politicians and social elite. Both the cemetery and ...

in Milwaukee.

References

External links

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, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:McGovern, Francis E. 1866 births 1946 deaths United States Army personnel of World War I Burials in Wisconsin Republican Party governors of Wisconsin Military personnel from Wisconsin Milwaukee County District Attorneys People from Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin People from Walworth County, Wisconsin Politicians from Milwaukee United States Army officers University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Wisconsin Progressives (1912)

Early life

Political career

References

Further reading

External links