Manuscripts Collection
Susie W. Stageberg was born on a farm near Bader, Iowa on January 30, 1877, the daughter of Ole and Kristi (Sagaard) Williamson. In her early years she taught rural schools in Iowa and was a reporter for the
Susie Stageberg was active in church, community, and temperance affairs. Her political activities began in the Nonpartisan League and, in the 1920s, she became a founder of the Farmer-Labor Party. She was the Farmer-Labor candidate for secretary of state in 1922, 1924, and 1928, and for Congress in 1932. In 1950 she was a candidate for lieutenant governor on the Progressive ticket.
As a journalist she revitalized
Biographical information was taken from the papers.
There is information on her campaigns, the Farmer-Labor Party, the Farmer-Labor Association, the Hennepin County Farmer-Labor Association and its alleged infiltration by communists, the Women's Nonpartisan Clubs, the Farmer-Labor Women's Federation of Minnesota, the merger (1944) of the Minnesota Farmer-Labor and Democratic parties, Henry A. Wallace's presidential campaign (1948), reform of the U.S. Supreme Court (1937), support of the republican forces during the Spanish Civil War (1937), women's suffrage, temperance, and personal affairs. Included also are newsletters issued by Minnesota Congressman Henry G. Teigan (1937).
These documents are organized into the following sections:
Accession number: 9981; 13,379; 14,588
Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, September 1986
Catalog ID number: 09-00039272
The undated section of the papers and those dated 1881-1900 contain constitutions, campaign literature, and other papers relating to the Farmer-Labor Party and the Farmer-Labor Association; and printed materials on temperance, including copies of song books (1881, 1888), the Minnesota White Ribboner (1894), and Western Womanhood (1896).
There are a few papers in the 1922-1934 period, and they concern the Farmer-Labor Association and Party. There are letters regarding Stageberg's defeat in the 1922 election, materials relating to the Women's Nonpartisan Clubs of Minnesota (of which she was executive secretary), campaign literature, convention programs, and similar materials. Letter writers in this period include O. J. Kvale, Senator Edwin F. Ladd (regarding the proposed appointment of John F. McGee to a federal judgeship), Belle Case LaFollette, Jean Wittich (All Party Volunteer Committee for Floyd B. Olson), and Ernest Lundeen.
Papers for the years 1936-1940 relate almost exclusively to the Hennepin County Farmer-Labor Association. Much of the correspondence is between members of the Association and its secretary, Selma Seestrom. Papers for the years 1936 and 1937 are substantial. This section includes Farmer-Labor Party platforms, financial reports, ballots, campaign materials, resolutions, newsletters from Congressman Henry G. Teigan, executive committee minutes of the state Farmer-Labor Association (Nov. 21, 1936; March 20, April 10, May 1, July 17 and 24, Sept. 10, and Dec. 3, 1938), and minutes of the Hennepin County Farmer-Labor Association (Jan. 31. and March 22, 1939; Jan. 31 and Feb. 29, 1940).
Issues discussed during this period include the 1936 and 1938 elections, the U.S. Supreme Court Reform Act (1937), support for the Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War (1937), the Farmer-Labor Women's Federation of Minnesota, and the struggle within the Hennepin County Farmer-Labor Association over alleged Communist influence. Letter writers include Elmer A. Benson, Irwin C. Strout, John T. Bernard, Henry G. Teigan, and Dewey Johnson.
The few papers for the 1942-1950 period include Hennepin County Farmer-Labor Association Central Committee minutes (April 22, 1942), minutes of the executive committee of the state Farmer-Labor Association (April 12, 1942; Dec. 15, 1943), information on Henry A. Wallace (1944 and 1948), and a campaign leaflet from Stageberg's campaign for lieutenant governor (1950). Major topics include alleged Communist influence in the Hennepin County Farmer-Labor Association, the merger of the Democratic and Farmer-Labor parties, and the Henry Wallace presidential campaign of 1948.
Articles written by Stageberg for various publications. One folder contains copies of the articles from "This and That" (undated), and four folders contain articles from "As a Woman Sees It" (undated and 1937-1950). The articles discuss family matters, temperance, religion, and world peace, among other topics.
There is also a folder of miscellaneous Stageberg articles (1936 and 1945) similar in content to those described above.
The undated manuscript (182 pp., mimeographed) compiled by her son Rolf, contains copies of newspaper clippings, letters to the editor, campaign literature, pictures, and other materials reflecting Stageberg's career, the majority of them written by her. Stageberg's articles appeared in many newspapers, including the
The earliest article (undated, but probably 1893, on p. 6) was written by Stageberg and printed in the
A typed transcription of a diary (June 1-29, 1958) and newspaper columns (undated, July 24, 1958, Oct. 30, 1958) written by Stageberg during a trip to Norway and Sweden. Topics include the accommodations, service, and social activities on board the ocean liner to Norway; visiting relatives and sightseeing in and around Stavanger and Trondheim, Norway; the proceedings of the Congress for Disarmament and International Cooperation held in Stockholm, Sweden (July 16-22, 1958), which Stageberg attended as a reporter for the
Most of the clippings date from the 1911-1912 period and relate to women's suffrage.