Suzanne La Follette

Suzanne La Follette

Suzanne Clara La Follette (June 24, 1893 – April 23, 1983) was an American journalist, and an author who advocated for libertarian feminism in the first half of the 20th century.

She was born in Washington state into the politically prominent La Follette family. Her father was U.S. Congressman William La Follette; her brother was Chester La Follette, a painter.

Her full-length book, "Concerning Women", broke ground in the 1920s, but went out of print for a second time after a 1972 reprint in the Arno Press "American Women" series. In 1973, an excerpt entitled "Beware the State" was included in "The Feminist Papers," an anthology edited by Alice Rossi. A short biography of La Follette, based on interviews with her grand-niece Maryly Rosner, her brother Chester La Follette, and her colleagues John Chamberlain, Priscilla Buckley and Helen Tremaine, can be found in the article "Suzanne La Follette: The Freewomen" by Sharon Presley (see External Link below).

In the 1930s, LaFollette served as secretary for the Committee for the Defense of Leon Trotsky, also known as the Dewey Committee for its chairman educator, John Dewey. LaFollette wrote the summary of the Committee's findings after holding an investigative meeting in Mexico where Trotsky was in exile. Many of the committee's members, like La Follette, Carlo Tresca, and Dewey were not Trotskyists, but consisted of anti-Stalinist socialists, progressives and liberals.

La Follette was active in the League of Equal Opportunity, a feminist organization that, unlike the larger National Women's Party, opposed not just sex-based minimum wage legislation, but all such legislation. She explained her opposition to such laws in "Concerning Women." Her economic views, like those of her mentor Albert Jay Nock, were libertarian but influenced by Henry George.

She founded the libertarian magazine "The New Freeman" in 1932 and helped to found the libertarian magazine "The Freeman" edited by Albert Jay Nock and the conservative "National Review". However, La Follette was not a traditional conservative. In the 1950s, there was no outlet for libertarian thought so she joined forces with conservatives, who at that time were closer to libertarians than any other group. In the interview conducted by Presley in 1980, her colleague, John Chamberlain stated that she was a libertarian, not a conservative. Her feminist views in fact often clashed with the conservative point of view. Based on an interview with Buckley, as reported in the "Freewoman" article ( see External link below), Presley states, for example, that "in 1964, when the New York Conservative Party, of which she was a co-founder, came out in favor of anti-abortion laws, she demanded that her name be dropped from the Party's letterhead - and it was."

External links

* [http://www.alf.org/papers/LaFollette.shtml Suzanne La Follette: "The Freewoman"]


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  • Suzanne La Follette — Suzanne Clara La Follette, née le 24 juin 1893 et décédée le 23 avril 1983, journaliste américaine conservatrice, est l auteur de Concerning Women, publié en 1926, ouvrage qui défend l idée d un féminisme libertarien. Dans les années 1930,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Chester La Follette — Robert Chester La Follette, (March 31, 1897 in Pullman, Washington May 24, 1993 in White Plains, New York) was an American painter. His portrait of his cousin Senator Robert M. La Follette, Sr. hangs in the Senate Reception Room of he United… …   Wikipedia

  • La Follette family — The La Follette family is a family of politicians from the United States. Below is a list of members:*Robert M. La Follette, Sr. (1855 1925), District Attorney of Dane County, Wisconsin 1880 1884; U.S. Representative from Wisconsin 1885 1891;… …   Wikipedia

  • Robert La Follette — La Follette ist der Name von: Orten La Follette (Tennessee) La Follette (Wisconsin) Personen Robert M. La Follette sr. (1855 1925) Belle Case La Follette, (1859 1931) Robert M. La Follette jr. (1895 1953) Philip F. La Follette (1897 1965) William …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Robert M. La Follette — La Follette ist der Name von: Orten La Follette (Tennessee) La Follette (Wisconsin) Personen Robert M. La Follette sr. (1855 1925) Belle Case La Follette, (1859 1931) Robert M. La Follette jr. (1895 1953) Philip F. La Follette (1897 1965) William …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • La Follette — ist der Name mehrerer Orte in den Vereinigten Staaten: La Follette (Tennessee) La Follette (Wisconsin) La Follette ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Belle Case La Follette (1859–1931), US amerikanische Anwältin und Frauenrechtlerin Bronson …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • La Follette — may refer to: Places *La Follette, Tennessee *La Follette, Wisconsin *Madison LaFollette High School People * Robert M. La Follette, Sr. (1855 1925) * Belle Case La Follette, (1859 1931) * Robert M. La Follette, Jr. (1895 1953) * Philip La… …   Wikipedia

  • William La Follette — William Leroy La Follette (November 30, 1860 December 20, 1934) was a member of the United States House of Representatives representing Washington. He represented the 3rd District from 1911 to 1915, and the 4th District from 1915 to 1919. La… …   Wikipedia

  • LaFollette — La Follette ist der Name von: Orten La Follette (Tennessee) La Follette (Wisconsin) Personen Robert M. La Follette sr. (1855 1925) Belle Case La Follette, (1859 1931) Robert M. La Follette jr. (1895 1953) Philip F. La Follette (1897 1965) William …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Robert M. LaFollette — La Follette ist der Name von: Orten La Follette (Tennessee) La Follette (Wisconsin) Personen Robert M. La Follette sr. (1855 1925) Belle Case La Follette, (1859 1931) Robert M. La Follette jr. (1895 1953) Philip F. La Follette (1897 1965) William …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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