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Era
Shipstead, Henrik (1881‒1960)
Henrik Shipstead forged an independent path through Minnesota politics as a mayor, state representative, gubernatorial candidate, and four-term US senator. Serious yet personable, he opposed big business and was one of the staunchest non-interventionists in Senate history, vigorously criticizing American militarism as well as entry into the League of Nations, World Court, and United Nations.
Born in rural Kandiyohi County in January 1881, Shipstead was the eighth of twelve children in the Norwegian immigrant family of Saave and Christine Shipstead. He grew up listening to his politically minded father criticize big business, consumerism, and modernity while extolling the virtues of simple farmers. As a young man he was encouraged by a friend to apply to Northwestern University Dental School, from which he graduated in 1903.
Later that year, Shipstead returned to western Minnesota and set up a practice in Glenwood. In 1910, at age twenty-nine, he was recruited by both of Glenwood’s rival political factions to run for mayor. He was twice elected, without opposition, to one-year terms. After refusing a third term in order to return full-time to dentistry, he was nominated and elected to the state House of Representatives in 1916.
In 1917, during Shipstead’s term as a state representative, some Glenwood residents decided to form a chapter of the Nonpartisan League (NPL)—an association of progressive farmers and workers. When conservative town residents balked at giving the farmers a space to organize, Shipstead rented them a hall in his own name. His actions on behalf of the NPL endeared him to many but nonetheless made him a more controversial figure.
In 1920, Shipstead unsuccessfully sought the governorship as an NPL-endorsed independent. Two years later, he was nominated by the new Farmer‒Labor Party to run against incumbent Republican US Senator Frank B. Kellogg. Enjoying added name recognition from his previous statewide campaign, he easily won the three-way contest with 47 percent of the vote, including large majorities in western and northern Minnesota as well as working-class wards in the Twin Cities.
In the Senate, Shipstead emerged as a progressive advocate for farmers, workers, and small-business owners. He pursued agricultural and labor reform, natural resource preservation, inland waterway navigability, non-interventionism, rural electrification, and banking reform. His most lasting legislative accomplishments included a nine-foot shipping channel on the Mississippi River, federal protection of the sacred Pipestone Quarry, and the Shipstead-Newton-Nolan Act. Passed in 1930, the act protected what is now the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from damming and logging.
During the 1934 campaign, as Shipstead was facing a left-wing primary challenge from Congressman Francis Shoemaker, a raucous state convention of the Farmer‒Labor Party adopted a stridently left-wing platform that explicitly called for an end to capitalism. While Shipstead had serious reservations about capitalism and had long supported cooperative business ventures, the new platform contained proposals that he viewed as the result of creeping socialist and communist influence.
In 1940, six years after winning reelection on the platform he now criticized, Shipstead upended the Minnesota political world by leaving the Farmer‒Labor Party and returning to the Republicans. In announcing his switch, Shipstead stressed that it was the Farmer‒Labor Party—not he—that had changed.
After rejoining the GOP he reaffiliated with the left-wing of the party, alongside figures including Senators Lynn Frazier and Hiram Johnson. He remained adamantly opposed to war and belligerent internationalism even as other Minnesota Republican leaders, including Harold Stassen and Joseph Ball, worked to shift the party in that direction.
When World War II came, Shipstead vigorously opposed American entry. Though he voted in favor of declaring war on Japan after Pearl Harbor, he would argue for the rest of his career that the war had been the fault of Western elites. He was one of only two senators to vote against the United Nations Charter, which he saw as an attempt by powerful countries to control less powerful ones.
After failing to win reelection to a fifth term, Shipstead retired to his farm in western Minnesota in 1947. Falling short in the GOP primary for the seat he had held for the last twenty-four years was a spectacular ending for a man who had spent most of his career as “the most popular and enduring public figure in the State.”

Bibliography
Primary
Newspapers
“CLU Cancels Shipstead Bid.” Minneapolis Star, August 4, 1940.
Davis, Maxine. “Shipsteads Interest Washington.” Capital News, March 1928 or 1929.
“Dr. Shipstead Elected Over F. B. Kellogg.” Daily People’s Press, November 9, 1922.
“La Follette to Speak Tonight.” New Ulm Review, November 1, 1922.
“Minnesotas Nye Senator: Henrik Shipstead.” Minneapolis Tidende, November 16, 1922.
N. N. R. “Senator Henrik Shipstead.” The Friend, July 1930.
“Shipstead’s Sweep Polls Many Votes for Johnson.” Minneapolis Morning Tribune, November 9, 1922.
“Shipstead Files Under GOP.” Minneapolis Star, August 1, 1940.
“Shipstead Tells Why He Shifted Party Allegiance.” Minneapolis Star, August 1, 1940.
Trussell, C. P. “UNO Bill Approved By Senate, 65 to 7, With One Change.” New York Times, December 4, 1945. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1204.html.
Pamphlets
Farmer‒Labor Party. “Farmer‒Labor Platform of Minnesota: Adopted by the 1934 Convention.” August 1934.
Johnson, Kenneth L., Sec. Let’s Nominate in September a Leader Who Can Win in November: Let’s Nominate and Re-Elect Senator Shipstead. St. Paul: Republican State Committee for Shipstead, 1940.
Voluntary Shipstead for Senator Committee. Leaders in the Senate Join in Praise of United States Senator Henrik Shipstead: Senior Senator from Minnesota. Minneapolis: Voluntary Shipstead for Senator Committee, 1934.
Personal papers
Petersen, Hjalmar. “Speech over WCCO.” April 22, 1946.
Shipstead, Henrik. “Address of United States Senator Henrik Shipstead Over the Columbia Broadcasting System at Minneapolis.” July 19, 1941.
———. “Conduct of Foreign Affairs.” C.R. March 22, 1924.
———. “Indtryk fra Norge.” In Jul i Vesterheimen. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1932.
———. “Letter to Miss Leona Rupp.” April 26, 1939.
———. “Letter to Mr. Charles Coy.” June 29, 1935.
———. “Letter to William Knudsen.” December 19, 1940.
———. “Senator Shipstead Discusses ‘Neutrality’ over CBS.” Radio address. May 16, 1939.
———. “Speech in the Senate Dealing with Appropriations for the Works Progress Administration for the Balance of the Fiscal Year.” July 1, 1939.
———. “Speech Given over WCCO.” August 19, (1942?).
———. “The United Nations Charter.” Speech in the United States Senate. Undated.
———. “We Must Reduce Interest Rates.” Speech in the Senate of the United States. Congressional Record, 73 Congress, 2 Session. February 8, 1934.
Smith, Paul J. “Radio Address by Paul J. Smith, Personal Representative of President William Green of the American Federation of Labor in Behalf of the Candidacy of Senator Henrik Shipstead for Reelection Over Station KSTP.” October 26, 1934.
Secondary
Lorenz, Mary René. “Henrik Shipstead: Minnesota Independent.” Ph.D. dissertation, Catholic University of America, 1963.
Ross, Martin. Shipstead of Minnesota. Chicago: Packard, 1940.
Shearer, William K. “Minnesota’s Farmer-Labor Party.” 32 vols. California Statesman (March 1997–November 1999).
Stuhler, Barbara. Ten Men of Minnesota and American Foreign Policy. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1973.
Wittenberg, Erlin. “The Political Career of Henrik Shipstead.” Master’s thesis, Mankato State College, 1961.
Web
“General Election Returns for Minnesota: Tuesday, November Fifth, 1940.” Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. Minnesota Legislative Manual 1940. St. Paul, 1941.
“General Election Returns for Minnesota: Tuesday, November Seventh, 1922.” Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. Minnesota Legislative Manual 1923. St. Paul: Harrison & Smith Co., 1923.
Pipestone Indian Shrine Association. “Background to Establishment of Pipestone National Monument.” A History of Pipestone National Monument Minnesota. 1965; updated 4 February 2005.
http://npshistory.com/publications/pipe/history/sec7.htm.
Related Resources
Primary
A/.P485h
Hjalmar Otto Peterson papers, 1930–1954
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Personal papers, newspaper columns, correspondence, and other documents related to Peterson’s involvement in the Farmer-Labor Party and Nonpartisan League.
A/.T263
Henry G. Teigan papers, undated and 1916–1941
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Correspondence, pamphlets, platforms and other documents collected by Teigan, a leader in the Farmer-Labor movement. Includes the 1934 Farmer-Labor Party platform.
P1009
Magnus Johnson papers, 1923-1941
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Correspondence, speeches, policy papers, newspaper clippings, reports, and pamphlets primarily from Johnson’s campaigns and time in Congress.
P1370
MECC records, 1927-1974
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Correspondence, clippings, and newsletters of the Minnesota Emergency Conservation Committee, formed in 1940 to advocate for protection of Minnesota’s environment and natural resources; includes correspondence with various politicians including Shipstead.
P2282
Records relating to Pierce Butler’s appointment to the US Supreme Court, 1917-1922
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Transcripts, correspondence, official committee records, and newspaper clippings relating to Butler’s appointment to the Supreme Court, especially related to complaints from University of Minnesota professors; includes statement of Shipstead in opposition to appointment.
P27
Herman Aufderheide papers, 1933–1949
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Correspondence, campaign materials, and other papers of Aufderheide, secretary to Governors Floyd B. Olson and Elmer Benson; includes material on the 1938 and 1940 elections, as well as papers relating to internal Farmer-Labor politics.
P307
Frank A. Day papers, 1889-1928
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Correspondence, newspaper clippings, financial papers, and other documents relating to Day, a newspaper editor, state legislator, and lieutenant governor of Minnesota; includes correspondence with Shipstead.
P337
Farmer-Labor Association of Minnesota records, 1918–1948
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Contains minutes, resolutions, convention documents, speeches, and other papers produced by the Farmer-Labor Association.
P448
J.A.A. Burnquist papers, 1884-1961
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Correspondence, clippings, speeches, and other documents related to Burnquist’s time as legislator, lieutenant governor, governor, and attorney general; also contains significant material on the Commission of Public Safety.
Secondary
Garlid, George W. “Minneapolis Unit of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies.” Minnesota History 41, no. 6 (Summer 1969): 267‒283. http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/41/v41i06p267-283.pdf.
Gieske, Millard L. Minnesota Farmer Laborism: The Third Party Alternative. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1979.
Naftalin, Arthur. “A History of the Farmer Labor Party of Minnesota.” PhD thesis, University of Minnesota, 1948.
———. “The Tradition of Protest and the Roots of the Farmer‒Labor Party.” Minnesota History 35, No. 2 (June 1956): 53–63. http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/35/v35i02p053-063.pdf
Valelly, Richard M. Radicalism in the States: The Minnesota Farmer‒Labor Party and the American Political Economy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989.
Related Images

Official senatorial portrait of Henrik Shipstead
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Henrik Shipstead delivering a speech
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Henrik Shipstead delivering a speech
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Henrik Shipstead delivering a speech
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Henrik Shipstead delivering a radio address on KSTP
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Portrait of Henrik Shipstead
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Henrik Shipstead’s house in Alexandria
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Lula Shipstead
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Henrik Shipstead with Magnus Johnson
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Henrik Shipstead campaign meeting
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Henrik Shipstead with Floyd B. Olson
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Henrik Shipstead, Wendell Willkie, and Harold Stassen
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Luncheon at Bald Eagle Lake
Attendees at a luncheon hosted by E. H. Hobe, Bald Eagle Lake; Shipstead is in the front row, second from left.
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Floyd B. Olson’s funeral.
Pallbearers at Floyd B. Olson’s funeral, Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, August 26, 1936; Shipstead is second from right.
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America First Committee meeting
Meeting of the America First Committee at the Minneapolis Auditorium, May 10, 1941; Shipstead is second from left.
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Minnesota Farmer-Labor meeting
Gathering of Minnesota Farmer-Labor politicians at the summer home of Thomas Frankson; Shipstead is standing, fifth from left.
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Henrik Shipstead
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Henrik Shipstead in Washington
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Henrik Shipstead with freshman senators.
Shipstead with fellow progressive, freshman senators Brookhard, Wheeler, and Frazier at the Capitol in Washington, 1922; Shipstead is second from right.
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Turning Point
In 1922, Shipstead is elected to the US Senate as a member of the Farmer‒Labor Party, beginning a two-and-a-half decade career representing Minnesota in Washington, DC.
Chronology
1881
1903
1910
1916
1920
1922
1930
1934
1939
1940
1941
1945
1946
1960
Bibliography
Primary
Newspapers
“CLU Cancels Shipstead Bid.” Minneapolis Star, August 4, 1940.
Davis, Maxine. “Shipsteads Interest Washington.” Capital News, March 1928 or 1929.
“Dr. Shipstead Elected Over F. B. Kellogg.” Daily People’s Press, November 9, 1922.
“La Follette to Speak Tonight.” New Ulm Review, November 1, 1922.
“Minnesotas Nye Senator: Henrik Shipstead.” Minneapolis Tidende, November 16, 1922.
N. N. R. “Senator Henrik Shipstead.” The Friend, July 1930.
“Shipstead’s Sweep Polls Many Votes for Johnson.” Minneapolis Morning Tribune, November 9, 1922.
“Shipstead Files Under GOP.” Minneapolis Star, August 1, 1940.
“Shipstead Tells Why He Shifted Party Allegiance.” Minneapolis Star, August 1, 1940.
Trussell, C. P. “UNO Bill Approved By Senate, 65 to 7, With One Change.” New York Times, December 4, 1945. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1204.html.
Pamphlets
Farmer‒Labor Party. “Farmer‒Labor Platform of Minnesota: Adopted by the 1934 Convention.” August 1934.
Johnson, Kenneth L., Sec. Let’s Nominate in September a Leader Who Can Win in November: Let’s Nominate and Re-Elect Senator Shipstead. St. Paul: Republican State Committee for Shipstead, 1940.
Voluntary Shipstead for Senator Committee. Leaders in the Senate Join in Praise of United States Senator Henrik Shipstead: Senior Senator from Minnesota. Minneapolis: Voluntary Shipstead for Senator Committee, 1934.
Personal papers
Petersen, Hjalmar. “Speech over WCCO.” April 22, 1946.
Shipstead, Henrik. “Address of United States Senator Henrik Shipstead Over the Columbia Broadcasting System at Minneapolis.” July 19, 1941.
———. “Conduct of Foreign Affairs.” C.R. March 22, 1924.
———. “Indtryk fra Norge.” In Jul i Vesterheimen. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1932.
———. “Letter to Miss Leona Rupp.” April 26, 1939.
———. “Letter to Mr. Charles Coy.” June 29, 1935.
———. “Letter to William Knudsen.” December 19, 1940.
———. “Senator Shipstead Discusses ‘Neutrality’ over CBS.” Radio address. May 16, 1939.
———. “Speech in the Senate Dealing with Appropriations for the Works Progress Administration for the Balance of the Fiscal Year.” July 1, 1939.
———. “Speech Given over WCCO.” August 19, (1942?).
———. “The United Nations Charter.” Speech in the United States Senate. Undated.
———. “We Must Reduce Interest Rates.” Speech in the Senate of the United States. Congressional Record, 73 Congress, 2 Session. February 8, 1934.
Smith, Paul J. “Radio Address by Paul J. Smith, Personal Representative of President William Green of the American Federation of Labor in Behalf of the Candidacy of Senator Henrik Shipstead for Reelection Over Station KSTP.” October 26, 1934.
Secondary
Lorenz, Mary René. “Henrik Shipstead: Minnesota Independent.” Ph.D. dissertation, Catholic University of America, 1963.
Ross, Martin. Shipstead of Minnesota. Chicago: Packard, 1940.
Shearer, William K. “Minnesota’s Farmer-Labor Party.” 32 vols. California Statesman (March 1997–November 1999).
Stuhler, Barbara. Ten Men of Minnesota and American Foreign Policy. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1973.
Wittenberg, Erlin. “The Political Career of Henrik Shipstead.” Master’s thesis, Mankato State College, 1961.
Web
“General Election Returns for Minnesota: Tuesday, November Fifth, 1940.” Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. Minnesota Legislative Manual 1940. St. Paul, 1941.
“General Election Returns for Minnesota: Tuesday, November Seventh, 1922.” Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. Minnesota Legislative Manual 1923. St. Paul: Harrison & Smith Co., 1923.
Pipestone Indian Shrine Association. “Background to Establishment of Pipestone National Monument.” A History of Pipestone National Monument Minnesota. 1965; updated 4 February 2005.
http://npshistory.com/publications/pipe/history/sec7.htm.
Related Resources
Primary
A/.P485h
Hjalmar Otto Peterson papers, 1930–1954
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Personal papers, newspaper columns, correspondence, and other documents related to Peterson’s involvement in the Farmer-Labor Party and Nonpartisan League.
A/.T263
Henry G. Teigan papers, undated and 1916–1941
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Correspondence, pamphlets, platforms and other documents collected by Teigan, a leader in the Farmer-Labor movement. Includes the 1934 Farmer-Labor Party platform.
P1009
Magnus Johnson papers, 1923-1941
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Correspondence, speeches, policy papers, newspaper clippings, reports, and pamphlets primarily from Johnson’s campaigns and time in Congress.
P1370
MECC records, 1927-1974
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Correspondence, clippings, and newsletters of the Minnesota Emergency Conservation Committee, formed in 1940 to advocate for protection of Minnesota’s environment and natural resources; includes correspondence with various politicians including Shipstead.
P2282
Records relating to Pierce Butler’s appointment to the US Supreme Court, 1917-1922
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Transcripts, correspondence, official committee records, and newspaper clippings relating to Butler’s appointment to the Supreme Court, especially related to complaints from University of Minnesota professors; includes statement of Shipstead in opposition to appointment.
P27
Herman Aufderheide papers, 1933–1949
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Correspondence, campaign materials, and other papers of Aufderheide, secretary to Governors Floyd B. Olson and Elmer Benson; includes material on the 1938 and 1940 elections, as well as papers relating to internal Farmer-Labor politics.
P307
Frank A. Day papers, 1889-1928
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Correspondence, newspaper clippings, financial papers, and other documents relating to Day, a newspaper editor, state legislator, and lieutenant governor of Minnesota; includes correspondence with Shipstead.
P337
Farmer-Labor Association of Minnesota records, 1918–1948
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Contains minutes, resolutions, convention documents, speeches, and other papers produced by the Farmer-Labor Association.
P448
J.A.A. Burnquist papers, 1884-1961
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Correspondence, clippings, speeches, and other documents related to Burnquist’s time as legislator, lieutenant governor, governor, and attorney general; also contains significant material on the Commission of Public Safety.
Secondary
Garlid, George W. “Minneapolis Unit of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies.” Minnesota History 41, no. 6 (Summer 1969): 267‒283. http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/41/v41i06p267-283.pdf.
Gieske, Millard L. Minnesota Farmer Laborism: The Third Party Alternative. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1979.
Naftalin, Arthur. “A History of the Farmer Labor Party of Minnesota.” PhD thesis, University of Minnesota, 1948.
———. “The Tradition of Protest and the Roots of the Farmer‒Labor Party.” Minnesota History 35, No. 2 (June 1956): 53–63. http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/35/v35i02p053-063.pdf
Valelly, Richard M. Radicalism in the States: The Minnesota Farmer‒Labor Party and the American Political Economy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989.