Title: Emil Seidel Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1906-1940

Creator:

• Seidel, Emil

Call Number: UWM Manuscript Collection 76

Quantity: .6 cubic ft. (2 boxes)
Repository:

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives Department

Archival Location:

UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

Contains miscellaneous papers, mostly dating 1912-1919, of a Milwaukee political and socialist leader. Includes drafts and a manuscript booklet on Seidel's defense of his 1910-1912 Socialist mayoral administration in Milwaukee; the first report of the strikers' aid committee organized during the strike against Cudahy Brothers Company and against the Illinois Steel Company in 1919; and information on the Socialists' view of World War I.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-mil-uwmmss0076

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Emil Seidel was born on 13 December 1864 in Ashland, Pennsylvania and moved to Wisconsin with his parents in 1865, and to Milwaukee in 1869. He became a woodcarver and studied the trade in Germany, and converted to Socialism while in that country. Upon his return to Milwaukee, Seidel helped organize local Socialists, and promoted gradual change, political action, and reform. He was elected alderman in 1904, and reelected two years later. He unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 1908 but was elected alderman again in 1909. Seidel was elected mayor in 1910, but was defeated in 1912. He was alderman again from 1916 to 1920, and from 1932 to 1936. He was the Socialist Party's vice-presidential candidate in 1912. Seidel died on 24 June 1947.

Contains miscellaneous papers, mostly dating 1912-1919, of a Milwaukee political and socialist leader. Of special interest is drafts and a manuscript booklet on Seidel's defense of his 1910-1912 Socialist mayoral administration in Milwaukee. Seidel described the Socialist philosophy as being "the duty, the purpose, and the object of a real democratic government'; showed what the Socialists tried and succeeded in accomplishing; and "set right the wrong impressions" held by the opponents of socialism. Also includes a 31 December 1914 letter to Mrs. May Wood Simons in which Seidel stated his interests and position on vocational education and the role of education in building a socialist society; and undated manuscript which provides Seidel's comparison of the management of railroads under capitalism and socialism, and the relationship of railroad terminals to city planning. Seidel's personal file includes manuscripts on the future of Milwaukee, the elimination of taxes, and a letter stating his opinion on a court for domestic relations.

The file on unions contains the first report of the strikers' aid committee (of which Seidel was a member) organized by the Federated Trades Council and the Milwaukee County Central Committee during the strike against the Cudahy Brothers Company and against the Illinois Steel Company in 1919. The files on World War I contain Liberty Loan contracts from the Cudahy Brothers; drafts of notes for anti-war speeches, in German; a report of the 1916 Conference of Socialist Parties of Neutral Countries; and proceedings of the 1917 Emergency Convention of the Socialist Party in St. Louis.

Citation Guide for Primary Sources

• Emil Seidel Papers. Milwaukee Manuscript Collection G.

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law.

Use Restrictions

The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

Acquisition Information

The Milwaukee Public Library transferred Seidel's papers and mayoral records to the Archives in April 1991. Seidel's mayoral records were removed and processed separately.

Processing Information

Mark Vargas processed the collection in August 1992 at the Archives.

Box   1 Folder   1	Board of Harbor Commissioners, Report from Secretary Ernest Bruncken, 1925 View selections from this folder
Box   1 Folder   2	Cooperative Commonwealth of the World, undated View selections from this folder
Box   1 Folder   3	Crank Letters, 1906-1916 View selections from this folder
Box   1 Folder   4-5	Defense of the Socialist Regime in Milwaukee, circa 1912 View selections from Folder 4 View selections from Folder 5
Box   1 Folder   6	Education, 1908-1914 View selections from this folder
Box   1 Folder   7	Flood Control, 1933 View selections from this folder
Box   1 Folder   8	Health and Sanitation, 1916-1918 View selections from this folder
Box   1 Folder   9	Lenroot, Irving L., Address on the Social Center Movement, undated View selections from this folder
Box   1 Folder   10	Municipal Policies, undated View selections from this folder
Box   1 Folder   11	National Education Committee of the Socialist Party, 1912-1914 View selections from this folder
Box   1 Folder   12	Personal, 1914-1940 View selections from this folder
Box   1 Folder   13	Railroads, 1912-1918 View selections from this folder
Box   1 Folder   14	The Small Town, undated
Box   1 Folder   15	Trusts, 1923-1927 View selections from this folder
Box   1 Folder   16	Unions, 1914-1915 View selections from this folder
Box   2 Folder   1	World War I, 1917-1919 View selections from this folder
Box   2 Folder   2	World War I, Drafts of Anti-War Speeches, circa 1918 View selections from this folder
Box   2 Folder   3	World War I, Socialist Positions, 1914-1917 View selections from this folder