Thomas Ryum Amlie
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWisconsin's1st district
In office January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1939
Preceded by	George W. Blanchard
Succeeded by	Stephen Bolles
In office October 13, 1931 – March 3, 1933
Preceded by	Henry A. Cooper
Succeeded by	George W. Blanchard
Personal details
Born	(1897-04-17)April 17, 1897 Binford, North Dakota, US
Died	August 22, 1973(1973-08-22) (aged 76) Madison, Wisconsin, US
Resting place	Forest Hill Cemetery
Political party	Republican(before 1934) Progressive(1934–1941) Democratic(after 1941)
Spouse(s)	Marian Caldwell Strong ​ ​ (m. 1925; died 1930)​ Gehrta Farkasch Beyer ​ ​ (m. 1932)​
Children	5
Relatives	Hans Amlie (brother) Milly Bennett (sister-in-law)
Alma mater	University of North Dakotaattended University of Minnesotaattended University of Wisconsin Law School (J.D.)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army

Thomas Ryum Amlie (April 17, 1897 – August 22, 1973) was an American politician who served as a two-timeU.S. representative fromWisconsin's 1st congressional district. Ryum first served as aRepublican, from 1931 until 1933, being defeated for re-election in 1932. He later served as aProgressive, from 1935 until his retirement in 1939.

Amlie was born on a farm nearBinford, North Dakota. During his youth, Amlie went to the high school inCooperstown, North Dakota,^[1] and was on the debate team with his brother, futureLincoln Battalion commanderHans Amlie.^[2] Following his graduation he then went on to attend and then to theUniversity of North Dakota from 1916-1918, after which he spent a short period of time in the United States Army.^[3] Following his return, he then attended theUniversity of Minnesota for a year, but became disinterested in pursuing a career in teaching sociology and economics and began organizing for theNonpartisan League.^[3]

After a short period of organizing for the League in Wisconsin, Amlie then enrolled in theUniversity of Wisconsin Law School, where he received his law degree in 1923, being admitted to the bar that same year.^[4] After receiving his degree, Amlie served two years as assistant clerk to theDane CountySuperior Court and one year as legal examiner for theState Department of Markets.^[5] During the1924 presidential election, he was district chairman forRobert M. La Follette's campaign and ran unsuccessfully forEau Claire CountyDistrict Attorney.^[3] Later that year, he began practicing law inBeloit, Wisconsin, where he helped established the firmFiedler, Garrigan, and Amlie.^[1] Three years later, he moved toElkhorn, Wisconsin, which became his permanent residence.^[3]

In October 1931, Amlie was elected as a Republican to representWisconsin's 1st congressional district in the72nd United States Congress, replacingHenry A. Cooper who had died in office, and served until March 1933. He then switched to theWisconsin Progressive Party, an alliance established in 1934 between the longstanding "Progressive" faction of theRepublican Party of Wisconsin, led by theLa Follette family and their political allies, and certain radical farm and labor groups active in Wisconsin at the time.^[6] He was reelected on the party ticket to the74th and75th United States Congresses and served from January 3, 1935, until January 3, 1939.^[4]

Amlie made his first run forU.S. House of Representatives in the 1931 special election, called following the death of long-time representativeHenry Allen Cooper, who had represented his district nearly continuously from 1893 until his death. Cooper had representedWisconsin's 1st congressional district, comprising roughly the southeast corner of the state. Amlie faced a crowded primary against state senatorsGeorge W. Blanchard andEdward F. Hilker, and two other candidates. Amlie ultimately came out on top, defeating Blanchard by a margin of 1,332 votes.^[7]

In the lead up to the 1932 primary election, Amlie and Blanchard had garnered the backing of the progressives and stalwarts of the Republican Party respectively, with Blanchard even gaining the backing of the 1st district Republicans at their convention.^[8] In the primary election, Amlie and Blanchard were the only two Republicans to run. Blanchard won a narrow victory, defeating Amlie with 51.75% of the vote.^[9]

In 1933, Amlie helped form the Farmer-Labor-Progressive League.^[10]: 148

In the Spring of 1934, the progressive faction split off from theRepublican Party of Wisconsin and started theWisconsin Progressive Party on the left, dramatically altering the politics of the state.

By 1934, the Great Depression had caused a sharp decline of conditions in Wisconsin, and this decline, alongside a resurgence of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, forced Progressive Republicans to seek new avenues to power. The first major figure calling for progressives to split from the Republican Party was Amlie. He was one of the most radical Republicans to have prominence within the party, and he "firmly believed that capitalism itself was dying and that Roosevelt could at most postpone the inevitable."^[10]: 148 Amlie was a proponent of theFrontier Thesis, believing that the existence of theFrontier allowed Americans to escape hard times by relocating to available lands. However, conditions had changed so significantly that such relocation was no longer possible, and thus Amlie believed in the necessity of a transition tosocialism to save the country, a position he stated publicly at theLeague for Independent Political Action convention in September 1933.^[10]: 148

One of Amlie's major goals was the formation of a regional left wing third party, a party that would unite rural and urban producers that could influence national policy.^{[10]: 148–149} To this end, he began working with former governorPhilip La Follette on forming a third party, and believed that under La Follette's leadership, the new party would take a leftward direction.^[10]: 150 Despite supporting these efforts, Amlie and his radical allies were blocked by Phil andWilliam T. Evjue, the editor of the Madison-basedCapital Times.^[10]: 153

Separately from the La Follette led party, Amlie, alongside Appleton attorney Sam Sigman, former U.S. representativeGeorge Schneider, and former state senatorAnton M. Miller, established the Farmer-Labor-Progressive League (FLPL), which would develop a platform and endorse candidates in elections, all of which the Progressive Party had yet done. Unintentionally, this new organization had the potential to upset the plans La Follette had been creating for the party. Fortunately, after La Follette spoke at the F.L.P.L. convention, the League decided to support his party.^{[10]: 153–155}

By the end of July, 1934, Amlie had declined to seek a gubernatorial bid both for financial reasons, but also because he felt La Follette would be the best candidate to lead the Progressive ticket. While he would not run for governor, Amlie began a run for his old congressional seat.^[10]: 156

From 1936, Amlie and other Progressives were informally allied with theNew Deal coalition and supported the reelection ofPresident Franklin Roosevelt.^[11] Amlie had abandoned his hopes for a third party around this time for a similar reason that other progressives had, as he realized that "liberal reform would have to come via a Roosevelt-led Democratic Party."^[10]: 205

In 1937, Amlie voted with the overwhelming majority of Congress to ban the exportation of weapons to either side in theSpanish Civil War.^[12] Just two days after the vote, his brotherHans was reported to have volunteered for the pro-RepublicanInternational Brigades.^[13] Amlie later supported a fundraising drive sponsored by the Friends of theAbraham Lincoln Brigade to bring wounded Americans home.^[14]

In 1938, Amlie joined DemocratsJerry Voorhis andRobert Allen in sponsoring the Industrial Expansion Bill, which would have created aplanned economy in the United States.^[3]

In 1938, Amlie served on a committee for the defense ofFred Beal. Returned from theSoviet Union, Beal was facing recommittal inNorth Carolina where in 1929 as a union organiser he had been convicted in a conspiracy trial. He had been deserted by the Communist-controlledInternational Labour Defense because of the witness he was now bearing to the realities ofSoviet collectivization. Serving with Amlie on the committee wereHomer Martin of theUAW,^[15]DemocratJerry Voorhis, the sociologist and pacifistEmily Greene Balch, the New York attorney and feministDorothy Kenyon and the poetSara Bard Field.^[16] The Committee reported hostile pressure from members of the ILD and numerous anonymous threats.^[17]

In 1938, Amlie declined to run for re-election, instead seeking to challenge SenatorF. Ryan Duffy in thesenate election that year, but was defeated in the Progressive primary byHerman Ekern, the incumbent lieutenant governor, by 7 points. The primary would prove to be a bitter contest, as it reopened old divides in the Progressive Party between allies of La Follette and younger radicals. The divide also symbolized a split between the supporters of Robert M. La Follette and younger progressives who had emerged from the various farmer-labor organizations.^[10]: 219 During the primary, Ekern had garnered the private support of Philip andRobert La Follette Jr., while Amlie had gained the endorsement of Milwakee MayorDaniel Hoan.^[10]: 219 Amlie would later blame his defeat on Evjue,The Capital Times, and even the Wisconsin Progressive Party itself.^[3]

After Amlie left Congress in 1939, Roosevelt nominated him to theInterstate Commerce Commission, but Amlie asked that the nomination be withdrawn.^[18]

Roosevelt eventually appointed Amlie as special assistant United States attorney in the Federal Land Commission office in Milwaukee. He eventually resigned this position to run for congress once again in 1941.^[3]

By 1940, Amlie had joined the Democratic Party as a "Roosevelt Democrat".^[10]: 231 Additionally, he supported other progressives leaving the third party and joining him within the Democratic Party.^[3] It was under this party that he ran in a special election that year for his old seat. He defeated Bernard Magruder by a wide margin in the primary election. In the general election, Amlie ran on supporting Roosevelt's domestic and foreign policy.^[10]: 238 He was defeated by a wide margin byLawrence H. Smith.^[3]

Amlie later would run for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and U.S. House, from Wisconsin's 2nd district, but would never again hold elected office.^[3]

Returning from Washington DC, Amlie resumed the practice of law inMadison, Wisconsin, where he resided until his death.^[19]

Amlie in 1925 was married to Marian Caldwell Strong, who died in 1930. Two years later, he married Gehrta Farkasch Beyer, who survived him. Amlie had 5 children, four sons and one daughter.^[3] He died on August 22, 1973, his remains were cremated and interred at the Sunset Memory Gardens, in theForest Hill Cemetery inMadison, Wisconsin.^[4]

Amlie's brother,Hansford "Hans" Amlie, was a member of theXV International Brigade in theSpanish Civil War and fought on the side of theSpanish Republicans.^[20] Through his brother Hans, he was the brother-in-law ofMilly Bennett.^[21]

• Rosenof, Theodore. "The Political Education of an American Radical: Thomas R. Amlie in the 1930's."Wisconsin Magazine of History (1974) 56#1: 19–30online

• Weiss, Stuart L. "Thomas Amlie and the New Deal."Mid-America 59 (1977): 19–38.

• United States Congress."Thomas Ryum Amlie (id: A000176)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

• 1897 births
• 1973 deaths
• People from Griggs County, North Dakota
• University of Wisconsin Law School alumni
• Wisconsin lawyers
• Wisconsin Progressives (1924)
• Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin
• Progressive Party (1924) members of the United States House of Representatives
• People from Elkhorn, Wisconsin
• 20th-century American lawyers
• 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

• CS1 errors: ISBN date
• CS1: long volume value
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from December 2024