Edwin William Knappe (January 14, 1884 – February 5, 1971) was an

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machinist A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who operates machine tools, and has the ability to set up tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling machines. A competent machinist will generally have a strong mechan ...

from

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

who became a

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, and who served one term as a

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

member of the

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Background

Knappe was born in Milwaukee on January 14, 1884, son of Herman William Knappe and Anna Miller Knappe. He attended Milwaukee's

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, including one year at West Division High School."Senate Goal of These Men: Biographies Given" ''

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'' August 8, 1946; p. 8, col. 3 He left school at the age of 15 and became a

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machinist. In 1905, about the time he joined the Socialist Party, he left Milwaukee and worked his way around the world, spending several months in

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, where he worked as a machinist. After returning to Milwaukee, he completed his secondary education in

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. He ran unsuccessfully for the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors in 1908; served as deputy clerk of the

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from 1911 to 1913, and ran for the Assembly in 1912, losing to Republican

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August Dietrich August Dietrich (July 6, 1858 – ?) was an American politician. Born in New York City, he was educated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and was in the manufacturing and real estate business. He served in the Milwaukee Common Council and on the Milwa ...

. Having spent three years in the Evening

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Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

, he passed his

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in 1913. He practiced law as a member of the firm of Kleist, Harriman & Knappe, and served as Milwaukee election commissioner from 1915 to 1918. He remained a member of the Machinists Union ( Lodge #66) and served as attorney for District 10 of that union. A collection of Knappe's personal and professional papers resides at Milwaukee Public Library.

Public office

He was elected to the Assembly in 1918 to succeed fellow Socialist and lawyer Glenn P. Turner (who like Knappe was a member of Kleist, Harriman & Knappe) in representing the Tenth

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Assembly District (the 21st and 25th

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of the City of Milwaukee). He received 3,959 votes to 1,211 for

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Theo. Thielges; and was appointed to the

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on state affairs. He did not run for re-election in 1920, and was succeeded by fellow Socialist Fred Hasley (who was elected without opposition).

After the Assembly

In 1928 he was the Socialist candidate for Milwaukee County

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, coming in third with 19.43% of the vote. In 1930, he was one of the Socialist nominees in the nominally

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Milwaukee Board of School Directors election In 1932 he was appointed as an assistant city attorney for the City of Milwaukee under Socialist city attorney Max Raskin but lost that position when Raskin was defeated in 1936. In 1941, Knappe succeeded

Frank Zeidler Frank Paul Zeidler (September 20, 1912 – July 7, 2006) was an American socialist politician and mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving three terms from April 20, 1948, to April 18, 1960. Zeidler, a member of the Socialist Party of America, ...

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of the Wisconsin and Milwaukee County Socialist party branches. In 1942 he was the Socialist nominee for

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(

Victor Berger Victor Luitpold Berger (February 28, 1860August 7, 1929) was an Austrian–American socialist politician and journalist who was a founding member of the Social Democratic Party of America and its successor, the Socialist Party of America. Born in ...

's old seat), coming in 4th in a race which saw incumbent Republican Lewis D. Thill unseated by Democrat Howard J. McMurray. In 1944 Knappe was himself a candidate for city attorney against Walter J. Mattison, the candidate who had defeated Raskin. He asserted that

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had created a $5 million

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to defeat Socialists such as Raskin and himself. He was again the Socialist nominee for Congress, coming in third in a four-way race which was won by former Socialist-turned-Democrat

Andrew Biemiller Andrew John Biemiller (July 23, 1906 – April 3, 1982) was an Politics of the United States, American politician and Trade union, labor union officer who served as a Wisconsin State Assembly, Wisconsin State Assemblyman from 1937 to 1943, as a Un ...

. In 1946, Knappe was the Socialist candidate for the United States Senate, coming in third of four candidates in a race in which

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...

, who had already ousted

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in the Republican

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, won the Senate seat against Democrat McMurray, Knappe, and an Independent Socialist Labor candidate. He was again the Socialist nominee for Congress in the 5th District in 1948, losing again to Biemiller (who had lost his seat in 1946 to Republican Charles J. Kersten; Biemiller polled 91,072 votes; Kersten 76,782; and Knappe 3,651). In 1950 he once again was the Socialist candidate for the Senate, coming in third to Republican incumbent

Alexander Wiley Alexander Wiley (May 26, 1884 – October 26, 1967) was an American politician who served four terms in the United States Senate for the state of Wisconsin from 1939 to 1963. When he left the Senate, he was its most senior Republican member. ...

and Democrat Thomas E. Fairchild.

Personal life

He was a member and officer of the Milwaukee Turners."Rades Picked to Head Turner Group Again" ''Milwaukee Journal'' April 19, 1946; Local Section, p. 5, col. 5 As of 1946, he was married and had two children, Herman and Henrietta, by a previous marriage to Ella Kleist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knappe, Edwin Politicians from Milwaukee Machinists Marquette University Law School alumni Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Socialist Party of America politicians from Wisconsin Wisconsin lawyers 1884 births 1971 deaths American people of German descent 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature