Nils P. Haugen

Nils P. Haugen
Nils P. Haugen in 1912
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives
In office March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895
Preceded by	District established
Succeeded by	John J. Jenkins
Constituency	Wisconsin's 10th district
In office March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1893
Preceded by	Hugh H. Price
Succeeded by	Lyman E. Barnes
Constituency	Wisconsin's 8th district
Member of theWisconsin State Assembly from thePiercedistrict
In office January 6, 1879 – January 3, 1881
Preceded by	Charles A. Hawn
Succeeded by	Franklin L. Gilson
Personal details
Born	(1849-03-09)March 9, 1849 Modum,Norway
Died	April 23, 1931(1931-04-23)(aged 82) Madison, Wisconsin,U.S.
Resting place	Forest Hill Cemetery Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political party	Republican(Progressive)

Nils Pederson Haugen(March 9, 1849 – April 23, 1931) was aNorwegian Americanimmigrant, lawyer, and politician. He served four terms in theUnited States House of Representatives,representing westernWisconsin.He was a leading member of theProgressive Movementin Wisconsin and a national expert ontax reform.The village ofHaugen, Wisconsin,inBarron County,was named after him.

Background

Born inModum,Buskerud,Norway,Haugen immigrated to the United States in 1854 with his parents. They settled inPierce County, Wisconsin,in 1855. Haugen attendedLuther College,inDecorah, Iowa.Haugen graduated from the law department of theUniversity of Michiganin 1874. He was admitted to thebarthe same year and commenced practice inRiver Falls, Wisconsin.He also served for several years as a court reporter for the 8th and later the 11th judicial circuits.

Haugen's former home, theWilliam T. Leitch House,is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.The house was also home toMadison, Wisconsin,mayorsWilliam T. LeitchandMoses Ransom Doyon.

Haugen wed the former Ingeborg "Belle" Rasmussen in Saint Croix county, Wisconsin in 1875.

Career

Haugen served in theWisconsin State Assemblyin 1879 and 1880. He was theWisconsin Railroad Commissionerfrom 1882 until 1887. In 1887, Haugen was elected as aRepublicanCongressman to theFiftieth Congress.He was elected as the representative ofWisconsin's 8th congressional district.Haugen was reelected to theFifty-first,Fifty-second,andFifty-thirdCongresses.In his last congressional term, he represented the newly createdWisconsin's 10th congressional district,following redistricting. Overall he served from March 4, 1887, until March 3, 1895. He did not seek renomination in 1894 but was an unsuccessful candidate for the nomination forGovernor of Wisconsin.

Haugen was often associated with and served as a political ally ofRobert M. La Follette, Sr.WisconsinRepublican Partydissidents who joined La Follette became known as theProgressivefaction. Progressives stressed the need for more direct voter control and championed consumer rights. Their call for reform gained more support after thePanic of 1893shook up the economic, class, and ethnic assumptions held by many Americans. In 1894, the Progressives began to openly campaign for leadership of the Republican Party in Wisconsin. Nils Haugen sought the party nomination for governor in 1894 and Robert La Follette followed in 1896 and 1898.

After La Follette was elected governor of Wisconsin, he appointed Haugen to the Tax Commission in 1901. Haugen served on the Wisconsin State Tax Commission throughout the Progressive era, from 1901 until 1921. During that time he made the commission an important part of the Progressive movement. In 1915 Haugen helped preserve the law's strength by persuading Gov.Emanuel Philippnot to transfer collection activities from the commission to local governments. From 1919 until 1920, Haugen served as president of the National Tax Association, a nonpartisan, educational association that studies tax theory and public finance. Haugen was adviser to the State ofMontanaBoard of Equalization from 1921 to 1923. He died April 23, 1931, inMadison, Wisconsin,where he was interred inForest Hill Cemetery.

Other sources

• Brandes, Stuart Dean.Nils P. Haugen and the Wisconsin Progressive Movement(Master’s thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1925)
• Brøndal, Jørn.Ethnic Leadership and Midwestern Politics: Scandinavian Americans and the Progressive Movement in Wisconsin, 1890-1914.(Northfield, Minnesota: Norwegian-American Historical Association, 2004)
• Haugen, Nils Pederson.Pioneer and Political Reminiscences.(Evansville, Wis.: The Antes Press, 1930)

External links

• The Wisconsin magazine of history:Volume 12, number 4, June 1929

• United States Congress."Nils P. Haugen (id: H000351)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.