HJALMAR PETERSEN:

Hjalmar Petersen was born on January 2, 1890, in Eskildstrup, Denmark, near Svendborg. He migrated to Chicago, Illinois, with his parents, Lauritz and Anna Petersen, in 1891. He was naturalized through his father's papers. Petersen spent his childhood on a farm in Lincoln County, Minnesota, and in the village of Tyler. His education consisted of grammar school, and what he often referred to as "the school of experience." At age 14 he took his first job, working for the Tyler Journal. He then moved on to other printing jobs in Minnesota and South Dakota. From 1908 to 1914 he worked for a large printing firm in Milwaukee.

In 1914 he moved to Askov, a Danish settlement in east-central Minnesota. Here, in September 1914, he founded the weekly newspaper the Askov American and was joined by his brother Svend in 1916. Hjalmar remained as editor of the Askov American for the rest of his life. Petersen developed the small paper until it claimed to have the largest circulation of any newspaper in the United States published in a community of Askov's size.

Petersen became active in government and politics shortly after the founding of the Askov American. In 1918 he helped to incorporate the village of Askov and was elected village clerk (1918-1924). In 1928 he was elected mayor. In 1926 and 1928 Petersen made unsuccessful bids for election as state representative from Pine County. In 1930 he ran again and this time was elected. He was re-elected in 1932.

In the 1933 session of the state legislature, Petersen was named chairman of the House Committee on Tax and Tax Laws. Throughout his legislative career Petersen was known for his taxation proposals and stands. He was the chief author of the first Minnesota state income tax law (1933). In 1934 the Farmer-Labor Party endorsed Petersen for the position of lieutenant governor, and he won that office in the general election that fall.

On August 22, 1936, Governor Floyd B. Olson died and Petersen assumed the governorship for the five remaining months of Olson's term. In this time he made several important judicial appointments, settled strikes, and called a special session of the legislature to enact an unemployment insurance law. It was during 1936 that Petersen developed a distaste for the Farmer-Labor Party machine, run by what he called the "Mexican Generals." He felt that he deserved the party nomination for governor, but lost out to Elmer Benson. He was nominated instead for a six-year term on the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, an office he won in the general election.

In 1938 he tried to win the Farmer-Labor Party endorsement for governor by running against the incumbent, Elmer Benson, in the primaries but was defeated. Benson in turn lost the general election to the Republican Party candidate, Harold Stassen. In 1940 and 1942 Petersen was the Farmer-Labor candidate for governor but was defeated both times by Stassen. Since Petersen's term as Railroad and Warehouse Commission expired in 1943, he retired to private life for the next four years. Late in 1943 he found a job with the Office of Defense Transport, which he held until the middle of 1945. Petersen ran for governor again in 1946 by switching parties and challenging Luther W. Youngdahl for the Republican nomination in the primaries, which Youngdahl won. It was eight years before Petersen again tried for public office. He was elected Railroad and Warehouse Commissioner for another six-year term in 1954, running on the Democratic-Farmer-Labor ticket.

In the 1956 Minnesota presidential primary, Petersen managed the campaign of Senator Estes Kefauver, who defeated Adlai Stevenson. Petersen attended the Democratic National Convention in August as a Kefauver delegate. In 1958 he sought the DFL endorsement for United States senator, running against Representative Eugene McCarthy in the primary election. McCarthy won the nomination and the general election. Petersen was re-elected to the Railroad and Warehouse Commission in 1960. After serving his term, which ended in 1967, he retired from active politics. He died on March 29, 1968.

Hjalmar Petersen married twice. His first wife, Rigmor Christine Laursen Wosgaard, died in childbirth in August 1930. They had one daughter, Evelyn (Mrs. Arthur Metzger, of McLean, Virginia). He married Medora Belle Grandprey in 1934, and they had one daughter, Karla (Mrs. Robert Tinklenberg, of Santa Barbara, California).

Biographical information on Hjalmar Petersen was taken from the collection; from Who's Who in America, Vol. 22, 1942-1943, p. 1741; from an article in the Minneapolis Star, September 7, 1964, p. 10A; and from his obituary in the Minneapolis Star, March 29, 1968, p. 1.

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The Petersen Papers deal mainly with Hjalmar Petersen's political career and are most complete during his greatest political activity (1930-1946). In general, personal correspondence of the Petersen family is at a minimum, although exchanges of letters between Hjalmar and his brother-in-law, George Strandvold of Decorah, Iowa, fill in some of the gaps. Petersen's political activities led him to correspond frequently with editors and political writers of many newspapers across the state, so the collection is rich in information about the political opinions of newspapers and their editors. There is much information about Petersen's own paper, the Askov American, mostly to be found in the correspondence between him and the managing editors of the paper, Art Conoway and Ray Jensen. Interspersed throughout the collection are many letters from politicians, local residents, and constituents regarding editorials in the Askov American.

There is information on the state income tax law (1933), taxation in general, regulation of public utilities, Petersen's relations with the Farmer-Labor Association and the Farmer-Labor Party (1920s-1930s) and with Governor Floyd B. Olson's administration (1935-1936), his espousal of a national third-party movement (1935-1938), his opposition to U.S. involvement in World War II, the merger of the Democratic and Farmer-Labor parties (1939-1944), and Estes Kefauver's campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination (1956).

Among his correspondents are Elmer A. Benson, Alfred M. Bingham, Theodore Christianson, H. G. Creel, Abe I. Harris, Mike Holm, Charles L. Horn, Hubert H. Humphrey, Magnus Johnson, Harold Knutson, Philip F. La Follette, Ernest Lundeen, Eugene J. McCarthy, Floyd B. Olson, Mabeth Hurd Paige, Henrik Shipstead, Henry G. Teigan, and Howard Y. Williams.

Some letters and reports for 1951-1954 reflect his wife Medora's teaching career in Morris (Minnesota), and her involvement in local and national parent-teacher associations.

Medora Petersen's papers include material about the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Minnesota branch, and photographs of her and her husband.

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These documents are organized into the following sections:

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Hjalmar Petersen Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 5733; 9028; 9429; 10,838; 12,925; 13,181; 13,328

Processing Information:

Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, September 1985; Christopher G. Welter, December 2009.

Catalog ID number: 001719875

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1907-1930. Papers from this period deal mainly with Petersen's civic role in Askov, the business of his American Publishing Company, and his early career in Minnesota state politics, up to his election to the State House of Representatives in 1930. Petersen carried on a good deal of correspondence on behalf of the village of Askov, aimed mainly at improving utilities and developing organizations within the area. There are also letters from individuals seeking Petersen's assistance with personal and business problems. Some letters to and from political figures in the state solicit his support in the columns of the Askov American. Petersen's unsuccessful campaigns for the office of state representative in 1926 and 1928 mark the beginning of the extensive political campaign correspondence between Petersen and the voters, as well as with Farmer-Labor Association officials. There is a notable exchange of letters with Henry G. Teigan, as well as some correspondence with Farmer-Labor Association headquarters regarding support articles in the Askov American.

1930-1936. The correspondence from the years of Petersen's service in the state legislature consists mostly of supplications from job seekers and his letters of recommendation for state jobs for friends and constituents. There are also letters and other papers dealing with taxes and taxation, especially the state income tax law, which Petersen was instrumental in passing. Also included is correspondence regarding the election of Charles Munn as speaker of the state house of representatives (November and December 1932). The 1934 correspondence mainly concerns the successful Olson-Petersen gubernatorial campaign. Beginning in 1935, but culminating in 1936, is much correspondence with friends and fellow politicians reflecting Petersen's dissatisfaction with Olson's leadership, which he felt relied too heavily on the advice of a handful of insiders, the "Mexican Generals." A copy of a letter which Petersen wrote to Olson, voicing his criticism, is included (August 12, 1936). Much of his unhappiness stemmed from the handling of political appointments, since he felt that favoritism and patronage were filling the state bureaucracy with political cronies who could be counted on to campaign in any election for the person who appointed them. Petersen therefore began to call for improved civil service legislation. The correspondence for the first half of 1936 is also filled with speculation about Olson's health and the effect his death might have on the elections that fall. There is also a good deal of materials related to Petersen's attempt to wrest the Farmer-Labor Party nomination for governor from the hands of Olson's "Crown Prince," Elmer Benson. Very little correspondence is present pertaining to Petersen's four-and-a-half month term as governor, commencing with Olson's death in August. However, some material related to the National Governors' Conference, which Petersen attended (filed November 16-18), and copies of speeches he gave during that time are present, as well as a copy of his message to the special session of the legislature (December 17) and his farewell message to the legislature (January 5, 1937). The majority of Petersen's gubernatorial papers are in the Minnesota State Archives.

1937-1946. In the general election of 1936 Petersen was elected to a six-year term as Railroad and Warehouse Commissioner, while Benson became governor. Petersen's papers continue to deal mainly with politics, although there is some information about the activities of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission. Specifically, there is some discussion about whether responsibility for the regulation of public utilities should rest with state or local government, an inquiry into telephone rate increases in the Twin Cities area and Duluth (1937-1940), an investigation of the expenses of former Commissioner A. C. Laurisch and of the Commission's Oil Inspection Department by the Joint Legislative Investigating Committee in 1939, and a review of streetcar fares in St. Paul. A copy of the latter's "report, findings of fact and order" is filed November 6, 1941, along with a copy of Petersen's dissent from the majority opinion. A similar report on streetcar rates in Minneapolis is filed April 8, 1943. Petersen's gubernatorial campaigns of 1938, 1940, and 1942 are fully documented, including pieces of campaign literature. Files for the 1942 campaign are the most complete. Alleged corruption in state government, accusations of Communism, and counter-charges of anti-semitism figured prominently as campaign issues. During this time Petersen emerged as the leader of the right wing of the Farmer-Labor Party, and Benson as the leader of the left wing. Taxes, old age pensions, U. S. involvement in World War II, and the unpopular Lien Law (passed in 1939) were discussed in these campaigns. Of particular interest is opposition to the Lien Law from members of the Chippewa nation in 1942. At the end of 1937 there is some mention of the Independent Workers Alliance of Minnesota, and in 1938 and 1939 there is correspondence with the Independent Progressive Voters of Minnesota. The possibility of a merger between the Democratic and Farmer-Labor parties is discussed as early as 1939 (see a letter of March 7) and again in 1940 (December 30 and 31) and 1941 (January 18).

Petersen spoke out strongly against any involvement in World War II and received mail from America First committees, including a letter from Robert E. Wood, chairman of the national committee, announcing the committee's dissolution after the bombing of Pearl Harbor (December 16, 1941). Petersen also favored an aggressive third-party movement on a national scale, as evinced by his correspondence of 1935-1938. His support of the controversial Father Coughlin also drew constituent comment in 1936. Non-political subjects covered in the correspondence of these years include the visit of the Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark to Minnesota in the spring of 1939, and the celebration of the Askov American's twenty-fifth anniversary that September. From 1943 through July of 1945 there is a lull in the political correspondence, as Petersen gave up an active role in public life due to poor health. During this time he worked briefly for the Federal Cartridge Corporation of Minneapolis and for the Office of Defense Transport, where he served as principal transportation liaison officer of the Transport Personnel Division. This job took him temporarily to San Francisco in the spring of 1945, and his letters to his family and friends in Minnesota describe much of his work. He also wrote about the charter convention of the United Nations, which was taking place in San Francisco. The collection contains some printed material pertaining to the convention. The 1946 campaign files contain much information relating to Petersen's unsuccessful bid for the Republican Party nomination for governor. The taxable value of iron ore mined in Minnesota and shipped across the Great Lakes and the conservation of the state's natural resources were major campaign issues, as well as the old age pension and Lien Law and conditions at the Minnesota School for the Feeble-Minded at Faribault.

1947-1954. The third section of the papers is much less extensive. There is practically nothing from 1947 to 1950. From 1951 to 1954 the correspondence mainly concerns Medora Petersen's activities with the local and state Parent-Teacher associations and the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, and her teaching career in Morris, Minnesota. The PTA material mainly describes workshops, conventions, and meetings, but also includes a series of publicity bulletins (1956-1958) originating with the National Congress Committee on Publicity. There are also copies of documents pertaining to the teaching of home economics, such as a paper called "Strengthening the Family Relationship Aspects of Home Economic Teaching at the Secondary Level," prepared under the auspices of the American Home Economics Association (1953), and a series of leaflets on teaching home economics (budgeting, home management, shopping) used at a conference of home economics teachers at the University of Minnesota (1958). Starting in 1957 some anti-war, anti-draft, anti-bomb material appears, mostly originating with the American Friends Service Committee or the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. There is a series of Washington Newsletters from the Friends Committee on National Legislation in 1957 and 1958, and newsletters from the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in 1958. Petersen was elected Railroad and Warehouse Commissioner again in 1954 and 1960 but there is little campaign material from those years. For both terms there is some information about the commission's business: urban mass transit (including consideration of bus fares in the Twin Cities), regulation of public utilities, grain inspection and livestock weighing, a complaint against excessive charges for long-distance phone calls (filed September 19, 1956), and the transportation of liquid gas (1965).

1955-1968. The political papers begin again in 1955 when Petersen agreed to manage the primary campaign of Senator Estes Kefauver. Kefauver won the Minnesota primary, but withdrew before the nominating convention in August. Petersen attended the convention as a Kefauver delegate; a copy of the "Temporary Role of Delegates and Alternates to the Democratic National Convention" is included (August 13, 1956). In 1958 Petersen challenged Eugene J. McCarthy for the Democratic nomination to the United States Senate, and there are some campaign materials from that drive.

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The newspaper clippings document Petersen's political life. They are arranged chronologically by year, and by month when appropriate. Clippings from the 1938 and 1940 campaigns are the most complete.

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Mounted press clippings, which often overlap with those in the newspaper clippings series.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Danish Americans -- Minnesota -- Askov.

Education -- Minnesota -- Morris.

Elections -- Minnesota.

Governors -- Minnesota -- Election.

Home economics -- Study and teaching.

Income tax -- Minnesota.

Newspaper editors -- Minnesota.

Parents' and teachers' associations -- Minnesota.

Presidents -- United States -- Election -- 1956.

Public utilities -- Law and legislation -- Minnesota.

Taxation -- Law and legislation -- Minnesota.

Third parties (United States politics).

World War, 1939-1945 -- Public opinion.

Persons:

Adams, Elmer E. (Elmer Ellsworth), 1861-1950.

Andersen, H. Carl (Herman Carl), 1897-1978.

Babcock, Charles M. (Charles Merritt), 1871-1936.

Bell, Robert Cook, 1880-1964.

Benson, Elmer A. (Elmer Austin), 1895-1985. .

Bingham, Alfred M. (Alfred Mitchell), 1905- .

Bjornson, Gunnar B., 1872-1957.

Blatnik, John A., 1911-1991.

Burnquist, J. A. A. (Joseph Alfred Arner), 1879-1961.

Carr, Homer M., 1887-1964.

Christgau, Victor A., 1894-

Christianson, Theodore, 1883-1948.

Creel, H. G. (Herr Glessner), 1883- .

Day, Vince A. (Vincent Alpheus), 1885-1945.

Debel, Niels Henriksen, 1883- .

Elsberg, N. W. (Nels W)., b. 1887.

Ervin, William S., 1887-1951.

Harris, Abe I., 1889-1942.

Holm, Mike, 1874-1952.

Horn, Charles L. (Charles Lilley), 1888- .

Humphrey, Hubert H. (Hubert Horatio), 1911-1978.

Johnson, Magnus, 1871-1936.

Kefauver, Estes, 1903-1963.

Knutson, Harold, 1880-1953.

La Follette, Philip Fox, 1897-1965.

Lundeen, Ernest, 1878-1940.

McCarthy, Eugene J., 1916- .

Nolan, Mark, 1901- .

Nycklemoe, Henry.

Olson, Floyd Björnstjerne, 1891-1936.

Orr, Charles Noah, 1877-1949.

Paige, Mabeth Hurd, 1870-1961.

Petersen, Medora, 1896-1997.

Poirier, Joseph A.

Rasmussen, Paul A., 1895-1970.

Regnier, Emil L.

Rockne, A. J. (Anton Julius), 1868-1950.

Shipstead, Henrik, 1881-1960.

Starkey, Frank T., 1892-1968.

Strout, Irwin Charles, 1893-1954.

Teigan, Henry G. (Henry George), 1881-1941.

Wallace, George Edwards, 1872- .

Wefald, Knud, 1869-1936.

Welby, Irene.

Williams, Howard Yolen, 1889-1973.

Wozniak, D. D. (Daniel Donald), 1922- .

Youngdahl, Luther W., 1896- .

Organizations:

America First Committee.

American Publishing Company (Askov, Minn.).

Defense Transport Administration (U.S.).

Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.

Farmer-Labor Association of Minnesota.

Farmer-Labor Party (Minn.).

Independent Progressive Voters of Minnesota.

Minnesota. Legislature. House of Representatives.

Railroad and Warehouse Commission of the State of Minnesota.

Republican Party (Minn.).

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Minnesota Branch.

Places:

Askov (Minn.).

Minnesota -- Newspapers.

Minnesota -- Politics and government.

Occupations:

Governors.

Legislators.

Titles:

Askov American.

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