Victor Berger and the Americanization of Socialism in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, During the Progressive Era

Abstract

Victor L. Berger was among the most prominent Socialists in the United States during the first quarter of the 20th century, and played a major role in the success of the Socialist Party in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Over the course of his political career Victory Berger engaged in an intellectual dialogue between Socialism and other political ideologies of the period that attempted to implement reform, such as the Progressives and the Communists. Victor Berger attempted to differentiate himself from these two prominent groups and at the same time promote a form of Socialism that was compatible with contemporary American values.