Axel Johnson (Wisconsin politician)

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Axel Johnson
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Polk County district
In office
January 6, 1919 – January 3, 1921
Preceded byCarl B. Casperson
Succeeded byGeorge A. Nelson
In office
January 6, 1913 – January 1, 1917
Preceded byDistrict created
Succeeded byCarl B. Casperson
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Burnett–Polk district
In office
January 4, 1909 – January 6, 1913
Preceded byJens P. Peterson
Succeeded byDistrict abolished
Personal details
Born(1870-05-22)May 22, 1870
Denmark
DiedSeptember 25, 1924(1924-09-25) (aged 54)
Resting placeMount Hope Cemetery, Turtle Lake, Wisconsin
Political partyRepublican (Progressive faction)
Spouse
Carrie Lizzie Pederson
​
​
(m. 1894⁠–⁠1924)​
Children6
OccupationDairy farmer, rancher

Axel Johnson (May 22, 1870 – September 25, 1924) was a Danish American immigrant, dairy farmer, and progressive Republican politician from Polk County, Wisconsin. He represented Polk County for five terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly (1909, 1911, 1913, 1915, 1919). He was a key figure in Wisconsin's ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (Prohibition).

Biography

Axel Johnson was born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota, and took night classes studying agriculture.[2] He went to work as a farm hand on a dairy farm in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota. After that, he traveled the west, working in Colorado and Wyoming for two years, then spent three years in Traill County, North Dakota, working as a farm foreman.[2]

He settled in Polk County, Wisconsin, in 1892, and purchased 40 acres of land in the town of Apple River. He subsequently purchased another 140 acres in the neighboring town of Beaver. He operated his land as a dairy farm and cattle ranch.[2]

He became active in local affairs and was elected to several terms as town clerk, member of the school board, and justice of the peace. He helped organize the Apple River and Beaver Creamery and served as secretary and manager of that organization, and was also a stockholder and director of the Polk County Cooperative Association.[2]

He was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1908, running on the Republican Party ticket, and was re-elected in 1910. In his first two terms, he represented the district that comprised both Burnett and Polk counties.[3] Following the redistricting act of 1911, Polk County became its own Assembly district. Johnson was elected to represent that district again in 1912, 1914, and 1918.

In 1916, Johnson ran for

29th State Senate district, but lost in the primary to Algodt C. Anderson.[4] There was also some discussion at the beginning of 1916 that the La Follette faction of the Republican party might want to run Johnson as a candidate in a primary challenge against congressman Irvine Lenroot, but that challenge was ultimately abandoned in favor of the Senate race.[5]

During his final term in the Assembly in 1919–1920, he was chairman of the committee on State Affairs, and was one of the leaders of the prohibition movement. He led the effort in the Wisconsin Legislature to ratify the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and then worked on the passage of Wisconsin's legislation for the enforcement of prohibition.[6]

During that session, he was also the author of the so-called "dog tax", which created a licensing requirement for owning a dog—each dog required a license, the owner would have to pay a fee for each license.[7] The new fees created an uproar, beginning in Johnson's home county of Polk, with hundreds of dog owners declaring their refusal to pay.[8]

Johnson did not stand for re-election in 1920.

Personal life and family

Axel Johnson was a son of Christ and Johanna (née Peterson) Johnson.[2]

He married Carrie "Lizzie" Peterson, a daughter of Danish immigrants, on December 5, 1894. They had six children.[2]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1908, 1910)

Wisconsin Assembly, Burnett–Polk District Election, 1908[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 3, 1908
Republican Axel Johnson 4,155 81.81% +14.89%
Democratic F. A. Partlow 924 18.19%
Plurality 3,231 63.61% +29.78%
Total votes 5,079 100.0% +67.02%
Republican hold
Wisconsin Assembly, Burnett–Polk District Election, 1910[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 8, 1910
Republican Axel Johnson (incumbent) 2,414 83.53% +1.72%
Social Democratic C. W. Staples 476 16.47%
Plurality 1,938 67.06% +3.44%
Total votes 2,890 100.0% -43.10%
Republican hold

Wisconsin Assembly (1912, 1914)

Wisconsin Assembly, Polk County District Election, 1912[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 5, 1912
Republican Axel Johnson (incumbent) 2,187 86.75%
Social Democratic C. W. Staples 332 13.17%
Democratic Ole S. Lee (write-in) 2 0.08%
Plurality 1,855 73.58%
Total votes 2,521 100.0%
Republican win (new seat)
Wisconsin Assembly, Polk County District Election, 1914[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 3, 1914
Republican Axel Johnson (incumbent) 1,012 69.46% -17.29%
Democratic Ole S. Lee 445 30.54%
Plurality 567 38.92% -34.67%
Total votes 1,457 100.0% -42.21%
Republican hold

Wisconsin Senate (1916)

Wisconsin Senate, 29th District Special Election, 1916[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Primary, September 5, 1916
Republican Algodt C. Anderson 2,851 46.68%
Republican Axel Johnson 1,706 27.93%
Republican Frank Pierce 1,551 25.39%
Plurality 1,145 18.75%
Total votes 6,108 100.0%

Wisconsin Assembly (1918)

Wisconsin Assembly, Polk County District Election, 1918[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 5, 1918
Republican Axel Johnson 1,617 68.00% -0.74%
Democratic O. W. Lund 761 32.00%
Plurality 856 36.00% -1.48%
Total votes 2,378 100.0% -33.74%
Republican hold

References

  1. ^ a b Hunter, Paul F., ed. (1919). "Biographical Sketches". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1919 (Report). Wisconsin State Printing Board. p. 499. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Easton, Augustus B. (ed.). History of the Saint Croix Valley. Vol. 2. H. C. Cooper Jr. & Co. pp. 1006–1007. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  3. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .
  4. ^ a b "Biographical Sketches". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1917 (Report). Wisconsin Industrial Commission. 1917. p. 515. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  5. Newspapers.com
    .
  6. Newspapers.com
    .
  7. ^ An Act ... relating to the licensing of dogs, and making an appropriation (PDF) (Act 527). Wisconsin Legislature. 1919. pp. 774–781. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  8. Newspapers.com
    .
  9. ^ Beck, J. D., ed. (1911). "Biographical Sketches". The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin 1911 (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 753. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  10. ^ "Biographical Sketches". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1913 (Report). Wisconsin Industrial Commission. 1913. p. 679. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  11. ^ "Biographical Sketches". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1915 (Report). Wisconsin Industrial Commission. 1915. p. 529. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Burnett–Polk district
January 4, 1909 – January 6, 1913 		District abolished
District established Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Polk County district
January 6, 1913 – January 1, 1917 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Carl B. Casperson
 Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Polk County district
January 6, 1919 – January 3, 1921 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Axel_Johnson_(Wisconsin_politician)&oldid=1210067536"