Hoan, Daniel

Papers, 1889-1966
Call Number: Mss - 0546
Bulk: 53.0 cubic feet

Scope and Content:

This collection, totaling forty cubic feet of manuscript material, covers the entire political life of Mayor Hoan, encompassing the years 1910 through 1953. The majority of the material is between the years 1916 and 1940 when Hoan held office as a Socialist Mayor of Milwaukee. The material is arranged by subject matter and extensively cross referenced with appropriate dates provided.

While the collection covers every aspect of Hoan’s life and political career, there are some sections of particular interest. Approximately five cubic feet of material constitutes the general correspondence files which include both professional and personal letters. Campaign material consists of two cubic feet as does material concerning the Socialist Democratic Party of which Hoan was a prominent member. Because of Hoan’s special interest in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway, there is a sizable body of material on this subject and related matters, such as the Chicago water diversion controversy. Other areas of particular interest are the U.S. Mayor’s Conference, Housing (especially concerning the Garden Homes project), the Pan American Conferences, the Americans for Democratic Action Society, World War I, and City Attorney’s Office, a position which Hoan held prior to becoming Mayor.

Also in the collection, are to be found files of correspondence on such individuals as Victor L. Berger, Thomas Duncan, William T. Evjue, Harold Ickes, Walter Kohler, and the La Follette family. In addition to the manuscript material, there is also a large newspaper clipping file, as well as an extensive collection of pamphlets which Hoan collection, which is filed elsewhere.

Biographical Note:

Daniel Webster Hoan served as Mayor of Milwaukee form 1916 to 1940. He was born on March 31, 1881 in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He left school in the sixth grade but worked as a cook to finance his education at the University of Wisconsin, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1905. Hoan moved to Chicago after his graduation and attended Kent College, earning his Law degree in 1908. In 1909 he married his first wife, Agnes Bernice Magner. They had two children, Daniel Webster Jr. and Agnes. In 1944, after his first wife’s death, he married Gladys Arthur Townsend.

Hoan was recruited by local Socialists to Milwaukee in 1908. Working as a labor lawyer he drafted the nation’s first workmen’s compensation law in 1911. Hoan became city attorney in 1910, and he was reelected in 1914. In 1916, Hoan beat incumbent Mayor Gerhard A. Bading. Daniel Hoan was reelected six times, until in 1940 he was defeated by Carl F. Zeidler.

Hoan emphasized his Socialist party alliance, but he was more interested in improving services and government, so-called “sewer socialism”, than political theory. Hoan forged an enviable record, eliminating graft, improving the city’s health and safety, supporting harbor improvement and reducing debt. Hoan supported governmentally subscribed housing, municipal marketing of foodstuffs to combat profiteering during the depression, a minimum wage for city employees and the right to strike.

After his defeat in 1940, Hoan left the Socialist party and in 1944 became a Democrat, running unsuccessfully for governor in 1944 and 1946 and for Congress in 1948. After several strokes, Daniel Hoan died on June 11, 1961 at the age of eighty.

Other Related Collections:

Hoan Pamphlet Finding Aid
Hoan Family Mss-2110
Hoan, Daniel W. Mss-2107

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