Floyd B. Olson

Floyd Bjørnstjerne "Skipper" Olson (November 13, 1891 – August 22, 1936) was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 22nd Governor of Minnesota from January 6, 1931, to August 22, 1936, dying in office of stomach cancer. Olson was a member of the Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party, and the second member of that party to win the office of governor. He was a prominent governor of Minnesota and an influential American politician.

Early life
Floyd B. Olson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on the North Side of the city. He was the only child of Norwegian and Swedish immigrants Paul Olsen and Ida Maria (née Nilsdotter). The North Side, where Olson grew up, was the home of a sizable community of Orthodox Jews, and his friendships with some of the local Jewish families led to him serving as a shabbos goy, assisting Jews on the Sabbath by performing actions they were prohibited from doing. It was at this time that Olson learned Yiddish through the Jewish neighbors he knew as a child. Years later he would speak the language fluently while campaigning for public office in Jewish communities, in addition to having several Jewish advisors while in office.

In 1909, Olson graduated from North Minneapolis High School. Olson then went to work on construction of the Northern Pacific Railway. The next year he returned to the state, studying at the University of Minnesota–Minneapolis for a year. Following his time at UM–Minneapolis, Olson left the state for work, holding several jobs in Canada and Alaska as a laborer before he settled in Seattle, Washington. as a longshoreman. At this time, he joined the Industrial Workers of the World an, through his reading, began to develop a populist ideology influenced by socialism. In 1913 he returned to Minnesota and attended Northwestern College of Law in St. Paul. He eventually graduated and earned his law degree in 1915. That same year he was raised to the bar. In 1917, Olson met and married Ada Krejci in New Prague, Minnesota, and began a legal practice.

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District Attorney of Hennepin County
In 1919, Olson was accepted for the job of Assistant Hennepin County Attorney. The following year, following a scandal whereby the previous County Attorney was fired for corruption and accepting bribes, Olson became the next County Attorney. During his tenure Olson made sure never to become similar to his predecessor.

As Hennepin County Attorney, Olson quickly gained notoriety as a stern and fair prosecutor who went after corrupt officials and businessmen. In a highly publicized case, he prosecuted members of the Ku Klux Klan in a combined effort with governors Lindbergh and Christianson, U.S. Attorney General WIP, and U.S. President James M. Cox. During his handling of the case Olson gained both respect and hatred for his actions in prosecuting the Klan.

In 1923, Olson began a case against the leadership of the Minnesota Citizens Alliance, a conservative pro-business organization, after they hired a hitman to bomb the home of an oppositional union leader. Olson's vigorous prosecution of the Citizens Alliance made him a steadfast ally of the labor movement, who would encourage him to run for the nomination of the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party in the 1924 gubernatorial election

Due to his popularity, Olson was reelected as District Attorney in both the 1922 and 1926 elections for the office.

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Congressional bids
In the lead-up to the 1920 United States Congressional electons, Olson ran for the Democratic nomination in Minnesota's 5th Congressional district, but was eliminated in the primary. He also ran again for the Democratic nomination in 1924, but failed to do so. This would be the last bid for public office Olson made under the Democratic Party label.

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1924 Gubernatorial bid
In 1924, during the height of his tenure, having secured the endorsement of the Hennepin County Farmer-Labor Central Committee, Olson ran for governor on the Farmer-Labor ticket after winning a tough primary battle against Tom Davis with 28% of the vote. Despite his vocal support for and from third party presidential candidate Robert M. La Follette, Olson was unable to unseat the incumbent Christianson in the election, even while La Follette won the state nationally. In the election, Olson received 45% of the vote to Theodore Christianson's 49%, with the Democratic nominee, Carlos Avery, coming in at a distant 4%.

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Election
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Tenure
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Final months
On November 18, 1935, Olson decided on running against progressive senator Thomas Schall in 1936. However, Olson's health had begun to deteriorate. Having suffered from stomach ulcers ever since he was elected, Olson went to the Mayo Clinic the following month and was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Conflicted on whether to inform him on the severity of his condition, his doctors eventually agreed on the importance of telling him and Olson was informed his condition was terminal. Olson, after learning the severity of his condition, decided to rescind his decision to run against Schall and instead endorsed WIP to run in his place.

After Olson learned of his diagnosis, he set to work to plan for what would come next following his death. During this time he conversed extensively with his allies on what to do, who to designate as his successor, and who to run for office in upcoming elections. In effect, Olson spent much of this time writing his political will, for which his followers and allies would enact upon his death.

Not helping his condition much, Olson resumed his duties as governor, and also began to organize the 1936 Farmer-Labor state convention, which added further stress on to his body, and further shortened his lifespan. As he stumped across the state, promising to support federal ownership of monopolies, his cancer metastasized. Olson made his last public appearance on June 29, 1936, giving a stump speech in Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis. The next day, he returned to the Mayo Clinic for treatment, but it was too late. He died there on August 22 at the age of 44.

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Death
Olson died on August 22, 1936 at Mayo Clinic due to metastatized stomach cancer.