Minnesota Governor Floyd B. Olson (1891 – 1936) threatened to impose martial law throughout the state in order to confiscate private wealth should his economic relief bill be defeated in the Minnesota Senate:


“A lot of people who are now fighting relief measures because they happen to possess considerable wealth will be brought in by provost guard and be obliged to give up more than they would now… There is not going to be misery in this State if I can humanly prevent it.”


The various reactions from both left and right also appear in this column.


Click here to read about the first 100 days of the Roosevelt administration.


CLICK HERE to read additional primary source articles about the Great Depression…


– from Amazon


Read The Governor Who Threatened Martial Law<br>(Literary Digest, 1933) for Free

Minnesota Governor Floyd B Olson primary source article 1933Class Warfare of Minnesota Governor Floyd B Olson 1933minnesota politics 1930sminnesota politics during the great depressionliberal Minnesota policies during the GREAT DEPRESSION1930s liberal Minnesota Governor Floyd B Olson1930s Minnesota historyMinnesota during the 1930sMinnesota during the great depressionsocialism in 1930s america
Scroll to Top