# Edwin Knappe
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{{short description|American politician}}
[[File:Edwin W. Knappe 1919.jpg|thumb|right|Knappe's official [State Assembly](/source/Wisconsin_State_Assembly) portrait, 1919]]
'''Edwin William Knappe''' (January 14, 1884 – February 5, 1971) was an [American](/source/Americans) [machinist](/source/machinist) from [Milwaukee](/source/Milwaukee) who became a [lawyer](/source/lawyer), and who served one term as a [Socialist](/source/Socialist_Party_of_America) member of the [Wisconsin State Assembly](/source/Wisconsin_State_Assembly).[[http://legis.state.wi.us/LRB/pubs/ib/99ib1.pdf Cannon, A. Peter, ed. ''Members of the Wisconsin Legislature: 1848 – 1999.'' State of Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau Informational Bulletin 99-1, September 1999; p. 71] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061209014416/http://legis.state.wi.us/LRB/pubs/ib/99ib1.pdf |date=December 9, 2006 }}]
== Background ==
Knappe was born in Milwaukee on January 14, 1884, son of Herman William Knappe and Anna Miller Knappe. He attended Milwaukee's [public schools](/source/state_school), including one year at [West Division High School](/source/West_Division_High_School).["Senate Goal of These Men: Biographies Given" ''[Milwaukee Journal](/source/Milwaukee_Journal)'' August 8, 1946; p. 8, col. 3] He left school at the age of 15 and became a [journeyman](/source/journeyman) machinist. In 1905, about the time he joined the Socialist Party,[[http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1913 ''The Wisconsin blue book'' Madison: Democrat Printing Co., State Printer, 1913; pp. 281, 675-76]] Having spent three years in the Evening [Law School](/source/law_school) of [Marquette University](/source/Marquette_University), he passed his [bar examination](/source/bar_examination) in 1913. He practiced law as a member of the firm of Kleist, Harriman & Knappe, and served as Milwaukee election commissioner from 1915 to 1918. He remained a member of the [Machinists Union](/source/International_Association_of_Machinists) ([Lodge](/source/local_union) #66) and served as attorney for District 10 of that union.[[http://www.library.gsu.edu/dlib/iam/getBrandedPDF.asp?issue_id=375 Knappe, Edwin W. "Correspondence" ''Machinists' Monthly Journal'' vol. XXXI, no. 3 (March 1919); p. 268]]
A collection of Knappe's personal and professional papers resides at Milwaukee Public Library.[{{Cite web |last=Knappe |first=Edwin W. |title=Edwin W. Knappe Papers, 1824-1998 |url=http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.mwpl-lhmc0168 |access-date=2023-07-29}}]
== Public office ==
He was elected to the Assembly in 1918 to succeed fellow Socialist and lawyer [Glenn P. Turner](/source/Glenn_P._Turner) (who like Knappe was a member of Kleist, Harriman & Knappe) in representing the Tenth [Milwaukee County](/source/Milwaukee_County%2C_Wisconsin) Assembly District (the 21st and 25th [Wards](/source/wards_of_the_United_States) of the City of Milwaukee). He received 3,959 votes to 1,211 for [Democrat](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) Theo. Thielges; and was appointed to the [standing committee](/source/standing_committee) on state affairs.[[http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1919 Hunter, Paul F., ed. ''The Wisconsin blue book, 1919'' Madison: Democrat Printing Co., State Printer, 1919; pp. 162, 446, 494]]
He did not run for re-election in 1920, and was succeeded by fellow Socialist [Fred Hasley](/source/Fred_Hasley) (who was elected without opposition).[[http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1921 ''The Wisconsin blue book, 1921'' Madison: 1921; p. 280]]
== After the Assembly ==
In 1928 he was the Socialist candidate for Milwaukee County [district attorney](/source/district_attorney),["Berger Heads Socialist List" ''[Milwaukee Sentinel](/source/Milwaukee_Sentinel)'' July 20, 1928; p. 4, col. 3] coming in third with 19.43% of the vote.["Report of Board of County Canvassers" ''Milwaukee Sentinel'' December 18, 1928; p. 18, col. 1] In 1930, he was one of the Socialist nominees in the nominally [non-partisan](/source/non-partisan) [Milwaukee Board of School Directors](/source/Milwaukee_Public_Schools) election["School Board Returns Even: Both Nonpartisans and Socialists Pick Five Candidates Each" ''Milwaukee Journal'' March 18, 1931; p. 1, col. 7] In 1932 he was appointed as an assistant [city attorney](/source/city_attorney) for the City of Milwaukee under Socialist city attorney [Max Raskin](/source/Max_Raskin)["Raskin Ousts Six Niven Aids" ''Milwaukee Sentinel'' April 20, 1932; p. 3, col. 6] but lost that position when Raskin was defeated in 1936.["A City Hall Drag" ''Milwaukee Journal'' April 12, 1936; Local Section p. 1, col. 7]
In 1941, Knappe succeeded [Frank Zeidler](/source/Frank_Zeidler) as [secretary](/source/secretary_(club)) of the Wisconsin and Milwaukee County Socialist party branches.["Krueger to Speak at May Day Event" ''Milwaukee Journal'' April 17, 1941; Local Section, p. 1, col. 4]["Socialists Will Meet in City: National Party to Hold '42 Convention Here" ''Milwaukee Journal'' December 31, 1941; p. 4, col. 3] In 1942 he was the Socialist nominee for [Wisconsin's 5th congressional district](/source/Wisconsin's_5th_congressional_district) ([Victor Berger](/source/Victor_Berger)'s old seat), coming in 4th in a race which saw incumbent Republican [Lewis D. Thill](/source/Lewis_D._Thill) unseated by Democrat [Howard J. McMurray](/source/Howard_J._McMurray).[[http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1944 Ohm, Howard F.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. ''The Wisconsin blue book, 1944'' Madison: State of Wisconsin, 1944; p. 578]]
In 1944 Knappe was himself a candidate for city attorney against Walter J. Mattison, the candidate who had defeated Raskin. He asserted that [privately owned](/source/private_company) [public utilities](/source/public_utility) had created a $5 million [slush fund](/source/slush_fund) to defeat Socialists such as Raskin and himself.["Socialist Talks of Utility Fund" ''Milwaukee Journal'' March 26, 1944; Local Section, p. 1, col. 7] He was again the Socialist nominee for Congress, coming in third in a four-way race which was won by former Socialist-turned-Democrat [Andrew Biemiller](/source/Andrew_Biemiller).[[http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1946 Ohm, Howard F.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. ''The Wisconsin blue book, 1946'' Madison: State of Wisconsin, 1946; p. 671]] [In 1946, Knappe was the Socialist candidate for the United States Senate](/source/United_States_Senate_elections%2C_1946), coming in third of four candidates in a race in which [Joseph McCarthy](/source/Joseph_McCarthy), who had already ousted [Robert M. La Follette](/source/Robert_M._La_Follette%2C_Jr.) in the Republican [primary](/source/Partisan_primary), won the Senate seat against Democrat McMurray, Knappe, and an [Independent Socialist Labor](/source/Socialist_Labor_Party_of_America) candidate.[[http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1948 Ohm, Howard F.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. ''The Wisconsin blue book, 1948'' Madison: State of Wisconsin, 1948; p. 675]] He was again the Socialist nominee for Congress in the 5th District in 1948, losing again to Biemiller (who had lost his seat in 1946 to Republican [Charles J. Kersten](/source/Charles_J._Kersten); Biemiller polled 91,072 votes; Kersten 76,782; and Knappe 3,651).[[http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1950 Ohm, Howard F.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. ''The Wisconsin blue book, 1950'' Madison: State of Wisconsin, 1950; p. 754]] [In 1950 he once again was the Socialist candidate for the Senate](/source/United_States_Senate_elections%2C_1950), coming in third to Republican incumbent [Alexander Wiley](/source/Alexander_Wiley) and Democrat [Thomas E. Fairchild](/source/Thomas_E._Fairchild).[[http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1952 Toepel, M. G.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. ''The Wisconsin blue book, 1952'' Madison: State of Wisconsin, 1952; p. 744]]
== Personal life ==
He was a member and officer of the [Milwaukee Turners](/source/Milwaukee_Turners).["Rades Picked to Head Turner Group Again" ''Milwaukee Journal'' April 19, 1946; Local Section, p. 5, col. 5] As of 1946, he was married and had two children, Herman and Henrietta, by a previous marriage to Ella Kleist.