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OBJECT HISTORY: National Guard Nightstick
In mid-May 1933, battles, clashes, and strikes erupted throughout Wisconsin. The catalyst? Milk. Armed with nightsticks, with support from tear gas and machine guns, Governer Albert G. Schmedeman tasked the National Guard with defending the county’s dairy production plants and shipments of milk from striking farmers.
The Wisconsin Milk Strikes of 1933
As the effects of the 1929 Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression rippled through the United States, many working-class Americans felt the economic impacts, including Wisconsin’s farmers. Angry and desperate at the decreasing price that they were receiving for milk, many of Wisconsin’s farmers, producers, and shippers joined a series of three strikes in 1933, colloquially known as the Wisconsin Milk Strikes.
The Consolidated Badger Cooperative and the Shawano Milk Strike of May 1933
After the 1929 Wall Street Market Crash and the subsequent Great Depression, Wisconsin farmers struggled to meet the costs of production associated with dairy commodities. Consequently, the Consolidated Badger Cooperative formed in Shawano, which sought to represent the collective grievances of famers, producers, and shippers in Shawano County.