Victor
Berger,
the son of an innkeeper, was born in Nieder-Rehbach, Austria-Hungary,
on 28th February, 1860. After attending the universities of Vienna
and Budapest, Berger emigrated to the United States in 1878.
Berger did a variety of different jobs before becoming a teacher in
the German-speaking city of Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. He soon became involved in radical politics and this resulted
in him losing his job. In 1892 Berger established his own German-language
daily newspaper, the Wisconsin Vorwarts.
When this closed in 1901 Berger replaced it with the Social
Democratic Herald.
In 1901 Berger joined with Eugene Debs and
Morris Hillquit to establish the American
Socialist Party. The party was very strong in Milwaukee and played
a major role in the city's government for the next fifty years. In
1910 Berger became the first socialist
in the United States to be elected to Congress. The following year
he proposed a bill to provide old age pensions.
Berger was a strong opponent of America's involvement in the First
World War. In 1918 he was charged under the Espionage
Act and after being found guilty was sentenced to twenty years
in prison. While free on appeal, Berger was elected to Congress in
1919 with an increased majority. In 1921 the Supreme
Court overturned Berger's conviction.
As well as representing the people of Milwaukee in Congress, Berger
edited the Milwaukee Leader
(1911-1921) and served as chairman of the American
Socialist Party (1927-1929). A collection of his speeches and
editorials, Voice and Pen, was published in 1929. Victor Berger
died on 16th July, 1929, from injuries sustained in a streetcar accident
in Milwaukee.
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