Sewer socialism

Sewer socialism refers to the American socialist movement that centered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from around 1892 to 1960.[1] The moniker was coined by Morris Hillquit at the 1932 Milwaukee convention of the Socialist Party of America as a commentary on the Milwaukee socialists and their perpetual boasting about the excellent public sewer system in the city.[2]

  1. ^ "Socialism in Milwaukee". Wisconsin Historical Society. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
  2. ^ Louis Waldman, Labor Lawyer. New York: Dutton, 1944, p. 260. Hillquit was running against Milwaukee mayor Dan Hoan for the position of National Chairman of the Socialist Party at the 1932 convention, and the insult may have sprung up in that context.