The Minnesota State Government in the Great Depression

Minnesota had a number of industries in the 1930s that played key roles in determining state policy. These industries included agriculture, flour, and lumber. During the time period, Minnesota politics became more radical in order to address the vast changes taking place that were brought on by the Great Depression. This radicalism brought on one of the most powerful state level third parties the nation has ever seen and possibly Minnesota's most successful governor. From 1929 to 1940, Minnesota's state legislature had many obstacles to overcome including an economic bubble in the agriculture industry, teamster strikes within the Twin Cities, and radical state-level politics. The legislature implemented numerous programs and tax policy changes to face these challenges, while the federal government passed the New Deal to address many of the same issues from a federal level. Many of these policies have been described by historians as successful while others have not. Based upon the statistics provided by the University of Arizona Economics Department, there may have been underlying economic factors that were overlooked