Wallace M. Short, a clergyman influenced by the Social Gospel of Washington Gladden and the Progressivism of Robert M. La Follette, was defrocked by the Congregational Church in 1916, in large part for his opposition to prohibition and his defense of organized labor. Two years later he became mayor of Sioux City, Iowa, and for the next three decades he was a conspicuous figure in state politics

Colbert, Thomas Burnell

English

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University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
Great Plains Quarterly Great Plains Studies, Center for 
1986 
Wallace M. Short: Iowa Rebel By William H. Cumberland 
Thomas Burnell Colbert 
Marshalltown Community College 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsquarterly 
 Part of the Other International and Area Studies Commons 
Colbert, Thomas Burnell, "Wallace M. Short: Iowa Rebel By William H. Cumberland" (1986). Great Plains 
Quarterly. 941. 
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsquarterly/941 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Great Plains Studies, Center for at 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Great Plains Quarterly by an 
authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. 
BOOK REVIEWS 311 
Wallace M. Short: Iowa Rebel. By William H. 
Cumberland. Ames: Iowa State University 
Press, 1983. Photographs, notes, bibliogra-
phy, index. ix + 178 pp. $14.95. 
Wallace M. Short, a clergyman influenced 
by the Social Gospel of Washington Gladden 
and the Progressivism of Robert M. La Fol-
lette, was defrocked by the Congregational 
Church in 1916, in large part for his opposi-
tion to prohibition and his defense of orga-
nized labor. Two years later he became mayor 
of Sioux City, Iowa, and for the next three 
decades he was a conspicuous figure in state 
politics. 
Following three terms as mayor, Short 
failed in 1923 to receive the Republican 
nomination for Congress. Three years later he 
unsuccessfully ran for mayor again. Only once 
more did he win office: one term in the state 
legislature (1931-1933). By then he was an 
established journalist with his own newspaper, 
The Unionist and Public Forum. 
Editor Short promoted the interests not 
only of unions but also of the Farmers' Union 
and the Farm Holiday Association. Opposing 
both Republican policies and the New Deal, he 
helped form the Farmer-Labor Party, twice 
running for governor on its ticket. During 
World War II, however, he did support the 
Roosevelt administration and afterward en-
dorsed the foreign policy of Henry A. Wallace. 
Short retired in 1949 and died at age 
eighty-six in 1953. He had enjoyed an eventful 
life, but one which left a question: How should 
he be appraised? He considered himself a 
progressive while others saw him as a radical. 
He was a sincere man who fought for social 
justice in an era of far-reaching change and 
312 GREAT PLAINS QUARTERLY, FALL 1986 
increasingly became a "twentieth century 
Populist who found the well being of the family 
farm and small business synonymous with 
American civilization" (p. 95). In all, he might 
best be remembered by his motto for The 
Unionist and Public Forum: "This is our coun-
try. It is a place for us to be happy in: Not 
merely a place for a few to get rich in" (p. 86). 
Relying on Short's personal papers and 
writings, as well as newspaper accounts and 
other sources, William H. Cumberland has 
produced an informative, although sometimes 
convoluted, view of Short and his times-not a 
simple task, for Short was "not an easy man to 
understand" (p. vii). 
THOMAS BURNELL COLBERT 
Department of Social Sciences 
Marshalltown Community College 


Wallace M. Short: Iowa Rebel By William H. Cumberland

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Great Plains Quarterly Great Plains Studies, Center for 1986 Wallace M. Short: Iowa Rebel By William H. Cumberland Thomas Burnell Colbert Marshalltown Community College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsquarterly  Part of the Other International and Area Studies Commons Colbert, Thomas Burnell, "Wallace M. Short: Iowa Rebel By William H. Cumberland" (1986). Great Plains Quarterly. 941. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsquarterly/941 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Great Plains Studies, Center for at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Great Plains Quarterly by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. BOOK REVIEWS 311 Wallace M. Short: Iowa Rebel. By William H. Cumberland. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1983. Photographs, notes, bibliogra-phy, index. ix + 178 pp. $14.95. Wallace M. Short, a clergyman influenced by the Social Gospel of Washington Gladden and the Progressivism of Robert M. La Fol-lette, was defrocked by the Congregational Church in 1916, in large part for his opposi-tion to prohibition and his defense of orga-nized labor. Two years later he became mayor of Sioux City, Iowa, and for the next three decades he was a conspicuous figure in state politics. Following three terms as mayor, Short failed in 1923 to receive the Republican nomination for Congress. Three years later he unsuccessfully ran for mayor again. Only once more did he win office: one term in the state legislature (1931-1933). By then he was an established journalist with his own newspaper, The Unionist and Public Forum. Editor Short promoted the interests not only of unions but also of the Farmers' Union and the Farm Holiday Association. Opposing both Republican policies and the New Deal, he helped form the Farmer-Labor Party, twice running for governor on its ticket. During World War II, however, he did support the Roosevelt administration and afterward en-dorsed the foreign policy of Henry A. Wallace. Short retired in 1949 and died at age eighty-six in 1953. He had enjoyed an eventful life, but one which left a question: How should he be appraised? He considered himself a progressive while others saw him as a radical. He was a sincere man who fought for social justice in an era of far-reaching change and 312 GREAT PLAINS QUARTERLY, FALL 1986 increasingly became a "twentieth century Populist who found the well being of the family farm and small business synonymous with American civilization" (p. 95). In all, he might best be remembered by his motto for The Unionist and Public Forum: "This is our coun-try. It is a place for us to be happy in: Not merely a place for a few to get rich in" (p. 86). Relying on Short's personal papers and writings, as well as newspaper accounts and other sources, William H. Cumberland has produced an informative, although sometimes convoluted, view of Short and his times-not a simple task, for Short was "not an easy man to understand" (p. vii). THOMAS BURNELL COLBERT Department of Social Sciences Marshalltown Community College 

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Wallace M. Short: Iowa Rebel By William H. Cumberland

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