Robert M. La Follete Sr. (The Misfire)

Robert Marion La Follete Sr. (June 14, 1855 - December 29, 1934) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 26th President of the United States from 1921 to 1929. He was the second president from the Progressive Party, which quickly became one of the dominant political parties in the United States after being founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1912.

Born in Primrose, Wisconsin and raised in Argyle, Wisconsin, La Follete's father died in 1856, and he had a bad relationship with his stepfather. Following the death of his stepfather, his mother sold the family farm, and they moved to nearby Madison, Wisconsin. He taught school for tuition money, and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was "a very mediocre student who enjoyed social activities". He was deeply influenced by University president John Bascom on issues of morality, justice, and social ethics. While attending school, he met Belle Case, who he later married and had four children with. He attended law school, and started his own law practice, where he practiced law for three years before entering politics.

After serving in the Wisconsin State Assembly for a single two-year term, La Follete was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican in 1888, where he served for two four-year terms. In 1902, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served for two four-year terms, and he served as Governor of Wisconsin from 1912 to 1916, when he became President Theodore Roosevelt's vice president. After easily securing the Republican nomination, La Follete won the 1920 presidential election, and served as President of the United States for two terms from 1921 to 1929.

After leaving office, La Follete wrote a book called The Progressive Agenda, which dealt with the agenda and policies of the Progressive Party. He endorsed and campaigned for Progressive candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1934 election, and was saddened by his loss to Herbert Hoover. La Follete's health had already been in decline for several years by this time, and he died of pneumonia on December 29, 1934. He is remembered as a good president, and an avid champion of the Progressive cause.