[2] During his first term La Follette enacted state ownership of public utilities, conservation and employment programs to help the unemployed.

Additionally, La Follette helped set up a program for unemployment insurance, the first of its kind in the country, and a single state-wide labor code.

[2][1] La Follette was defeated in the Republican primary because of the worsening conditions of the Great Depression, as well as broader dissatisfaction with his service as governor.

[3]: 177  Additionally, La Follette employed his secretary, Thomas Duncan and state adjudant general Ralph Immell to develop a plan to finance and assemble administrative details for the program respectively.

[6]: 178  Alongside the other two, Ralph Hoyt, a Milwaukee lawyer, was charged with developing methods to circumvent financial limitations in the state constitution.

[5] The plan additionally was ironed out over a week in early May with several of Roosevelt's directors and advisors, such as Harry Hopkins, Frank Walker, Harold Ickes, and Rexford Tugwell.

[5] When the legislation was finally submitted to the legislature, Democrats turned against the governor, accusing La Follette of using the bill as a means of gaining more control over work relief in the state.

[5] To try and push the legislature to support his bill, La Follette began a campaign, using the bully pulpit to appeal to the constituents of opposed senators.

[5] Within the legislation, it provided for the creation of a Wisconsin Finance Authority, which was intended to bypass financial restrictions within the state constitution.

[5] Additionally, the bill contained provisions for old age pensions, public school subsidies, and an amendment to balance the state budget.

The session immediately drew controversy as members of both major parties left the chamber shouting "heil" in a mock Nazi salute.

At this rally he had the area decorated in red, white, and blue, with a military band playing marching music and other patriotic songs and football players for the University of Wisconsin-Madison acting as ushers and bouncers for the event.

[6]: 219  By the 1938 elections, the divisions in the state Progressive Party had grown even more wide, and while La Follette and his brother remained neutral, they privately supported their ally Ekern over the more radical Amlie in the Senate primary that year, and their lack of endorsement exacerbated tensions between both sides, with supporters of Amlie threatening to leave the party over it.

Similar to 1940, the progressive candidates all faced defeat in their bids, including Robert Jr.[6]: 248–249 After the war, La Follette made an effort to rebuild his legal office, pursue other ventures, and become more involved in the lives of his children.

[6]: 251 Once the war broke out, La Follette became an isolationist, criticizing the British and French governments for not doing enough to stop the rise of Adolf Hitler.

[6]: 229–230 Eventually, La Follette found himself involved with the America First Committee, working alongside figures such as Charles Lindbergh, which led some to assume he had shifted towards more conservative politics.

[8][2] Following the Attack on Pearl Harbor, La Follette abandoned his isolationism and enlisted in the army, serving at Fort Myer, Virginia, for a time before transferring to the Pacific Theater.

[9] It was in the Pacific Theater that La Follette developed an admiration for MacArthur, comparing him to Julius Caesar, George Washington, and Ulysses S.

[8] Following the end of the war, La Follette was offered a position as military governor of Bavaria, which had been within the American occupation zone of Germany.

Despite his own personal desire to take up the role, he eventually turned down the offer, citing both monetary concerns and his belief that he did not have the support of president Harry S.

Such a slate included many people La Follette had opposed during the Great Depression, but worked with out of a common interest to support MacArthur, a fact which perplexed many of his contemporaries.

[6]: 256 After his time at Hazeltine, La Follette returned to Madison, where he retired to practice law part-time and continue writing his autobiography.

[13] La Follette married Isabel Bacon in 1923, and had three children with her; Robert III, Judith, and Sherry, born 1926, 1929, and 1936 respectively; none of them went on to pursue careers in politics.