William Dempster Hoard (October 10, 1836 – November 22, 1918) was an American politician, newspaper publisher, and agriculture advocate who served as the 16th governor of Wisconsin from 1889 to 1891.

[1]: 132 [5]: 105  While working as a farmhand, Hoard witnessed the depletion of New York soil by the growing of wheat and other crops, which led to the adoption of dairy farming in the state.

[3]: 40–42, 53–54 [8]: 57  Readers received these editorials with skepticism due to Hoard's lack of experience in Wisconsin agriculture, and referred to him as a theorist and a "book farmer".

[13]: 124  The WDA sent Hoard to Chicago in 1874 to barter with railroads to secure better prices and refrigerated railcars for the transport of cheese from Wisconsin to the East Coast.

Hoard felt slighted by the group that had ignored him for three years and advocated against going under the auspices of the national association; the other members agreed, rejecting the proposal and ultimately setting up exhibits themselves.

[13]: 139–140 Through the Wisconsin Dairymen's Association, Hoard and other founders successfully lobbied for the creation of agriculture-related regulations and educational institutions, including legislation to ban skim and filled cheese,[Note 1] the establishment of farmers' institutes[Note 2] and the College of Agriculture at the University of Wisconsin.

[3]: 72 [11]: 185 [Note 3] In 1890, the group successfully campaigned for the establishment of the first dairy school in the U.S., which taught students to make butter and cheese.

[7]: 23  Oleomargarine, made by emulsifying lard with milk and water, was often dyed yellow to give it the appearance of butter and was sold as such.

[7]: 20  In 1894, Hoard founded the National Dairy Union and campaigned for an additional tax to be placed on the sale of dyed oleomargarine, which he viewed as a fraudulent product.

[11]: 77–79  While taking the census, Hoard met a family of German immigrants who could not speak English and had been tricked out of a large sum of money by English-speaking confidence tricksters.

It passed in April 1889 and mandated children in the state aged 7–14 attend school in their district of residence for at least 12 weeks per year and receive instruction in English.

[18]: 70  The latter provision was added by Hoard, who advocated for the Americanization of immigrants in the state and viewed the English-only movement as an important step in the process.

[19]: 12–13 [Note 7][18]: 70–71  Hoard, on the other hand, felt church communities focused more on growing their congregations through these schools than on fostering American citizenship.

[19]: 23  The Bennett Law became the primary issue of the election of 1890, though economic pressures attributed to the McKinley Tariff also played a significant role.

[21]: 292–293  Hoard, a political novice, refused to compromise on the law, leading previously Republican-supporting German voters to turn against the party.

[18]: 91  Historian Louise Phelps Kellogg noted the law's purpose of increasing English literacy in immigrant communities was still achieved; parochial schools sought to prove the legislation was not needed by introducing more English-language instruction in their classrooms.

[19]: 24 Following his defeat in the election of 1890, Hoard returned to his work with the Union and Dairyman, using his publications to support Robert M. La Follette.

Hoard was uneasy about La Follette's more radical positions and began to distance himself from the progressive wing of the party, completely disassociating by the end of the 1905 special session of the Wisconsin Legislature, citing La Follette's dictatorial behavior and Hoard's inability to reconcile elements of the platform that provided more social services with his own ideals.

[2]: 48 [22] In 1907, Hoard was named to the University of Wisconsin's Board of Regents, where he helped transport a dairy herd to the campus in Madison and arrange the construction of the Livestock Pavilion.

[1]: 133  Gutzon Borglum made a statue of Hoard, which was placed on Henry Mall in front of the College of Agriculture on the University of Wisconsin campus in 1922.