Ever wondered about Minnesota’s “off-beat” politics? Have we always supported politicians as diverse as Hubert Humphrey, Jesse Ventura, Michele Bachmann, and Al Franken? Ever wondered “What was the Grange?” or “Who was Floyd Olson?” or “How did we get a DFL instead of a regular Democratic Party?”

Historian and former candidate for lieutenant governor on the Green Party ticket Rhoda Gilman answers these questions in Stand Up! The Story of Minnesota’s Protest Tradition. The book is a brief and readable overview of the Gopher State’s 150 years of rebellious and contentious politics, from the struggles over land and slavery in territorial times to the Occupy movement of the twenty-first century.

As John Van Hecke says on MN2020, “Pick it up. Read it. Then, share it with your kids or a friend. Minnesota’s past is much too important to let it go unlearned. Or worse, forgotten.”

Learn more about Minnesota’s history of challenging the status quo with Rhoda Gilman:

Thursday February 23 at Mill City Museum or

Tuesday May 13 at the Minnesota History Center’s History Lounge.