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{{Short description|American activist (1866–1936)}}

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1928186605}}| birth_place = Wapello County, Iowa, U.S.19360501mf=yes}} | death_place = Excelsior Springs, Missouri, U.S.| parents = John and Elizabeth (Barrice) Reno}}Milo Reno (January 5, 1866 – May 5, 1936) was president of the Iowa Farmers’ Union from 1921 to 1930 and the leader of the Farmers’ Holiday Association, a populist organization established in 1932. He was born in Wapello County, Iowa. He died in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, of a heart attack following influenza.Dictionary of American Biography, Volume XI, Part 2, Supplement 2 p. 551-552

Early career

Reno grew up in Iowa, in a family influenced by Populist politics. Reno was involved in organizing farmers. In 1918, he joined the Iowa Farmer Union and in 1921, he was elected its president. He called for better prices for farmers and public works programs, supported by a more inflationary monetary policy.He supported Democratic Party candidates in both the 1928 elections (Al Smith) and the 1932 elections (Franklin Roosevelt). He later turned against Roosevelt and the Democratic Party and bitterly criticized the New Deal by supporting such figures as Father Coughlin.The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Farmers’ Holiday Association

Reno’s public persona is largely shaped by his leadership of the Farmers’ Holiday Association, a Depression-era organization of farmers based in the Midwest that campaigned for populist measures including currency inflation, agricultural production, prices controls, and an end to foreclosures. In October 1933, in reaction against the federal Agricultural Adjustment Act, Reno led the call for a “farm strike” until the demands were met. On October 30, this call received the support of the governors of North and South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.David M. Kennedy, Freedom from Fear, p. 196

References

Choate, Jean. Disputed Ground: Farm Groups That Opposed the New Deal. 2002.Influence of Milo Reno on the Iowa Farm Holiday Association as Covered by Three Iowa Dailies Harold Andrew Stickler Iowa State College, 1958]Let Them Eat Gold: A Violent Uprising in the Great Depression. By Curtis HarnackThe Farmer Takes a Holiday: The Story of the National Farmers’ Holiday ... By Everett E. Luoma{{Reflist}}

External links

• Papers of Milo Reno (University of Iowa library)

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