Knute Nelson

Knute Nelson served as a Senator from Minnesota in the United States Congress from 1883 to 1923. A member of the Republican Party, Knute Nelson contributed to the legislative process during 8 terms in office.

Knute Nelson’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the Senate, Knute Nelson participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

Knute Nelson (born Knud Evanger; February 2, 1843 – April 28, 1923) was a Norwegian-born American attorney and politician active in Wisconsin and Minnesota. A Republican, he served in state and national positions: he was elected to the Wisconsin and Minnesota legislatures and to the U.S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate from Minnesota, and served as the 12th governor of Minnesota from 1893 to 1895. Having served in the Senate for 28 years, 55 days, he is the longest-serving Senator in Minnesota’s history. Nelson is known for promoting the Nelson Act of 1889 to consolidate Minnesota’s Ojibwe/Chippewa on a reservation in western Minnesota and break up their communal land by allotting it to individual households, with sales of the remainder to anyone, including non-natives. This was similar to the Dawes Act of 1887, which applied to Native American lands in the Indian Territory.