The Credit Union Movement: A Historical Look at Nineteenth and Twentieth- Century Origins and Principles Applied to the Chippewa Valley

Abstract

This paper examines the history and principles of credit unions and cooperatives in part one and applies them to a credit union in the Chippewa Valley of Western Wisconsin. Credit Unions have been a stable financial choice beginning in Germany in the nineteenth-century through present day. This paper examines the role credit unions played in promoting economic growth from its rural and urban beginnings and during the poor economic times, affecting small shop keepers, artisans, and small farmers due to the industrial revolution in the mid nineteenth-century. It tracks the credit union movement from Europe to North America and its growth in the early twentieth-century to present day. Research looks to examine the individuals and organizations responsible for influencing the credit union movement and the growth that took place. Further, the paper explores Eau Claire, Wisconsin's Uniroyal Tire Company Employee Credit Union, known today as Royal Credit Union, its original charter, and its influence over the last 40 years on economic activity in the Chippewa Valley region of West Central Wisconsin. Researching the growth of Royal Credit Union consists of examining its compilation of historical manuscripts; Federal Call Reports listed with the National Credit Union Administration, and an oral interview.