North Dakota's Non-Partisan League political movement

THE NON-PARTISAN LEAGUE OF NORTH DAKOTA
Northern Great Plains, 1880-1920

From the time North Dakota was first settled, farmers disliked having to deal with out-of-state banks, grain companies, and railroad companies. They also disliked the power these businesses held in North Dakota politics. Farmers felt that they were not being treated fairly. In 1915 farmers formed the Nonpartisan League (NPL) in North Dakota. NPL members thought that state ownership of grain elevators, flour mills, and banks would solve many of their problems. They trusted their own state more than they did outsiders.

North Dakota began a state-owned bank in 1919 and built a state-owned mill and elevator in 1922, both of which are still in operation today. Through the election of 1916 they took control of state government but lost much of their power beginning in 1920. The NPL did not solve as many farm problems as they had hoped. By 1925, because of internal disagreements and the economic depression of the early 1920s, the NPL had lost much of its power.
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North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party
Party of the People
History of the NPL and Democratic Party
By Buskshot Hoffner

People still ask questions about North Dakota's Non-Partisan League (NPL). Why was the NPL started? Why did this progressive-liberal organization end up joining the Democratic Party? To find out, read on.

People still ask me questions about North Dakota's Nonpartisan League (NPL). Why was the NPL started? Why did this progressive-liberal organization end up joining the Democratic Party?

From statehood in 1889 to 1915, there was really only one party in power in North Dakota, and that was the Republican Party. They had complete control of the State House and Senate and the governor's office. In all that time, there were many progressive, liberal-thinking people in the Republican Party with little or no voice. These progressives were not only fed up, but just plain angry.

In 1916, this North Dakota group sold $16 memberships and started the Non-Partisan League. That year they had a convention, passed a platform and selected candidates, which they file in the Republican column in the primary election. They elected Lynn J. Frazier governor and made gains in the legislature. In his message to the legislature, Governor Frazier asked that farmers and small businesses be allowed to pay their taxes in two increments of six months each, that interest rates be reduced, that women be given minimum wage and safer working conditions, that state employees be considered civil service, that rural schools be improved, and the list goes on. The message was taken from the platform and adopted by the NPL.

In the 1918 election, the NPL took control of the North Dakota House and Senate and re-elected Governor Frazier. This amount of NPL control resulted in the establishment of the Bank of North Dakota, the State Mill and Elevator, a three-person Industrial Commission, state hail insurance, and many other programs.

As years went by, the NPL's control gradually eroded and the Republican money in the primaries was too much to overcome. In 1956, the NPL took a major step and filed its candidates in the Democratic column in the primary election
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The Non Partisan League (NPL), born in 1915, united progressives, reformers, and radicals behind a platform that called for reforms to return control of North Dakota's government and economy to the people. Taking leadership of the state in 1919, the NPL formed the Bank of North Dakota (BND). Today it is the only state-owned bank in the U.S.

The bank was originally formed to create additional competition in the credit industry while providing a local source of capital for state investment and development. At the time the nearest financial centers were based in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and farmers were unable to get long-term financing at reasonable rates. BND was formed to "encourage and promote agriculture, commerce and industry in North Dakota."

The bank is governed by the ND Industrial Commission, consisting of the governor, attorney general and the commissioner of agriculture, all elected officials. The commission, in effect, serves as the bank's board of directors; it was formed with three members so voters could more easily monitor and influence bank policy.

In contrast to most commercial banks, Bank of North Dakota is not a member of the Federal Depository Insurance Corporation (FDIC). North Dakota Century Code 6-09.10 provides that all deposits in the Bank of North Dakota are guaranteed by the state.

The primary deposit base of the BNC is the State of North Dakota. All state funds and funds of state institutions are deposited with the bank as required by law. Other deposits are accepted from any source- savings and checking accounts from private sources account for between 10 percent and 20 percent of the bank's deposit base. Use of the banks' earnings are at the discretion of the state legislature. As an agent of the state it can make subsidized loans to spur development; however, its profits and losses affect state tax burdens.

The bank is used as a tool for economic development. A beginning farmer revolving loan fund was originally established through a transfer of funds from the Bank of North Dakota's profits. With its' agricultural loans the bank has developed a reputation for being more lenient than other banks in pressing forclosures.

On behalf of the State of North Dakota, the BND also administers state lending programs that promote agricultural and economic development. For example, under the PACE program for commercial and agricultural lending, a local bank originates a loan, the Bank of North Dakota participates at a rate determined by the community's economic strength (between 50 percent and 80 percent). The local economic development group and the BND "buy down" the interest rate to 3 points below prime. Since its inception in June 1991, the BND has participated in about $44 million in PACE loans to businesses.

The bank serves many other functions in the state. It underwrites municipal bonds for all of the political units in the state, and has been one of the leading banks in the nation in the number of student loans issued. The bank also serves as the state's "Mini Fed", clearing checks for more than 100 banks scattered around the state. Because of its' rural nature, many ND banks tend to be too small to meet the needs of borrowers. Banks, savings and loan associations and credit unions throughout the state come to the Bank of North Dakota for participation in loans.

As a result of the banks' services, it enjoys widespread support among the public and the independent banking community. No bill has been introduced in the legislature to do away with the bank since the 1920s.

The full code governing the organization of BND is found in the North Dakota Century Code Chapter 6. See in particular the sections listed below: