NONPARTISAN LEAGUE

also called Farmers' Nonpartisan League, or (after 1917) National Nonpartisan League in U.S. history, alliance of farmers to secure state control of marketing facilities by endorsing a pledged supporter from either major party. It was founded in North Dakota by a Socialist, Arthur C. Townley, in 1915, at the height of the Progressive movement in the Northwest. To protect the farmer from alleged wheat trade monopolies by speculators and officials, the league demanded state-owned mills, grain elevators, banks, and hail insurance companies. In 1916 the league candidate, Lynn J. Frazier, won the North Dakota gubernatorial election, and in 1919 the state legislature enacted the entire league program. The league gradually declined in the 1920s and after 1932 became a rigid political machine. It affiliated with the Democrats in 1956.