Anti-Conservatism in North Dakota From 1920 To 1932

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature of political protest in North Dakota from 1920 to 1932 . The main sources of information used in this effort were the William Langer Papers, the William Lemke Papers, the Clyde Duffy Papers, and the Gerald P. Nye Papers. Nationally, the 1920's were a time of reaction which saw the election of a series of three conservative Republican Presidents. North Dakota, however, suffering from a prolonged recession, did not follow the lead of the rest of the nation. The state did not languish in the status quo, but rather supported vigorously the cause of progressivism . The strength of this progressivism was demonstrated by an investigation of the Presidential elections of 1920, 1924, 1928, and 1932 . In each of these election years, North Dakota showed her opposition to political conservatism . In spite of the strength of progressivism in North Dakota, however, the state was carried by conservative Presidential candidates in 1920, 1924, and 192 8. This apparent contradiction has two major causes. The first cause, was the absence of a meaningful alternative on the national level. The second was factionalism within state progressive ranks. Thus, although the majority of the state's voters were progressives, they were unable to carry the state because their strength was neutralized by internal division and the absence of effective leadership.