Arthur Charles Townley (December 30, 1880 – November 7, 1959) was an American political organizer best known as the founder of the National Non-Partisan League (NPL), a farmers' organization which had considerable political success in the states of

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

and

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

during the second half of the 1910s.

Early life

Townley was born December 30, 1880, near

Browns Valley, Minnesota Browns Valley is a city in Traverse County, Minnesota, United States, adjacent to the South Dakota border. The population was 558 at the 2020 census. Browns Valley lies along the Little Minnesota River between the northern end of Big Stone La ...

, the son of Fitch R. Townley and Esther J. Cross, and graduated from high school in

Alexandria, Minnesota Alexandria is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Minnesota, United States. First settled in 1858, it was named after brothers Alexander and William Kinkead from Maryland. The form of the name alludes to Alexandria, Egypt, a center ...

Career

He moved to western North Dakota to farm with his brother Covert, and participated in a failed large-scale wheat farming venture in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

before returning to North Dakota in 1907. By 1912, Townley owned considerable area near

Beach, North Dakota Beach is a city in and the county seat of Golden Valley County in the State of North Dakota. The population was 981 at the 2020 census. Beach was incorporated in 1909. The mayor of Beach has been Henry Gerving since 2018. History Beach was first ...

, and was being called the "Flax King of the Northwest". In August 1913, a freak snowstorm together with the fluctuations of a speculative

grain market The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals and other food grains such as wheat, barley, maize, and rice. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other ...

ruined him financially, causing an abrupt change in vocation.

Politics

After joining the Socialist Party of North Dakota and running unsuccessfully for the state legislature in 1914, he abandoned the Socialists and criss-crossed the state in a borrowed Model-T Ford, signing up members in a new political party called the Nonpartisan League. His message resonated with the grievances of small farmers against the exploitative big interests: the Minneapolis grain merchants, the railroads, and the eastern banks. In 1916, the Nonpartisan League candidate,

Lynn Frazier Lynn Joseph Frazier (December 21, 1874January 11, 1947) was an American educator and politician who served as the 12th Governor of North Dakota from 1917 until being recalled in 1921 and later served as a U.S. Senator from North Dakota from 192 ...

, won the North Dakota gubernatorial election, and in 1919 the state legislature enacted the entire NPL program, consisting of state-owned banks, mills, grain elevators and hail insurance agencies. However, the political winds soon turned. Newspapers and business groups portrayed the NPL as socialist, and the NPL's lack of political experience led to infighting and corruption. Frazier became the first U.S. state governor to be recalled. Townley's popularity declined along with the NPL. Near the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Townley was arrested in

Jackson County, Minnesota Jackson County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,989. Its county seat is Jackson. History The county was created on May 23, 1857. It was named for Henry Jackson, the first merchant in St. ...

for "conspiracy to discourage enlistments," based on League pamphlets that questioned the motivations of the American war effort. He was convicted by a jury hand-picked by a virulent anti-League judge and served 90 days for the offense in 1921, after appeals were exhausted. One of the only other inhabitants of the Jackson County jail was a boy who was serving 30 days due to his inability to pay the fine for stealing an old automobile tire. Townley paid his $25 fine and gave him train fare home. Finding himself increasingly irrelevant to NPL affairs, he drifted from one failed project to another. He founded the short-lived National Producer's Alliance in 1923, and later promoted the drilling of an oil well in

Robinson, North Dakota Robinson is a city in Kidder County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 36 at the 2020 census. Robinson was founded in 1911. Geography Robinson is located at (47.143094, -99.779129). According to the United States Census Bureau, th ...

in 1926. Through the depression, he worked as a traveling salesman. Townley was an independent candidate in the

1934 Minnesota gubernatorial election The 1934 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1934. Farmer–Labor Party candidate Floyd B. Olson defeated Republican Party of Minnesota challenger Martin A. Nelson. Results See also * List of Minnesota gubernat ...

. During the

McCarthy era McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origina ...

of the 1950s, he lectured for donations on the evils of

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

. His public accusations that the North Dakota Farmers Union was dominated by

Communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...

led to libel suits against him. Townley ran for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

as an independent in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

and

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

. In 1958, he lost to

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

incumbent

William Langer William "Wild Bill" Langer (September 30, 1886November 8, 1959) was a prominent American lawyer and politician from North Dakota, where he was an infamous character, bouncing back from a scandal that forced him out of the governor's office and ...

, whose first state office was attorney general on Townley's original

Non-Partisan League The Nonpartisan League (NPL) was a left-wing political party founded in 1915 in North Dakota by Arthur C. Townley, a former organizer for the Socialist Party of America. On behalf of small farmers and merchants, the Nonpartisan League advocat ...

slate in 1916, and who served two terms as

governor of North Dakota The governor of North Dakota is the head of government of North Dakota and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The Constitution of North Dakota specifies that "the executive power is vested in the governor" in Secti ...

in the 1930s before leaving the NPL.

Personal life

In Colorado, he met his eventual wife Margaret Rose Teenan, whom he married in 1911. After his wife and foster daughter died in 1944, he lived near

New Effington, South Dakota New Effington is a town in Roberts County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 234 at the 2020 census. New Effington was laid out in 1913, after a proposed railroad further away from the original city Effington spurred the need to ...

, with a faith-healing group. Townley was an insurance salesman, trying to raise money to pay his legal bills, when he was killed in a car-truck accident near

Minot, North Dakota Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 20 ...

on November 7, 1959.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Townley, AC 1880 births 1959 deaths American anti-war activists American socialists Minnesota politicians People from Browns Valley, Minnesota Road incident deaths in North Dakota Nonpartisan League politicians North Dakota Independents Socialist Party of America politicians from North Dakota