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 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

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 ...

from 1923 to 1941. He was the first American governor ever successfully recalled from office. The only other American governor to ever be recalled is

Gray Davis Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. (born December 26, 1942) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 37th governor of California from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, only a few months into his second term, Davis was recalled and remov ...

, who was recalled in 2003.

Early life

Frazier was born in

Medford, Minnesota Medford is a city in Steele County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,239 at the 2010 census. History Medford was platted in 1856, and named for Medford Colling, the son of an early settler. A post office has been in operation at M ...

. His family moved to North Dakota when he was six years old. Prior to his career in state and national politics, Frazier was a farmer and school teacher. He graduated from Grafton High School in 1892, and Mayville Normal School in 1895. He completed his bachelor's degree at the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...

and graduated with honors in 1902.

Career

After winning the

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 ...

primary as the

Nonpartisan 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 advocate ...

candidate, Frazier was elected Governor in 1916 with 79% of the vote. Frazier was extremely popular and implemented several reforms such as the establishment of the

Bank of North Dakota The Bank of North Dakota (BND) is a state-owned, state-run financial institution based in Bismarck, North Dakota. It is the only government-owned general-service bank in the United States. It is the legal depository for all state funds in North ...

and the

North Dakota Mill and Elevator The North Dakota Mill and Elevator is the largest flour mill in the United States. It is located in the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Established by the state government when it was led by Nonpartisan League representatives, it is the only ...

, which have been a lasting legacy of the Nonpartisan League election success until today. During the 1919 national coal strike, Governor Frazier took a unique approach to the strike. He declared martial law, took over the mines with United Mine Workers of America contracts and ran them in cooperation with the union. He was re-elected twice, in 1918 and 1920, but an economic depression hit the agricultural sector during his third term and resulted in a successful private-business-led

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

movement to press for his

recall Recall may refer to: * Recall (bugle call), a signal to stop * Recall (information retrieval), a statistical measure * ''ReCALL'' (journal), an academic journal about computer-assisted language learning * Recall (memory) * ''Recall'' (Overwatch ...

. In 1921, Frazier was the first governor to be successfully removed from office.

Independent Voters Association The Independent Voters Association, or IVA, was a North Dakota, United States, political organization. It formed on May 1, 1918, at the height of the Nonpartisan League's influence on the North Dakota Republican Party. The IVA was a conservative, ...

member

Ragnvald Nestos Ragnvald Anderson Nestos (April 12, 1877July 15, 1942) was a Norwegian Americans, Norwegian-American politician who served as the List of governors of North Dakota, 13th Governor of North Dakota from 1921 to 1925. Early life Ragnvold Anderson N ...

was elected to his place. After the recall, Frazier was elected in 1922 to 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 ...

, again as the NPL candidate on the Republican ticket. He served until losing a bid for re-election in 1940, when he was unseated in the Republican primary by

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 ...

Personal life

Frazier was twice married, to Lottie J. Stafford, with whom he had five children, from November 26, 1903 until her death on January 14, 1935, and to Catherine Paulson, whom he married in 1937.

Death and legacy

Frazier died in Riverdale, Maryland, on January 11, 1947, at the age of 72. He is buried in Hoople Cemetery,

Hoople, North Dakota Hoople is a city in Walsh County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 247 at the 2020 census. Hoople, named for early settler Alan Hoople, was founded in 1889. Hoople's nickname is "Tatertown." Hoople is probably best known outside ...

. Governor Frazier is portrayed in the 1984 Nebraska Public TV documentary ''Plowing up a Storm''.

References

External links