A. C. Townley
Encyclopedia
Arthur Charles Townley was an American
political organizer best known as the founder the National Non-Partisan League (NPL), a radical farmers' organization which had considerable political success in the states of North Dakota
and Minnesota
during the second half of the 1910s.
, the son of Fitch R. Townley and Esther J. Cross, and graduated from high school in Alexandria, Minnesota
. He moved to western North Dakota to farm with his brother Covert, and participated in a failed large-scale wheat farming venture in Colorado
before returning to North Dakota in 1907. In Colorado he met his eventual wife Margaret Rose Teenan, whom he married in 1911.
By 1912, Townley owned considerable area near Beach, North Dakota
, 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 ruined him financially, causing an abrupt change in vocation.
In 1916 the Nonpartisan League candidate, Lynn Frazier
, 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 - the only one until California
's Gray Davis
in 2003.
Townley's popularity declined along with the NPL. Near the end of World War I
, Townley was arrested in Jackson County, Minnesota
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 gas wells in Robinson, North Dakota
. Through the depression he lived hand-to-mouth as a traveling salesman.
In 1934, he ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Minnesota
. In the late 1940s, shortly after his wife and foster daughter died, he lived near New Effington, South Dakota
, with a faith-healing group. During the McCarthy era of the 1950s he lectured for donations on the evils of communism
. His public accusations that the North Dakota Farmers Union
was dominated by Communists led to libel suits against him.
Townley ran for the U.S. Senate from North Dakota
as an independent in 1956 and 1958. In 1958, he lost to Republican
incumbent William Langer
, whose first state office was Attorney General on Townley's original Non-Partisan League
slate in 1916, and who served two terms as Governor of North Dakota
in the 1930s before leaving the NPL.
on November 7, 1959. Langer died the next day in Washington, D.C.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
political organizer best known as the founder the National Non-Partisan League (NPL), a radical farmers' organization which had considerable political success in the states of North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
and Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
during the second half of the 1910s.
Early years
Arthur Charles Townley was born December 30, 1880, near Browns Valley, MinnesotaBrowns Valley, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 690 people, 285 households, and 171 families residing in the city. The population density was 878.5 people per square mile . There were 317 housing units at an average density of 403.6 per square mile...
, the son of Fitch R. Townley and Esther J. Cross, and graduated from high school in Alexandria, Minnesota
Alexandria, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,820 people, however the most recent count suggests a population upwards of 10,000, which is displayed on Alexandria's city limits signs. The census lists 4,047 households, and 2,011 families residing in the city. The population density was 992.5 people per...
. 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
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
before returning to North Dakota in 1907. In Colorado he met his eventual wife Margaret Rose Teenan, whom he married in 1911.
By 1912, Townley owned considerable area near Beach, North Dakota
Beach, North Dakota
As of the 2000 Census, there were 1,116 people, 470 households, and 292 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 570 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.66% White, 0.18% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.54% from other races, and...
, 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 ruined him financially, causing an abrupt change in vocation.
Political career
After joining the Socialist party 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 Frazier
Lynn Joseph Frazier was a politician from North Dakota, serving as a U.S. Senator from 1923 to 1941 and the 12th Governor of North Dakota of that state from 1917 until being recalled in 1921. He was the first American governor ever successfully recalled from office...
, 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 - the only one until California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
's Gray Davis
Gray Davis
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who served as California's 37th Governor from 1999 until being recalled in 2003...
in 2003.
Townley's popularity declined along with the NPL. Near the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Townley was arrested in Jackson County, Minnesota
Jackson County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,268 people, 4,556 households, and 3,116 families residing in the county. The population density was 16 people per square mile . There were 5,092 housing units at an average density of 7 per square mile...
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 gas wells in Robinson, North Dakota
Robinson, North Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 71 people, 40 households, and 21 families residing in the city. The population density was 432.2 people per square mile . There were 56 housing units at an average density of 340.9 per square mile...
. Through the depression he lived hand-to-mouth as a traveling salesman.
In 1934, he ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. In the late 1940s, shortly after his wife and foster daughter died, he lived near New Effington, South Dakota
New Effington, South Dakota
New Effington is a town in Roberts County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 256 at the 2010 census.-Geography:New Effington is located at ....
, with a faith-healing group. During the McCarthy era of the 1950s he lectured for donations on the evils of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. His public accusations that the North Dakota Farmers Union
Farmers Union
Farmers Union is a brand name established by the South Australian Farmers' Co-operative Union Ltd .-Jamestown:At a meeting in Jamestown, South Australia on 28 February 1888, a committee formed to establish a grain "producers' union to combat the effects of depressed agricultural prices and the...
was dominated by Communists led to libel suits against him.
Townley ran for the U.S. Senate from North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
as an independent in 1956 and 1958. In 1958, he lost to Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
incumbent William Langer
William Langer
William "Wild Bill" Langer was a prominent US politician from North Dakota. Langer is one of the most colorful characters in North Dakota history, most famously bouncing back from a scandal that forced him out of the governor's office and into prison. He served as the 17th and 21st Governor of...
, whose first state office was Attorney General on Townley's original Non-Partisan League
Non-Partisan League
The Nonpartisan League was a political organization founded in 1915 in the United States by former Socialist Party organizer A. C. Townley. The Nonpartisan League advocated state control of mills, grain elevators, banks and other farm-related industries in order to reduce the power of corporate...
slate in 1916, and who served two terms as Governor of North Dakota
Governor of North Dakota
The Governor of North Dakota is the chief executive of North Dakota. The current Governor is Jack Dalrymple. The Governor has the right to sign and laws, and to call the Legislative Assembly, into emergency session. The Governor is also chairman of the North Dakota Industrial Commission. The...
in the 1930s before leaving the NPL.
Death and legacy
Townley was an insurance salesman, trying to raise money to pay his legal bills, when he was killed in a car-truck accident near Makoti, North DakotaMakoti, North Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 145 people, 74 households, and 35 families residing in the city. The population density was 733.3 people per square mile . There were 89 housing units at an average density of 450.1 per square mile...
on November 7, 1959. Langer died the next day in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Further reading
- Carol A. Lockwood (ed.), "Arthur Charles Townley," American National Biography Online, Oxford University Press, 2000.
- Robert L. Morlan, "Political Prairie Fire: The Nonpartisan League, 1915-1922. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1955.
- Larry R. Remele, "The Lost Years of A.C. Townley (After the Nonpartisan League)." ND Humanities Council Occasional Paper, no. 1 (1988): 1-27.
See also
- Conference for Progressive Political ActionConference for Progressive Political ActionThe Conference for Progressive Political Action was officially established by the convention call of the 16 major railway labor unions in the United States, represented by a committee of six: William H. Johnston of the Machinists' Union, Martin F. Ryan of the Railway Carmen, Warren S. Stone of the...
- Farmers' movementFarmers' movementThe Farmers Movement was, in American political history, the general name for a movement between 1867 and 1896 remarkable for a radical socio-economic propaganda that came from what was considered the most conservative class of American society...