Nonpartisan, << non PAHR tuh zuhn, >> League, a political organization of farmers, was founded in North Dakota in 1915. It is sometimes called the NPL. From 1916 to 1921, the NPL dominated the government of North Dakota, where it enacted many socialistic policies. In 1919, the state legislature set up a state-owned bank, grain elevator, insurance fund, and other institutions important to farmers and workers. NPL candidates ran officially as Republicans. In Minnesota, the NPL helped create the Farmer-Labor Party (see Farmer-Labor Party ).
During and after World War I (1914-1918), the NPL was criticized as unpatriotic because of its neutral position on the war and its socialist goals. Its power declined after 1921 but revived in North Dakota during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. In 1956, the NPL aligned itself with the Democratic Party in North Dakota.
