• Introduction
• Out-of-State Dominance
• Economic Colonialism
• Breaking the Machine
• Economic Exploitation
• The Non Partisan League
• Birth of the NPL
• The NPL Insurgency
• Early Days of the BND
• The Industrial Program
• Launching the First Volley
• Bonds and Boycotts
• Farmers Line Up
• Politics at Work
• The Counter Insurgency
• The Long Dry Spell
• A Historic Vote
• The IVA in Control
• Farm Loans Falter
• BND Resurgence
• The Langer Housecleaning
• The Depression Years
• Contributing to the General Fund
• Returning to the Legislative Vision
• Awakening the Giant
• The Bank Under Fire
• Fulfilling the NPL Vision
• Growing North Dakota
• Era of Partnerships
• The Vision Realized

Introduction

It comes as a surprise to many that North Dakota's largest bank is owned and operated by the State – the only one of its kind in the United States.
In 1919, an agrarian revolt led by the Non-Partisan League forever changed the economic landscape in North Dakota. Called "a social experiment in state control" the League's Industrial Program sought to break the dominance of the out-of-state financiers who controlled the state's economy.

Cartoon from the collection of Institute of Regional Studies, North Dakota State University