[2] To this populace descended from Germans who had settled in Russia, Wilson’s entry into the war and his support for the Treaty of Versailles was a betrayal, whilst farmers were also faced with a postwar agricultural depression as prices fell with reduced demand in Europe.

Despite Harding’s massive victory, discontent amongst North Dakota’s large farm population persisted during his term,[4] but the national Democratic Party did nothing to provide any hope of regaining Wilson’s prominence in North Dakota, being instead dominated by conflicts between its Southern and Western faction led by William Gibbs McAdoo and its urban Northeastern faction led by Al Smith.

[5] A fierce debate ensued that saw a compromise candidate, former Congressman John W. Davis of West Virginia, nominated after one hundred and three ballots in hot summer weather at Madison Square Garden.

[8] In North Dakota, Davis had almost no appeal, especially as he unlike incumbent Calvin Coolidge supported the League of Nations and was opposed to the state’s isolationist views.

[13] Coolidge ultimately won North Dakota by a narrow margin of 2.51 percent, with his win coming from the relatively urbanized Scandinavian-settled counties in the east.