Exhibit - "Education Not Politics": Introduction

The Liberty Memorial Building (LMB), located on the Capitol grounds in Bismarck, was built to commemorate the men and women from North Dakota who served in World War I. The LMB, informally described as "the large building with the columns," is the oldest building on the Capitol Complex. Authorization for the LMB dates to the Sixteenth Session of the Legislative Assembly of the State of North Dakota (1919 - regular session). By this session, the Nonpartisan League (NPL) had gained full control over the legislature and the other branches of government and began passing their reforms. The state legislature appropriated funds and passed legislation (House Bill 121) authorizing the Board of Control to construct the LMB.

During this same session, the legislature also passed Senate Bill 134, creating the five-person Board of Administration. This new board would administer all penal institutions, charitable and educational institutions, and oversee the public and common schools for the state. Since the Board of Control was one of the entities that the Board of Administration replaced, the new Board of Administration assumed responsibility for the LMB's construction.

Construction on the LMB was completed in 1924, and the State Historical Society, Adjutant General, Supreme Court, and State Library (or State Library Commission at the time) were among the first state entities to move in. The LMB was formally dedicated on November 11, 1925 (Armistice Day), in a brief ceremony led by Governor Arthur G. Sorlie. The LMB has housed several state agencies over the years, and today, it is home to the State Library and the Parks and Recreation Department.

In the building's foyer on the first floor, behind the large, brass front door (an ever-popular background for photographs) is the dedication plaque for the building. Covering a period of only five years (1919-1924), the plaque enshrines the names of two governors (Frazier and Nestos), and the names of eleven members of the Board of Administration (Totten, Muir, Casey, Hagan, Nielson, Kitchen, Cahill, Murphy, Talcott, Goddard, and Diehl).

This innocent plaque hides a much more detailed and complex story about North Dakota, the Board of Administration, and the NPL:  a story of education and politics...