Jim Davis

10/10/2017: Within a few years of its organization, the Nonpartisan League was overwhelming North Dakota’s political landscape by the time war was declared in 1917. It quickly denounced the US entry into the war, stating it was a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight. It found a sympathetic ear among the rural population of North Dakota that had seen its sons and husbands march off to war, while war profiteering significantly increased the costs of farming.

10/4/2017: For the units of the North Dakota National Guard, the days in camp took on the feel of a summer bivouac more than a preparation for war.

9/28/2017: On this date in 1917, the Second Regiment of the North Dakota National Guard prepared to leave for Camp Greene, North Carolina. Among them was Joseph Jordan, a Sioux of the Standing Rock Reservation, who had enlisted in Company I, Second Infantry of the guard on July 22 that same year. He was anxious about what lay ahead for him.

9/22/2017: The war caught America unprepared, not only by an inadequate military establishment, but in a source of revenue to fund it. It soon became apparent that to be a good, patriotic, American citizen, one had to be a “giving” citizen. Slackers were not only those who failed to serve, but were also those who failed to contribute monetarily to the many causes.

9/18/2017: On this date in 1917, many of the state’s young men were in military camps around the state, having been mobilized through the draft or as members of the National Guard. Consequently, an increase in crime was seen as the absence of so many young men made it harder for the citizenry to counter criminal behavior.

9/12/2017: Until the end of summer in 1917, the war was still somewhat impersonal for most North Dakotans. Many young men seeking adventure had joined in the early months of the war, but most communities were not affected and deaths were few. Those who enlisted over the summer had departed as individuals or in small groups amid the fanfare of patriotic celebrations. The main units of the North Dakota National Guard were still stationed within the boundaries of the state. With few North Dakotans in harm’s way, the war was more of an inconvenience. Rationing had not yet become a part of everyday life, but people were asked to conserve most resources. For many, it was not until the first call of draftees that the reality of war was brought home.

9/4/2017: At the beginning of the war, German nationals in the US without citizenship were monitored. In North Dakota there wasn’t any wide-spread mistreatment, but US District Attorney Melvin Hildreth, of Fargo, advised German nationals to “obey the law and keep your mouth shut.”

8/17/2017: While newspapers across the state heralded the announcement that American soldiers were now poised to enter the war, they also carried grim reminders that North Dakotans who had joined the Canadian Armed Forces early on were already fighting and dying in the trenches in France.

8/7/2017: When Alexander Papelpu obtained his homestead patent in Stark County on June 26, 1914 his future looked bright and promising. Having received his citizenship only six months before, he now decided it was time to return to his home country of Russia. Here he would take care of some business affairs and wed his sweetheart who awaited him there. They would then return to his homestead. But his return would be an epic journey of war, deprivation and diplomacy.

7/26/2017: On this date in 1917, the news from the front … once again … was grim. With the collapse of the Russian Army and the capture of their artillery due to a quick German advance, conditions on the Eastern Front were in disarray.