Governor Walter Maddock
August 28, 2024 – It was on this day in 1928 that North Dakota’s 14th governor, Arthur G. Sorlie, died while in office. Taking up the reins of government was Lieutenant Governor Walter J. Maddock, sworn in shortly following Governor Sorlie’s death.
The Sorlie and Maddock governorships occurred in the middle of perhaps the greatest political war in North Dakota history: the epic battle between the Nonpartisan League and the Independent Voters Association.
The Non-Partisan League was begun in 1915 by a group of progressives alarmed at the number of out-of-state businesses whom they feared were taking large profits out-of-state, and were influencing government for their own ends. The Nonpartisan League believed that state government should be used to combat these out-of-state interests, lower the cost of goods and bring better services to the people of North Dakota. Towards that end they proposed the creation of state-owned industries such as a state mill, state elevator and a state bank.
Bitterly opposing the efforts of the Nonpartisan was the Independent Voters Association. The IVA waged a fierce war against their erstwhile Republican brethren, battling the Nonpartisans at every front. They sowed disunity within the Nonpartisan membership, loudly criticized the state industries and won their greatest victory by successfully recalling NPL governor Lynn Frazier and replacing him with their own candidate, Governor Nestos. However, the Nonpartisans would have their revenge, defeating Governor Nestos three years following the recall.
Although the Nonpartisan League candidate, Governor Sorlie had won the 1924 election, not all Nonpartisans were happy with the election’s results. A conservative businessman, Arthur Sorlie was never fully accepted by the more radical fringe of his party, who worked to politically embarrass him and limit his power over state institutions. Those opposing the Governor included Sorlie’s own Lieutenant Governor, Walter J. Maddock.
Born on September 13, 1880 in Grand Forks, Dakota Territory, Walter J. Maddock was both the first Governor born in the state, and the shortest serving. Maddock spent only 135 full days in office, four days less than the next runner up, Governor Devine.
Governor Maddock was a Nonpartisan League stalwart and something of a leftist. He was a very strong supporter of state-owned industries and a member of the United Farmers Educational League, a farm labor organization based in Bismarck with strong ties to the Communist Soviet Union. The 1928 elections did not go well for the sitting Governor. Maddock was defeated in the general election by the Independent Voters Association candidate, George Shafer.
Following his short time as Governor, Maddock was influential in farming politics. He was active in the formation of farmers’ cooperatives, was made the senior administrative officer of the regional Agricultural Adjustment Administration in 1933 and served thirteen years as head of North Dakota’s Farm Security Administration office, retiring in 1950. Having led his life dedicated to promoting the interests of North Dakota’s farmers, Governor Walter Maddock passed away on January 25, 1951, in Bismarck, North Dakota.
“Dakota Datebook” is a radio series from Prairie Public in partnership with the State Historical Society of North Dakota and with funding from the North Dakota Humanities Council. See all the Dakota Datebooks at prairiepublic.org, subscribe to the “Dakota Datebook” podcast, or buy the Dakota Datebook book at shopprairiepublic.org.