Wikipedia fail? Governor Langer barricades himself in the mansion

Volumes have been written about our colorful Governor Bill Langer. But, like most people, I don’t really want to know every last thing about him. Just enough to get by. The internet says:

• He was a member of the NPL (farmers’ political party)
• Kicked out of office in 1934 for some questionable dealings.
• In the drama of getting ousted, he barricaded himself in the governor’s mansion and declared martial law.
• But he was reelected as Governor by 1937.

Governor's Mansion Museum, near downtown Bismarck. Housed ND Governors until 1960.

I didn’t think I’d ever need to know anything more. Not even when I started volunteering at the Information Desk at the State Historical Society where task number one is directing visitors to the bathroom.

But I was wrong.

My co-anchor at the desk is a 92-year-old expert on North Dakota Governors. He not only remembers the Langer era, he wrote his thesis about it. So, on my first day,  just to be deferential as well as to show I’d done my homework, I asked, “Tell me about the time Bill Langer barricaded himself in the Governor’s mansion.”

I was imagining Langer pushing the state davenport  against the front door of the green victorian.  The Lieutenant Governor with torch and hot tar on the other side. I wondered if there were scars left on the door jambs. It’s a great story for the mansion museum!

“Bill Langer never barricaded himself in any mansion,” he said.

Then he elaborated. He’d heard many wild stories, but not that one.

And he talked about it every week after that. He offered to bring me books. He told me about Langer’s wife. He told me about Langer’s various antics in office.

Then he’d bring up the barricades again. We’d just be sitting there at the desk waiting for visitors. All quiet. And he would shake his head, “I just can’t imagine where you read that Bill Langer barricaded himself in the mansion.”

Mansion entry hall. Summer. Doors wide open

Now it’s clear that I do NOT know enough about Bill Langer to get by. So, I learned more just so I could hold my head up when you come looking for the toilet:

Wikipedia says (bold emphasis mine):

He was found guilty of fraud in 1934, in a trial presided over by Andrew Miller, a longstanding political rival.^[3] The North Dakota Supreme Court ordered him removed from office due to his conviction on a felony charge, and on July 17, 1934, the Court declared Lieutenant Governor Ole H. Olson the legitimate governor. Langer gathered with about ten friends, declared North Dakota independent, declared martial law, and barricaded himself in the governor’s mansion until the Supreme Court would meet with him.

At the Governor’s Mansion museum, they disagree: No barricade. And martial law was never enforced.  However, they note that Langer refused to leave the mansion after he lost office, and the state didn’t force it.

Master bedroom. Langer's portrait above bed

Finally, The Bismarck Tribune microfilms from 1934 say:  Langer declared martial law and “went into seclusion.”

At this point I’ll leave it to you. You could argue that going into seclusion and refusing to vacate is the same as barricading. Or you could find Wikipedia wrong.

Whatever sits best with your personal world view.

Back stairs. Used by servants and Governors who wished to come and go in private.

[Click here to become a fan of Bismarck Stories on Facebook]

Socialist Bank

The best reasons to watch Michael Moore’s Capitalism DVD are the extras. There are 8 or 9 of them, including one  about the Bank of North Dakota. It explains how this state, of all states, ended up with an unapologetically socialist bank.  Luckily, much of Moore’s extra is available on YouTube:

And the best part of the extra is the old farming footage. I know Moore took footage from the North Dakota Historical Society film collection. But maybe not all of it…are those mountains in the scene at 1:33?