Thomas Jefferson's elevation of the small landowning farmer to the guardian and bastion of democracy became the centerpiece for a later generation's struggle. Jeffersonian democracy, a philosophy based on the belief that "those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God" guided the rural insurgents that swept Minnesota and North Dakota in the early 20th century. The language of battle permeated all rural movement literature depicting the farmer as the basis of wealth, while being victimized by an unjust economic system that allowed others to appropriate what rightfully belonged to the farmers. This picture pitted those who were honest and open against those who were nefarious, underhanded, and dishonest. To this patriotic image, men added allusions to heroes such as Paul Revere. The battle between the image of the heroic farmer and exploitative capitalist was cast in Jeffersonian language filled with heroic imagery. Rural movements challenged rural people to recognize themselves as liberators. Words and symbols proclaimed the continuity of Jeffersonian Democracy in early 20th century agrarian movements in Minnesota and North Dakota. The effort to meld farmers into a powerful political weapon called upon many of the symbolic and philosophical images popularized a century earlier by Jeffersonian democracy. (SM)