The party was established on 17 October 1902 at count Zubov manor in Dabikinė near Akmenė by activists publishing "Varpas". In 1906, it adopted a political program prepared by Kazys Grinius, Jonas Vileišis, Povilas Višinskis, Juozas Bortkevičius and Jurgis Šaulys. The goals of the party were to seek autonomy status for ethnic Lithuania within the Russian Empire. The local governance would be delegated to parochial committees, which could collect taxes. The program supported education and cooperation, promoted participation in public life, and advocated national unity. The party supported wealthier farmers, therefore during the Great Seimas of Vilnius of 1905 it opposed land reform that would have confiscated land from large landlords and distributed it to small peasants. After the Seimas, LDP sponsored the formation of the Peasant Union, which initially was a branch of LDP. Some member of LDP founded the Lithuanian National Democratic Party (Lithuanian: "Tautiškoji lietuvių demokratų partija"), headed by Jonas Basanavičius.