LEADER 03896nam 22005294a 450 001 9910783086503321 005 20230912220754.0 010 $a0-8262-6339-9 035 $a(CKB)1000000000003342 035 $a(OCoLC)54761082 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10048241 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000163070 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11167003 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000163070 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10105170 035 $a(PQKB)10290790 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3570776 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3570776 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10048241 035 $a(OCoLC)56424884 035 $a(EXLCZ)991000000000003342 100 $a20021010h20032003 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt$2rdacontent 182 $cc$2rdamedia 183 $acr$2rdacarrier 200 10$aGiving voters a voice $ethe origins of the initiative and referendum in America /$fSteven L. Piott 210 1$aColumbia, Mo. :$cUniversity of Missouri Press,$d2003. 210 4$aŠ2003 215 $a1 online resource (x, 330 pages) 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 0 $a0-8262-1457-6 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 301-320) and index. 327 $aThe intellectual and political origins of the initiative and referendum South Dakota and Oregon Montana and Oklahoma Missouri and Maine Colorado and Arkansas Arizona and California Ohio and Washington Michigan and North Dakota Massachusetts and Nebraska 330 $aGiving Voters a Voice studies the origins of direct legislation, one of the most important political reforms enacted during the Progressive Era. Steven L. Piott begins with the source of the idea in the United States and proceeds to the earliest efforts aimed at generating a national movement to expand the parameters of popular democracy in the 1890s. He then broadens his examination to include the unique ways in which twenty-two states came to enact legislation allowing for the statewide initiative and referendum between 1898 and 1918. The book's appendix offers the only comprehensive listing of all the ballot propositions and vote totals for the period. Most historians of the Progressive Era have concluded that narrow self-interest prevented labor, farmers, and the middle class from working together to achieve important reforms. Giving Voters a Voice demonstrates that middle-class reformers, trade unionists, and farm organizers formed loose political coalitions and directed grass-roots campaigns to gain passage of initiative and referendum statutes because direct legislation offered the best means to correct political, economic, and social abuses. But there was more than just a shared sense of common interest that brought these seemingly oppositional groups together. What really made them willing to speak, lobby, and work together was quite simply the frustration felt by voters who sensed that they had become economically dependent and politically powerless. Each state in which proponents conducted an active campaign to win adoption of direct legislation is studied in detail. The book analyzes the crucial roles played by individuals who led the movement to empower voters by enabling them to enact or veto legislation directly, and reveals the arguments, the stumbling blocks, and political compromises that are often slighted in generalized overviews. Each state possessed its own political dynamic. Giving Voters a Voice offers the reader a richness of detail and a completeness of coverage not found elsewhere. 606 $aReferendum$zUnited States$xHistory 615 0$aReferendum$xHistory. 676 $a328.273 700 $aPiott$b Steven L$0948856 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910783086503321 996 $aGiving voters a voice$93830118 997 $aUNINA