The People versus the Octopus: California Progressives and the Origins of Direct Democracy
Direct democracy, for better or for worse, has become California's most distinctive and emblematic political institution. Initiative, referendum, and recall elections were added to the state constitution in 1911 as part of Governor Hiram Johnson's “progressive” movement, which redeemed the...
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| Pubblicato in: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/siecles, |
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| Natura: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Lingua: | Anglais |
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Siècles
2014
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| Accesso online: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:siecles_1109 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:siecles_1109 https://doi.org/10.4000/siecles.1109 urn:doi:10.4000/siecles.1109 en https://journals.openedition.org/siecles/1109 2014-10-28T01:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/kp5s All rights reserved The People versus the Octopus: California Progressives and the Origins of Direct Democracy Siècles Centre d'Histoire "Espaces et Cultures" info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2275-2129 info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/1266-6726 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/siecles Gendzel, Glen États-Unis Californie California California political history direct democracy initiative referendum recall Proposition 13 United States 20th century Johnson Hiram Progressive movement Era 19th century (late) histoire politique démocratie directe référendum Proposition 13 Johnson (Hiram) mouvement progressiste ère progressiste Direct democracy, for better or for worse, has become California's most distinctive and emblematic political institution. Initiative, referendum, and recall elections were added to the state constitution in 1911 as part of Governor Hiram Johnson's “progressive” movement, which redeemed the state from control by “The Octopus”, meaning the Southern Pacific Railroad monopoly that had a stranglehold on the state's economy and government. Progressive reformers expected that California voters would use direct democracy to tame the Octopus and to protect themselves against such wealthy special interests in the future. Over time, however, those same interests proved adept at using direct democracy to serve their own interests. This article surveys the origins of direct democracy in California's progressive movement and traces its history up to the 1970s. La démocratie directe, pour le meilleur ou pour le pire, est devenue l’institution la plus marquante et la plus emblématique de l’État de Californie. Initiative populaire, référendum et révocation des représentants ont été introduits dans la Constitution de l’État en 1911, dans le cadre de la réforme « progressiste » du Gouverneur Hiram Johnson, destinée à soustraire l’État au contrôle de « La Pieuvre », à savoir le monopole de la Compagnie des chemins de fer du Pacifique sud qui avait la mainmise sur l’économie de l’État et le gouvernement. Les réformateurs progressistes pensaient que les électeurs californiens recourraient à la démocratie directe pour « dompter » la Pieuvre et pour se protéger à l’avenir contre des groupes d’intérêt si riches. Avec le temps, cependant, ces derniers se sont avérés très habiles à utiliser la démocratie directe pour servir leurs propres intérêts. Cet article retrace l’histoire de la démocratie directe, depuis ses origines – qu’elle puise dans le mouvement progressiste de Californie – jusqu’aux années 1970. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
California California political history direct democracy initiative referendum recall Proposition 13 United States 20th century Johnson Hiram Progressive movement Era 19th century (late) histoire politique démocratie directe référendum Proposition 13 Johnson (Hiram) mouvement progressiste ère progressiste |
| spellingShingle |
California California political history direct democracy initiative referendum recall Proposition 13 United States 20th century Johnson Hiram Progressive movement Era 19th century (late) histoire politique démocratie directe référendum Proposition 13 Johnson (Hiram) mouvement progressiste ère progressiste Gendzel, Glen The People versus the Octopus: California Progressives and the Origins of Direct Democracy |
| description |
Direct democracy, for better or for worse, has become California's most distinctive and emblematic political institution. Initiative, referendum, and recall elections were added to the state constitution in 1911 as part of Governor Hiram Johnson's “progressive” movement, which redeemed the state from control by “The Octopus”, meaning the Southern Pacific Railroad monopoly that had a stranglehold on the state's economy and government. Progressive reformers expected that California voters would use direct democracy to tame the Octopus and to protect themselves against such wealthy special interests in the future. Over time, however, those same interests proved adept at using direct democracy to serve their own interests. This article surveys the origins of direct democracy in California's progressive movement and traces its history up to the 1970s. |
| author |
Gendzel, Glen |
| author_facet |
Gendzel, Glen |
| author_sort |
Gendzel, Glen |
| title |
The People versus the Octopus: California Progressives and the Origins of Direct Democracy |
| title_short |
The People versus the Octopus: California Progressives and the Origins of Direct Democracy |
| title_full |
The People versus the Octopus: California Progressives and the Origins of Direct Democracy |
| title_fullStr |
The People versus the Octopus: California Progressives and the Origins of Direct Democracy |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The People versus the Octopus: California Progressives and the Origins of Direct Democracy |
| title_sort |
people versus the octopus: california progressives and the origins of direct democracy |
| publisher |
Siècles |
| publishDate |
2014 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/siecles |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/siecles.1109 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/siecles/1109 |
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1877243090544099328 |