The Oregon Direct Legislation League was an organization of political activists founded by

William S. U'Ren William Simon U'Ren (January 10, 1859 – March 8, 1949) was an American lawyer and political activist. U'Ren promoted and helped pass a corrupt practices act, the presidential primary, and direct election of U.S. senators. As a progressive, U'Re ...

in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

in 1898. U'Ren had been politically activated by reading the influential 1893 book ''Direct Legislation Through the Initiative and Referendum'', and the group's founding followed in the wake of the 1896 founding of the National Direct Legislation League, which itself had its roots in the Direct Legislation League of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and its short-lived predecessor, the People's Power League. The group led efforts in Oregon to establish an

initiative In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a pu ...

and

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

system, allowing direct legislation by the state's citizens. In 1902, the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...

approved such a system, which was known at the time as the Oregon System. The group's further efforts led to successful ballot initiatives implementing a

direct primary Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

system in 1904, and allowing citizens to directly recall public officials in 1908.

Direct Legislation League of California

California built the most successful grass roots progressive movement in the country by mobilizing independent organizations and largely ignoring the conservative state parties. The system continues strong into the 21st century.John M. Allswang, ''The initiative and referendum in California, 1898-1998'' (Stanford University Press, 2000) pp. 1-31. Following the Oregon model

John Randolph Haynes John Randolph Haynes (1853–1937) was a prominent California socialist and progressive in the early 20th century who helped steer many of state's reforms. His Direct Democracy League was responsible for the state amendment which brought the ref ...

organized the Direct Legislation League of California in 1902 to launch the campaign for inclusion of the initiative and referendum in the state's constitution. The League sent questionnaires to prospective candidates to the state legislature to obtain their stance on direct legislation and to make those positions public. It then flooded the state with letters seeking new members, money, and endorsements from organizations like the State Federation of Labor. As membership grew it worked with other private organizations to petition the state legislature, which was not responsive. In 1902 the League won a state constitutional amendment establishing direct democracy at the local level, and in 1904, it successfully engineered the recall of the first public official.

References

{{Oregon legislation 1898 establishments in Oregon Defunct organizations based in Oregon History of Oregon Ballot measures in the United States Direct democracy movement Progressive Era in the United States Organizations with year of disestablishment missing

Direct Legislation League of California

See also

References