Functions of the Initiative, Referendum and Recall
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9764202 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jonathan Bourne (0000-0003-2616-3716, United States Senator from Oregon, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1912 |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 3-16 |
| Publication date | 1912-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-7162 • E-ISSN: 1552-3349 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/000271621204300102 |
| OpenAlex | W2038523828 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
Briefly summarized, the functions of the initiative and referen- dum are:To restore the sovereignty of the people.To educate and develop the people.To secure legislation for the general welfare.To prevent legislation against the general welfare.To eliminate the legislative blackmailer.To make our legislative bodies truly representative.I will discuss each of these in the order mentioned.The chief function of the initiative and referendum is to restore the absolute sovereignty of the people-to make this in fact as well as in name, a government of, for and by the people.The word &dquo;sovereignty&dquo; conveys the idea of supreme rulership and we have taken pride in flattering ourselves that the American people enjoy the power of self-government.And so they do, in theory, but I shall undertake to demonstrate that they do not in practice, except in the few rare instances when, after suffering a long series of abuses, they arise, assert their rights and temporarily overthrow their political dictators.The citizens of every state have seen legislature after legislature enact laws for the special advantage of a few and refuse to enact laws for the welfare of the many.Under the convention system of nominations, which has been universal until the last few years, slates of delegates were selected by men who commercialized politics, and the great masses of the people, unacquainted with political manipulation or too honest to resort to it, had no recourse but to ratify the slate.These specially selected delegates nominated candidates for legislative, judicial and executive ofhces in accord- ance with the desire of the boss.The same methods having been pursued in each political party, the voter was given a choice between two sets of candidates each under obligations to, and, therefore, responsible to, the manager of the party machine.Under this system
Cognitive psychology · Political science · Politics · Recall · Referendum · European and International Law Studies · Law · Psychology
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,08 |
| Citation span | 2013 - 2013 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |