Democracy Derailed

2321 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on history of democracy

Democracy Derailed looks at the initiative process, the effects of that process and asked the question, "Is this a good way to make public policy?" I feel that even though the process is not perfect it is a great way to allow the average citizen more power in policy making.

The History

Democracy Derailed begins with addressing the evolution of the initiative process. During the first twenty years in Plymouth Colonies, all adult men met to consider legislation. In 1715, Massachusetts had to address anything that was supported by ten citizens. By 1788, Massachusetts began conducting referendums, and by the 1850's, referendums had become an acceptable practice. By the end of the 1800's, direct legislation in states had become popular.

As stated in Democracy Derailed, "during the last quarter of the century, the coincidence of two economic factors produced a political reaction with historic consequences. The first economic force was the Industrial Revolution, when the ma and pop stores were replaced with business giants. John D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan became "rulers" of the industry and exploited their employees. Employees had no freedom to protest these rulers, so out of frustration; they formed unions, like the Labor of Knights in 1869.

The second economic force related to American farmers. Around the same time as the employees' struggles, the farmers were suffering from prices declining and unprofitable and unfortunate weather. Droughts, unsympathetic banks and the Financial Panic of 1884 destroyed farmers' markets and many became broke.

The struggling workers and the suffering farmers merged together to protest the tight grasp that corporate power had on them. The economic forces that mer...

... middle of paper ...

...ose that I personally believe to be the biggest problem is that citizens abuse this process even more by standing by and allowing others to form their own opinion for them.

Americans wanted power back into the hands of the people and we were granted that privilege. I believe, a great and wonderful privilege even with all of its downfalls. If Americans want to be left in the dark on an issue and allow advertisements to make up their minds, so be it: that's their prerogative. True, society loses, but hopefully, citizens will wake up and realize that with privilege, comes responsibility. It's out decision how we handle that responsibility, if we handle it at all. So, for those who complain that the public has been duped by big corporations that are self-serving, point the finger elsewhere. You may find that you're pointing the finger in your own direction.

Show More
Related

  • The Fight In The Fields Cesar Chavez Summary

    1269 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1938, the Chavez family lost their farm due to the Great Depression. They were forced to relocate to California and become migrant workers. Chavez was distressed by the poor treatment that migrant farmworkers endured on a daily basis. His powerful religious convictions, dedication to change, and a skill at non violent organizing cultivated the establishment of the United Farmworkers (UFW). It was also referred to as “La Causa” by supporters and eventually became a vital movement for self-determination in the lives of California's farmworkers. The astounding nationwide lettuce and grape boycotts along with public support revealed the atrocities of California agribusiness and resulted in the first union hiring halls and collective bargaining for migrant workers. The details of the childhood of Cesar Chavez and how they would later shape his actions are a vital aspect of this book and the establishment of the farm workers movement.

    Read More

  • Robber Barons Dbq

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    James B. Weaver illustrates the true damage of monopolies on the public in “A Call to Action” (Document 4). Weaver, a two-time candidate for president of the United States, addresses the meticulous tactics which trusts and monopolies use to increase their profit at the expense of the public and asserts that their main weapons are, ”threats, intimidation, bribery, fraud, wreck, and pillage.” Arguments such as Weaver’s, suggest and end to the end of the laissez-faire capitalism that monopolies are sustained upon. Laissez-faire capitalism is essentially a system where the government takes no position in the affairs of businesses and does not interfere, no matter what harm is being done. This ideology dominated the business world of the century and allowed for vast unemployment, low wages, and impoverishment. Soon, laborers also begin to express their dismay with the way that such businesses are run and the treatment of workers in the railroad industry. An instance of this being the Pullman Strike of 1894. In 1894, laborers went on a nationwide strike against the Pullman Company; they issued a statement regarding their strike in June (Document 6). Workers are repulsed by Pullman’s exertion of power over several institutions and how his greed affects his competitors, who must reduce their wages to keep up with his businesses. This incident inspires many to take

    Read More

  • The Growth of Government from 1877 Through 1920

    693 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Transportation Revolution in the 1800s, sparked up industrialization and the building of railroads that stimulated every other industry causing an economic boom known as the Gilded Age. From the outside, America seemed like the place to go to make all your dreams come true. But in reality, in was an era of serious social problems mainly caused by an economy with a free market policy, low tariffs, low taxes, less spending, and a hands-off government. This type of economy would eventually lead to the development of monopolies. These monopolies would then, in turn, lead to worker uprisings ‒caused by the suppression of unions created mostly by unskilled workers‒ that would contribute to the rapid rise and downfall of America. An example of this suppression is the Homestead Strike of 1892; due to hostility created by the unions, the employer fired all the workers, and rehired them on the basis that there would not be any more unions. After the workers started working again, the conditions were still unbearable, so the workers shut down the facility. The police got involved, the workers were pushed back, and the facility was reopened union free.

    Read More

  • The Inefficiency of the U.S. Constitution

    1287 Words  | 3 Pages

    1. Janda, Kenneth. The Challenge of Democracy. Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston, MA. 1999. (Chapter 3 & 4).

    Read More

  • Labor Unions In The 1800's

    1440 Words  | 3 Pages

    The rise of industrialization and laissez faire were key constituents in the rise of labor unions; businesses were given more breathing room and had more influence in the economics than the government. Citizens were feuding the need to obtain better working hours, reasonable wages, and safer working conditions; this was mainly prompted by industrialization. The three most prominent labor unions in this time period were the American Railway labor(1890s), Knights of Labor (mid-1880s) and the National Labor Union (1866); they pushed forward forward

    Read More

  • The Struggles of the Working Class 1860-1914,

    1295 Words  | 3 Pages

    The time period from 1860 to 1914 is defined by the surfacing of the "mass societies." The social order practically ignored the industrial proletariat and the foundation for a reform was laid. The industrial proletariat refers to all the workers who desperately depended on their wages. These people had absolutely no role in politics or in society in general. Even as late as 1860, the workers had to depend on themselves only to improve their social conditions. During the Industrial Revolution, as the number of machines mu...

    Read More

  • Decline of Union Membership

    2292 Words  | 5 Pages

    Union affiliation was first seen in the 1600’s when the roots of the United States were just being planted with skilled trade groups such as artisans, laborers, goldsmiths and printers. Over the next two hundred years, unions developed their desires for higher wages through the use of strikes and protests. The nation’s progress spurred the need for more labor and so began the Industrial Revolution. During the Revolution, many union members began to witness the power that employers had and as a result decided to make use of the concept of power in numbers. The National Labor Union formed in 1866 and worked to persuade congress to set a Federal eight-hour workday, which applied to government employees (Miller). Many large unions formed following in the NLU’s footsteps and uni...

    Read More

  • Racial Challenges African Americans Faced Throughout History

    1752 Words  | 4 Pages

    The social and economic developments of the last quarter of the nineteenth century drastically changed the United States. The business world changed once industrialization was introduced to the world. Opportunities grew as people heard about the boundless American opportunities. Immigrants from all races flooded the cities which doubled in population from 1860-1900 (Barnes and Bowles, 2014, p. 34). However, as industries grew, owners prospered off the hard work of others. People started to feel they were not being treated fairly. People had to work harder and longer for their money. Barnes and Bowles (2014) noted “In the era of industrialization, millions of workers fought to simply have the right to work in safe conditions, and earn a fair wage” (p. 45). Many Americans feared that giant corporations would one day seek to restrict the ability of common people to get ahead and curtail individual freedoms. These fears were particularly strong among farmers, laborers, an...

    Read More

  • Agrarian Woes in the Late 19th Century

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    The end of the 19th century brought to farmers astringent policies enforced by railroad companies, once stable cash crops like cotton and wheat now selling at such low profit margins due to inflation that farmers continued to end up in the red, spikes in foreign competition due to leaps and bounds in transportation, and all of this in the wake of a devastating drought that brought with it the degradation of businesses throughout the west. This agricultural depression culminated into the Populist movement, founded on the premise of the politicalization of the farmers plight. However, much of the negative stigma put onto the precipitants of the industrial revolution by farmers was under false pretense, when the dry and arid conditions of the west, as well as the social isolation from the increase of farm size was to blame.

    Read More

  • The Origin of Migrant Farmworkers

    2448 Words  | 5 Pages

    Farm Labor Organization, 1905-1967. New York : NACLD, 1967. Edid, Maralyn. Farm Labor Organizing: Trends and Prospects. Ithaca, NY: Industrial & Labor Relations Press, Cornell University, 1994.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On The New Deal

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    A common trend was always that wages were not keeping up with the cost of living. Many could not make ends meet and were struggling to simply survive. They started to question the effectiveness of the National Recovery Administration (N.R.A.). It was unfair to them that businesses were still making enormous profits while its employees were forced into poverty. Pushing for a unionization was disowned by factories where they threatened to close their doors if a worker’s union formed. Some thought businesses were crooked and angled themselves to take advantage of the economy to increase their

    Read More

  • Gilded Age Analysis

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    The then most important political ideas were Social Darwinism and self-government, which directly led to the problem-causing negative leadership. During the Gilded Age, the government was not “equipped to deal with the problems created by the economy’s rapid growth”, and as such, efforts were placed on more large-scale issues as the elections and international trading (Foner 531). Of course, this wayside-push of more integral problems like the product-producing companies’ governing, subsequent widening of social classes, and ignored labor movements, only led to these smaller problems quickly becoming too large to ignore. As reflected in this case, ignorance can often cause the worse consequences. The previously implied consent of self-government by corrupt politicians and employers was what led to the outrage-inducing protest, concluding in the previously mentioned employee

    Read More

  • Gilded Age Dbq

    939 Words  | 2 Pages

    In response to intervention, thousands of groups of people became defiant. Laborers living off the bare minimum often assembled into organized groups to enforce their demands upon the government, making a notable push for reform (D) while educated men such as Henry Demarest Lloyd promoted virtue, not land, as the ideal focus of government (B). Dissatisfaction continued within the middle class. As new industrial machines emerged, designed for mass product...

    Read More

  • Robert Dahl's How Democratic Is The American Constitution?

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary Democracy is a form of government by the people; especially: rule of the majority(Webster). This is what the United States is represented as, and this is based on the United States Constitution from which the United states draws all legal powers. In Robert Dahls book How democratic Is the American Constitution? He challenges this idea by trying to appeal to his readers in a way that they may view the United States Constitution in a different light. Dahl does this by pointing out flaws that the Constitution has and, draws on facts based on the other democracies around the world that the United States is compared too. He points out how many democratic ideas and innovations have a occurred since the conception of the American Constitution yet it has only adopted some of those idea.

    Read More

  • Labor Laws and Unionization

    1553 Words  | 4 Pages

    The balance of power between management and labor has long been an issue. Historically, employers had the upper hand, and workers were afforded few rights in terms of pay, working conditions, or fair treatment (Fossum, 2012). Individual workers found that they had little influence over their own work situations and were frequently at the mercy of employers. Over time though, some progress was made in drawing attention to the plight of workers. The power of organizing began to give groups of workers some voice in workplace matters. Unfortunately, however, initial attempts at unionization of workers during the nineteenth century were short-lived and often marked by violence (Fossum, 2012). It was not until the twentieth century that major legislation gave unions a sense of legitimacy and workers slowly gained some leverage in the employer-employee relationship.

    Read More

More about Democracy Derailed

Open Document