One House

Charlyne Berens

Description

When Nebraskans voted to trade in their bicameral, partisan legislature for a one-house, nonpartisan body in 1934, it was a revolutionary decision. The people of the state listened to George Norris, their U.S. senator, when he argued that the new institution would be more open, more efficient, more responsible, and more responsive to the people it was meant to serve. An ardent progressive, Norris convinced his fellow Nebraskans that a nonpartisan unicameral would take power from the elites and return it to “the people.” One House examines the magnetic and driven personalities at work behind the unicameral’s creation and chronicles the lawmakers’ struggles to remain true to the populist, progressive vision of its founders and the people of Nebraska.

 

Using historical research, surveys of Nebraskans and of current and former state senators, as well as in-depth interviews with senators and legislative observers, Charlyne Berens examines whether the promises that Norris and his fellow unicameral promoters made have held up over the years. Garnering a great deal of support and some criticism from the citizens of Nebraska, the one-house legislature remains a unique experiment in American democracy as well as a powerful symbol of Nebraskans'' identity.

Sujets

• USA
• United States of America
• Region
• Administrative division
• Regional
• États-Unis

Informations

• Publié par: Nebraska Paperback
• Date de parution: 01 mars 2005
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780803204843
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 6 Mo

Extrait

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One House

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One

House

The Unicameral’s Progressive Vision for Nebraska

Charlyne Berens

University of Nebraska Press Lincoln and London

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©2005by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America  Library of Congress Cataloging-in- Publication Data Berens, Charlyne. One house : the unicameral’s pro- gressive vision for Nebraska / Charlyne Berens. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. isbn 0-8032-1320-4(cl.: alk. paper)— isbn 0-8032-6233-7(pbk.: alk. paper) 1. Nebraska. Legislature—History. 2. Legislative bodies—Nebraska. I. Title. jk6666.b47 2005 328.782'079–dc22 2004016098 Set in New Caledonia by Kim Essman. Designed by Debra Turner. Printed by Edwards Brothers, Inc.

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Contents

List of Illustrations Acknowledgments 1. One of a Kind 2. Power to the People 3. Let the Sun Shine In 4. Forty-nine Independent Contractors 5. We, the People 6. “You Lie, You’re Gone” 7. Promises Fulfilled? Appendix1. Survey Results Appendix2. George Norris’s1923Article in theNew York Times Appendix3. George Norris’s1934Model Legislature Speech Notes Bibliographic Essay Index

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Illustrations

Following page102 The Sower being readied for its perch atop the Nebraska capitol The Nebraska capitol during construction The133members of the two houses posing in joint session The unicameral chamber The Nebraska capitol U.S. senator George Norris and Dr. John Senning

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Acknowledgments

I just can’t seem to get enough of the Nebraska unicameral. Even before I began studying the legislature in an organized manner, I was fascinated by the way it worked and, like many other Nebraskans, felt very close to this small, accessible institution. The more I’ve studied it, the more interested I’ve become and the more I’ve wanted to continue investigating how it works: thus, this book, which tries to determine whether the promises made for the one-house, nonpartisan legislature by its1930s proponents have been kept. Many people helped make this book possible. Patrick O’Donnell, clerk of the legislature, was an extremely patient and helpful resource. Current and former state senators and lobbyists were generous with their time, completing surveys and granting interviews. Terri Diffenderfer spent hours with the microfilm reader, helping track down newspapers’ references to unicameral history, and hours at the com- puter, helping organize and analyze survey data. She deserves a medal. Will Norton encouraged me to undertake this project and continued to nudge me along throughout its progress. And, of course, my husband, Dennis Berens, has been my biggest cheerleader. I simply couldn’t have done this without his unquestioning support. I am, indeed, blessed to have such friends and family.

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1 / One of a Kind

What George Norris Said a Unicameral Would Do

Nebraska may look like just one long stretch of interstate highway, lined by cornfields and “Go Big Red” signs. But Nebraskans will tell you they have a unique claim to fame: theirs is the only state in the nation with a one-house, nonpartisan legislature. It wasn’t always that way. In fact, when the state entered the Union in 1867, it adopted the partisan, two-house legislative model that had become the norm in the United States. It was seventy years later, in1937, that the first unicameral legislature met at the state capitol in Lincoln in an experiment that some predicted would not last long but which most Nebraskans today simply take for granted. In fact, the institution quickly became so firmly entrenched in Nebraska’s state culture that, for decades, citizens have referred to their legislature as “the unicameral.” By a two-to-one majority, Nebraskans passed a1934constitutional amend- ment that created the new model. It was a peaceful revolution, achieved at the ballot box, and it didn’t jettison the state’s fundamental democratic structure. Nonetheless, a revolution it was. For the first time in more than a century and a half, one of the United States had decided it could manage just fine with a one-house, nonpartisan legislative branch. Adoption of the unicameral was not born out of any political or social crisis but followed nearly thirty years of discussion and consideration fostered by the state’s political leaders. The unicameral seems to have had its roots in the populist/progressive philosophy that had been a major influence in the state from the1880s on. Not that Nebraskans voted for the new system be- cause they recognized themselves as populists or progressives, but when they followed the recommendations of those who were promoting the nonparti- san, one-house body, they were responding to arguments grounded in the populist/progressive ideal. George Norris was the most prominent person making those arguments. In a1934interview with a Washingtondcnewspaper, Norris, Nebraska’s U.S. senator, a well-known progressive and a leading advocate for the new legislative structure, talked about why he thought Nebraska should make

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