Direct Democracy in the United States

Abstract

The United States is hardly a "model" of direct democracy. Historically, our system has been notable for several institutions of government that might more accurately be described as distinctly "indirect" and "undemocratic." Against this backdrop of "indirect undemocracy," we might ask how it happened that the instruments of direct democracy -- initiative, referendum, and recall -- gained a place in the American political system. This manuscript is a brief history of how direct legislation became a part of state and local government in America during the twentieth century.