Parties and Politics in Oregon History

Abstract

^3 H ROBERT D. JOHNSTON H Parties and Politics H in Oregon History H ONE OF THE DISTINGUISHING themesin Oregon shistoryiscitizens' KB relative lack of partisan attachments. To be sure, there have been plenty 3 of demonstrably Democratic or rambunctiously Republican citizens. Hi Compared toNew York, or Illinois, orMississippi, however, the history of ^9 Oregon's politics speaks most powerfully of disaffection with political par ^| ties, crusades forvirtuous anti-partisanship, and mobilization of themasses xallglk in independent social movements. Moreover, Oregonians self-consciously cl^^?ii forgedthe most distinctiveinstitutions of statepolitics ? the initiative ^^^^?y and referendum ? to help them escape fromwhat the system's architects I perceived as the tyrannical yoke of corrupt party machines. That said, plenty ofmomentous Oregon history has happened because of, and bymeans of, political parties. The two articles in this second install ment of theOregon Historical Quarterly s statehood sesquicentennial series are fine reflections on this countertradition in the state's past. Barbara Mahoney reveals the vigorous partisan landscape inpre-Civil War Oregon, where parties served as the primary vehicle for the state's ideological and economic conflicts. Jeff LaLande narrates aweaker, but stillquite important, partisan landscape a century later,when Oregon's Republican Party was at the beginning of arguably themost significant transition in itshistory. What was at stake in the fights between Whigs and Democrats, and later between Republicans and Democrats, Mahoney and LaLande show, was not just the occupancy of this or that political office. Rather, some of the most important issues in the state's history were decided in the course of these struggles. In the nineteenth century, party activists played amajor role in deciding what kind of political structures and civic lifeOregon would have ? and how inclusive theywould be, particularly inmatters relating to race. During the twentieth century, proud partisans decisively shaped the state's economy, particularly in relation to theway the federal govern HI 194 OHQ vol. 110, no. 2 ? 2009 Oregon Historical Society ment protected, or did not protect, public lands and natural resources. In both cases, matters of civil rights and civil liberties were central to political discussions, and in both cases, the fate of all these issues inOregon would reverberate well beyond the state's borders. Far toomuch of the history ofAmerican political parties is, to be frank, rather boring. Much of it iswritten by political scientists, who generally concentrate more on pulling meaning from crunched numbers than creating compelling narratives of human interest. Even when historians tackle this subject, they get bogged down in matters relating to conflict between ethnic groups, the distribution of patronage, and themobilization of voters that ? while crucially important ? rarely appeal to a broad public audience.1 Fortunately, both Mahoney and LaLande center their lively stories on, well, lives. Both historians narrate the political careers of individuals who were not only significant in their times but who also left an intriguing paper trail. Asahel Bush, the Democratic leader who is the protagonist of Mahoney's article, is better-known, at least in scholarly circles, than LaLande's subject. Definitely one of Oregon's Founding Fathers, Bush in many ways created party politics in the Beaver State. His vociferous advo cacy for the Democratic Party forged a bold method of political rhetoric (the so-called "Oregon Style") and a bold brand of racial discrimination. In contrast, part of the premise of LaLande's article is the need tobring toGuy Cordon, an almost complete unknown, into the annals of the state's history. LaLande definitively shows that Cordon's obscurity is not deserved, since "the state's last conservative U.S. senator" played a noteworthy role in many important national decisions during the 1940s and 1950s.And his defeat was even more momentous: during the supposedly complacent and conserva tive 1950s ? The Age of Ike ? Oregonians sent Cordon packing from his post in Washington, D.C., helping to lay the foundation for the brand of modern liberal Republicanism that still remains amajor component of the reputation of Oregon politics (although, in 2009, that reputation isnot as accurate as itused to be). BARBARAMAHONEY DEPICTS a nineteenth-century politicalculture thatmakes our current civic life, with its frequently uncivil battles between Rush Limbaugh and Keith Olbermann, look...