Populist Reforms

Americans who believed the state legislatures were asking too much from the public had something in common with others who found them too lenient. The citizens who favored heavy taxation and strict monetary policies were frustrated with lawmakers and local officers. They continued to ascribe relief to public officials’ fear of rebellion, but a new orthodoxy began to emerge. Other Americans said public officials should protect the powerless. Some citizens blamed state representatives’ excessive accountability for the revolts. On the other hand, some said that the real reason many farmers had rebelled was that they unable to attain redress at the polls. The most troubling thing about the rising tide of democratic aspiration was that it had spread
In six of the eleven states where the legislature had an upper house, the member were elected annually, and many Americans thought they should have longer terms. On the other hand, some wanted to move the state government in the opposite direction. They insisted that the legislatures open their sessions to the public, publish their voted on major legislation, accord more representatives to growing western districts, and add more polling places. Most of the Revolution-era state constitutions preserved the colonial policy of denying citizens the right to run for office unless they met certain requirements. A small group of populist reformers proposed to reduce the size of election districts. They wanted to make state legislatures more responsive to the voters by giving them less constituents.The advocates and opponents of heavy tax and debt collection were so far apart they tried to reform many elements of the state governments in opposite directions. In the states where the governor or council of revision could veto the legislature, many citizens wanted to abolish the veto.The fiscal and monetary debates centered on the upper sections of the