When American Governors and Moguls Came Together to Prevent Environmental
Catastrophe

A Historic 1908 Conference Transcended Party and Personal Interest for the ‘Common Good’

At the turn of the 20th century, floods, fires, and waste plagued the United States. Industries burned through resources and blew toxins into the air, with few restrictions. States and federal governments were only beginning to approach questions of the environment and did so in piecemeal ways.

In 1907, responding to the need to improve transportation, President Theodore Roosevelt tasked the Inland Waterways Commission with studying how to better manage rivers. The commissioners recognized a need for interstate coordination in this effort. Two in particular—Gifford Pinchot and William John “WJ” McGee—went …

California Is Still America’s Most Republican State | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

California Is Still America’s Most Republican State

Since 1850, GOP Politicians Have Shaped What Has Become a Democratic Stronghold 

Did Leonardo da Vinci spray graffiti all over the Mona Lisa? Did Alfred Hitchcock destroy the original print of Vertigo?

Of course not. So why are Republicans waging war against California, …

Why California’s Godless Governor Was Ahead of His Time

A Friend of FDR but Not of Big Business, Culbert Olson Believed Humans Had to Save Themselves

Culbert Olson is one the most important men you probably never have heard of. He was the only Democrat to serve as governor of California between 1896 and 1958, and …

Are California’s Strongman Governors Bullying the State?

With a Weakling Legislature and Few Checks on Power, Our Chief Executives Are Big-Footing Politics


Who is the most powerful governor in California history?

The next one.

Over the past four decades, our state’s governorship has grown so great in reach and power that it …