Ballot Initiatives, Constitutional Referendums and Effects on Various Groups

Direct legislation in the United States is a subject that has received a great deal of attention recently. A large proportion of this attention however has been focused on the potential for direct legislation to harm minority groups. An example of this negative potential can be seen in a group of ballot propositions that were presented to California voters in the 1990s. These initiatives can all be interpreted as targeting various minority groups in California. As California is the state which makes use of the ballot initiative more frequently than any other, this is a cause for concern. There are however several other factors that make it unclear whether direct legislation will more often lead to negative outcomes for minorities. There is also a noticeable effect of direct democracy generally on political participation. Several studies have found a positive correlation between the extent that a state uses ballot initiatives and referenda with political participation indexes such as voting rates. These findings complicate the negative attention that ballot initiatives have recently received.

Alvin Laroy Duckett Papers - Accession 36

The Alvin Laroy Duckett Papers consist of correspondence, lecture notes, reading lists, tests and newspaper clippings relating to Dr. Duckett’s position as a professor of history at Winthrop College (1950-1967). Also included is a thesis (1956) and a rough draft, final draft, and book reviews pertaining to his book John Forsyth: Political Tactician (1962). Although the papers range from 1941 to about 1966, the greater part of the collection concerns the years of his employment at Winthrop.

Strom and Jean Crouch Thurmond Scrapbooks - Accession 27

The Strom and Jean Crouch Thurmond Scrapbook collection consists of three scrapbooks containing photocopies of clippings relating to Mr. and Mrs. Thurmond’s family life, as well as the political career of Strom Thurmond. Senator Thurmond’s first wife, Jean Crouch Thurmond was a 1947 graduate of Winthrop College, the South Carolina College for Women.