The Origins of the City Club of Portland In the early years of the 20th century, a wave of progressive reform swept the United States. Widespread disenchantment with the entrenched corporate and poli
tical elites led to an era marked by Theodore Roosevelt’s “trust-busting,” the struggle for women’s suffrage, prohibition, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, and labor activism. In this milieu a new form of organization emerged, the “city club,” with the first of many founded in Cleveland in 1912. Oregon was at the forefront of many progressive issues-- the initiative & referendum process, direct election of senators, the commission form of city government, protective labor laws, and
LikeShareFollow
| The City Club of Portland |
| City Club of Portland is a nonprofit, nonpartisan civic organization dedicated to community service, civic education, and leadership development. Through weekly Friday Forums, community-based research and advocacy, and after-hours civic programs, City Club examines issues of importance to the Portland metropolitan region, the state, and society as a whole. |
| The Origins of the City Club of Portland In the early years of the 20th century, a wave of progressive reform swept the United States. Widespread disenchantment with the entrenched corporate and political elites led to an era marked by Theodore Roosevelt’s “trust-busting,” the struggle for women’s suffrage, prohibition, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, and labor activism. In this milieu a new form of organization emerged, the “city club,” with the first of many founded in Cleveland in 1912. Oregon was at the forefront of many progressive issues-- the initiative & referendum process, direct election of senators, the commission form of city government, protective labor laws, and the minimum wage. And in the autumn of 1916, a small group of men began meeting in the Hazelwood Confectionary & Restaurant in downtown Portland. Well-educated, eager to foster positive change, and dissatisfied with the operation of the city’s public institutions, they felt that existing service organizations gave them no voice. They decided to form a “distinctive club” along the lines of the new “city clubs” in Eastern cities, which served as community “watchdogs.” The idea of “just another luncheon club” didn’t appeal to them, nor did continuing to meet, eat, and gripe about conditions without doing anything about them. And so they formed City Club of Portland. “No mossbacks or drones are wanted,” said the attorney who became City Club’s first secretary. City Club was never to deteriorate into a tool of special interests. To guarantee independence, dues paid by individual members would fund City Club. Neither politics nor money were to suppress ideas and ability. Character, intelligence, training, civic-mindedness, and a desire to help the community were wanted and fostered. |
Trusted Seller
| ||||||||||
