The Many Contrasts Of Arizona History. Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland welcome Prescott activist Glenn Miller to explore the evolution of Arizona political history.
They begin by discussing some of the contradictions of Arizona, which saw the state go from the Wild West to a very progressive territory then to conservatism. Miller says, “A big part of why Arizona was so progressive was the labor movement, which was not that powerful. Because it wasn’t until 1935 [when] we had the Wagner Act that the federal government got on the side of labor rights.”
That was apparently a reaction to some of the territory’s early corporations.
Miller explains, “To understand Arizona history during the territorial period, you’ve got to understand the mining industry and these rapacious mining corporations who were just brutal in how they treated the environment, the natural environment, and how they treated the workers.” He continues, “The convention that formed the Arizona Constitution was overwhelmingly Democrat. And they were fighting for progressive things like the recall of judges, the referendum, the initiative…these were core things in the progressive movement in the early twentieth century. And it was really about the 1950s down in Maricopa, Barry Goldwater became a force. Republicans have mostly been dominant until today, except Arizona has been shifting to a purple state.”