In the earlier days, men of first-class ability, such as
Alexander Hamilton, Samuel Adams, and James Madison, did not
disdain membership in the state legislatures. But the development
of party spirit and machine politics brought with it a great
change. Then came the legislative caucus; and party politics soon
reigned in every capital. As the legislature was ruled by the
majority, the dominant party elected presiding officers,
designated committees, appointed subordinates, and controlled
lawmaking. The party was therefore in a position to pay its
political debts and bestow upon its supporters valuable favors.
Further, as the legislature apportioned the various electoral
districts, the dominant party could, by means of the gerrymander,
entrench itself even in unfriendly localities. And, to crown its
political power, it elected United States Senators. But, as the
power of the party increased, unfortunately the personnel of the
legislature deteriorated. Able men, as a rule, shunned a service
that not only took them from their private affairs for a number
of months, but also involved them in partizan rivalries and
trickeries. Gradually the people came to lose confidence in the
legislative body and to put their trust more in the Executive or
else reserved governmental powers to themselves. It was about
1835 that the decline of the legislature's powers set in, when
new state constitutions began to clip its prerogatives, one after
another.

The bulky constitutions now adopted by most of the States are
eloquent testimony to the complete collapse of the legislature as
an administrative body and to the people's general distrust of
their chosen representatives. The initiative, referendum, recall,
and the withholding of important subjects from the legislature's