History prof reveals Oregon's conservative roots by Dick Pintilrich Ten years ago, in a boolc produced in honor of the nallon's bicentennial observance, PSU history professor Cordon B. Dodds described Oregon as a "chlorophyll commonwcahh... a fruitful garden set amda the desiccated wildemes5 of contemporary urban pollution. vIolence. crime. and ailenJlion." The stalc's people. he wrote. valu(' "quiet competence over the pursuit 01 excellence," and have c;eized upon "common decency. as a way of life," A decade later, Dodds has released a new, thought-provokmg history that includes a somewhat less nattet'ing Interpret>tion 01 the Oregon story _ In The AmerlGn orthwt"Sl:.A H;story of Orf!/jOll dnd IVdShington (The Forum Press), Dodds concludes thai the Beaver State's progressive roots actually sprang oul of conserv.11ive soil. We've been willing to act progressively. he suggests, only as long as our past as been preserved. Such oft-applauded Oregon reforms as the initiative and referendum "were designed 10 get the system back inlO lhe hands of the average pet5Of1 and oul of the hands 01 the big interests." suggests Dodds, a frequen'ly published aUlI1O<_ Environmental reforms that nave succeeded in Oregon have been geared. "if not '0 look back. aI least to preserve lhe scenic. and natur.J1 attractions." At their most progressive mom('nls. Oregonians have been actmg as neither mavericks nor radicals. RefOrmS were enacted "not to uproot the social system," he argues, "but to preserve the past." What Mve been progressive, he says, "are the methods. The obJe<:hve has been c onservatl\le. . . In another deduction thaI will surprise many. Dodds points Oul that the stale's best·known rerorms are also perceived as being cost-rree. "Certainly our land-use legislation costs somebody something, but the average penon doesn't see It. I think the greatest measure in the Oregon voters' eyes is the Bottle Bill. It preserves the environment, and there's no eniorcement whalSoeVer from ,he cllizens. Small boys. Yag1ants downtown, the ordinary customers-they're the enforcement agency. It doesn't cost anybody anything. " A classic example o( Oregon progressivism? "RighI. Ef(ective. Preserves the environment. No cost." Dodd's interpretation o( Oregon-style progressiveness is unlike any other yet publi hed. His illustrated text is also more current than any other volume available on local history_The prevoous bible for the region, Empire of the Columbif1 by Reed College professor Dorothy Johansen, has been the standard text on PaCifIC orthwest hiSklry for the past twenty )'ears. While Dodds is quick to p r a i ~ Johansen's opus-""ve always used it The Sixties: Change and Progress CooliDU#!d (rom ~ g e 1 division students, The nature of campus activism changed. too. Studenb organized campaigns In favor of Slate bond and tax mea)Ures In 1961. 1963 and 1964. with voter canvasSlIlg and rallleS_ The 1964 bond issue, including major campus constructIOn funds for Portland State, was successful. By the late SixtIeS, student activism was dominated by different themes-the war In Southeast Asia, the draft, the (ree speech movement. Campus news stories about parking problems were replaced by clariflCalions of the college policy on demon<trallOM and dlc,rupltOn of c I ~ . Portland Siale was not Immune to the disillusionment and dissent s"eepmg more ~ I a b l i s h c d campuses around the country bul at the 5.lITIe tune. the school was fighting lOr Ib place In the 'lale ~ t e m . As late as 1964 there "ere S1ill diSCussions of proposal:, to move the campus away (rom downtown. 8ul. In 1969. at a time \\hen IIiOITle offiCial" and member 0( the pubhc ....-ere I'TlOSt cntlcal eM college administriJtions and studenb, the Oregon legislature gave nearly unanimous approval to university SIa'US for Portland State_Governor _ ' I PSU PPrspective. Summer 1986 Tom McCall came to the campus on February 14, 1969. 10 sign Ihe law establishing Portland Stale University and opening the next majOf phase of de\·elopmen, for PSU_ Sicuro ContinUftllrom fJ4r 2 Descnbing PSU as "the people's univerSity-accessible to anyone who wants to make a go of ii," Sicuro also notes thaI PSU has attracted to its faculty "Iremendous resources from all over the world." All of Ihls makes Sicuro "very excited about the challenges and opponunllles at Portland Stale." Sicuro's e'.l!iperience includes faculh' and admlnlstrati....e ~ t l D n 5 iU Kent Stare. such a,., Dean or ContInuing Educahon and Associate PrO\lOSl tor Medical Affairs. He was ASSIstant Supcnnlendent and Director of Second.lry Education iOt tOe GeJuga County Schools In Ohio. and taugh' and coached athletICS in Ohio schools. For two years, S'CUro was Manager-in-Charge of Educallonal Consulting for Peat. Man....,ck, MilChell & Co. in Los Angeles_ In teachmg"-he also JX)inlS out that II's now h,;enty years out of date. "\\'hen she \VfOle. people v.'eren't mterested so much In cena," things. ..uch as ethnic history. That whole field has opened up in ,he past "'en'y years." In hiS latest book, he discusses the Indians m Oregon and Washington, descrtbes the history of European discovery and exploration, fur trading, missionary and pioneer settlements, and chronicles the history of block. Chinese. lewish and Hawaiian immigranf'i in the region. Nor does he overlook women's history. In a sense, Dodds suggcsts. the 51.ate's past accomplishments have become a hisrortc.al burden for pre!oel'lt-day ()n>gonlans. "If you h.1ve a history of success, this can breed complacency. You can (eel that progress is automatic. Now we may be in trouble." he warns, "because things are costing more to srnve." Instead o( debating the merits o( a bottle bill, for instance, today's Oregonians must argue for new ways to fund their public schools. "Very few states allow their schools to depend so hea\ily on local taxes," jX)ints out Dodds. And even in the face of yearly school c ~ r e s , Oregonians (ail to agree on a financing solution. He does praise the state's newest pioneers as being more forward-looking_ "The hIgh-tech people seem to be qUIte socially fC"ponSlve. The new people out there are quite o p e n ~ h a o d e d . They think bigger." lhe state's most recent h i ~ t o r y gives Dodds cause (Of concern about the future. "'We might become Idaho with J coastline," he warns, "a place where nobody is willing 10 make hard sacrifices for the public welfare and where e....erybody thinks this is Ihe best of all possible worlds. We o;eem to be kind of 8!ving up." The lesson in all thiS. Dodds concludes, is to recalltha! success is nol automatic. It was a lesson our hard-working pioneer ancestors kl'leV\ , a lesson Tom N\cCall remembered when he fought for contral,'ersial land-use reforms. "What we h.l\-e is a successful but not a very useful history," Dodds says. 'We have to learn that a communlty's success is not automatic Of' mevltable." I( Oregon is to have a (uture as heroic as her past, residents must begin looking forward and not merely rest on previous accomplishments. Warns Dodds, "The past is not necessarily prologue," ~ ) _ " ' _ 0 1 " , , " , " Dick P;ntarich is a Portland free-lance writer and a goouate 01 PSU ('72, '80 MSI_ Dodds was hIS graduate advisef'_ WANTED Future engineers, artists, accountants, computer experts, scientists, social workers, musicians, historians, educators, ~ r l ~ and other top-flight prospective students for PSU. Alumni and (riends are encouraged to recommend high school and transfer students you know (including your OY.'n sons and d a u ~ h t t . r ' S ) ..... ho YJOUld benefit (rom continuing their education .11 Portland State. Please complete and mail the attached ronn to Alumni Offi(e, Portland Stale University, P.O. Box 7S2, Portland. Oregon 97207 Or lelephone: (SOli 229-4948. Your name'-_________________ A d d r e s s ~ _ _______ , C l t y - - - 5 t a l ~ i p - - - Studen,'s name'-________________ A d d r e s . ~ s _________City___5tate---Zlp--- PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI
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