In the study of Oregon politics, the importance of developments in the early twentieth century have been largely overlooked by popular historians. As a result, many have lost the perspective of the sweeping reforms that reformers presented to Oregon's electorate. Another complicating factor is that voters dealing with the issues during the period had such disparaging attitudes towards some of the reforms, that no thought was given to preserving their memory for future generations. In addition, the personal papers of W. S. U'Ren, Oregon's leading reformer, are not available. This makes perspective even more difficult. Therefore, the research problem is basically attempting to place all the proposed reforms in perspective with one another and arriving at an idea of exactly what the reformers had in mind. The data used for the thesis, W. S. U'Ren and the Fight For Gov­ernment Reform and the Single Tax: 1908-1912, was found in the personal papers of George Chamberlain, in newspapers, pamphlets, other theses, and official Oregon State publications. George Chamberlain's papers are found in the Oregon Historical Society, and provide valuable in-sight into the election year of 1908. The use of newspapers presented a problem, because many of them were antagonistic toward U'Ren's efforts. To balance the view, the Oregon City Courier was closely scrutinized because it was the most objective in dealing with reformer's proposals. Pamphlets were found in the Multnomah County Library, the Oregon Historical Society Library, and in the Oregon State Library. They provided insights into the thinking of both reformers and counter­-reformers. Both the pamphlets and the newspapers, especially the Courier, aided in sensing the mood of people. The Oregon Grange yielded information on the mood of farmers, an important part of the electorate, through records of state Grange sessions. The theses, found in the Oregon Historical Society, that contained interviews with people who worked with U'Ren were the most valuable. Records of the legislature and the tax commission, found in the Oregon State Library, were of importance in gaining a view of the opposition to reform. W. S. U'Ren presented reforms which, if carried out, would have greatly altered Oregon government and economy. In studying them, they appear to be workable, while placing more power in the hands of the people. Whether they actually would work is impossible to know. The study does point to a sweeping program that the reformers had in mind that would have given every individual the opportunity to develop to the highest possible point, while eliminating crime and poverty. The inference is given that if Oregon adopted all the tax and governmental reforms that the reformers presented, the entire nation would follow the example. At that time, there was a widespread belief that as Oregon went, so went the nation. Oregon's electorate only went part of the way with W. S. U'Ren and his supporters. The greatest factor in this is that money and corruption persuaded Oregon's farmers that the reforms would make them slaves to the government. This was simply not the objective of the reformers. In fact, the opposite was true. They wanted to free farmers from control by business and government.

This dissertation examines the impacts of the 1973 Arab petrostate oil embargo on U.S. energy politics. I argue that the embargo was the moment that transformed oil from a domestic and highly regulated commodity into a matter of national security and competitive geopolitics. While its likelihood was foreseen by the Nixon Administration, the embargo did exacerbate an existing energy crisis that was caused by pre-embargo federal energy policies. Following the embargo, a dominant narrative emerged that viewed dependence on foreign oil supplies as an existential threat that merited extraordinary government measures. The securitization of the energy crisis allowed the Nixon Administration to implement many of its pre-embargo energy policies, including the launch of a national energy program to bring the U.S. to energy self-sufficiency by 1980. The embargo was the trigger for the creation of new governmental entities, such as the Department of Energy and U.S. Central Command, that endure to this day. It also shaped the U.S.'s close relationship with Saudi Arabia as an essential oil supplier and a key ally in the Arab world. The dissertation contests the revisionist accounts that argue that the embargo was a non-event, arguing that its impacts on U.S. domestic and foreign policies are still tangible and relevant. / Doctor of Philosophy / For most countries, ensuring energy security and uninterrupted oil supplies is a matter of national security and economic survival. However, for the U.S., long a major oil exporter, access to energy resources only rose to the status of a national security issue in the early 1970s. This dissertation examines the impacts of the 1973 Arab petrostate oil embargo on U.S. energy politics. I argue that the embargo was the moment that transformed oil from a domestic and highly regulated commodity into a matter of national security and competitive geopolitics. Pre-embargo rising domestic demand for oil, insufficient domestic supplies, and misdirected federal regulations had already weakened the resilience of the U.S. oil market and caused shortages. Following the embargo, the Nixon Administration launched a national program to achieve energy self-sufficiency by 1980. I argue that the value of committing the U.S. to energy autarky was essential for conveying to foes and allies that the Nixon Administration was willing to invest in a very costly national program so that it can maintain the autonomy of both its foreign policy and of the economy. I also argue that racial and cultural prejudices influenced the Nixon Administration's reaction to the embargo, in that throughout the ramp-up and during the post-embargo period, both the media and the Nixon Administration expressed disbelief at the effrontery of underdeveloped countries that were until recently Western possessions to challenge a global superpower. Following the embargo, a dominant narrative emerged that viewed dependence on foreign oil supplies as an existential threat that merited extraordinary government measures. The securitization of the energy crisis allowed the Nixon Administration to implement many of its pre-embargo energy policies. The embargo was the trigger for the creation of new governmental entities, such as the Department of Energy and U.S. Central Command, that endure to this day. It also shaped the U.S.'s close relationship with Saudi Arabia as an essential oil supplier and a key ally in the Arab world.