A Legislature of Citizens

The hundredth session of the South Dakota Legislature convened in 2025. Unlike the career politicians that prevail in most states and in Washington, D.C., South Dakota's legislators are ordinary citizens who meet for just forty days each year. In these essays, drawn from the pages of South Dakota History, the South Dakota Historical Collections, and the books The Plains Political Tradition and Equality at the Ballot Box, ten authors examine the citizen legislature's role in addressing the issues of the last 135 years. From irrigation projects to rural credit, the initiative and referendum to divorce, suffrage to education, these essays contribute to a better understanding of the shortcomings and accomplishments of a unique institution.

A Legislature of Citizens contains articles written by: Bernie Hunhoff; H. Roger Grant; Terry Woster; Daryl Webb; Doane Robinson; Gilbert C. Fite; Molly P. Rozum; John E. Miller; C. Perry Armin; John Andrews.