[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-325991-105":3,"doc-detail-325991-en":81,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":98},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","are-they-doing-their-job-vital-issues-volume-5-number-5","Are They Doing Their Job - Vital Issues - Volume 5, Number 5","","Discussion guide exploring how the overlooked governance of the forty-eight U.S. states affects daily life more directly than federal government. It examines state responsibilities in education, transportation, public safety, and public health, plus issues of representation, apportionment, and civic knowledge. The guide also provides historical context on state constitutions, bicameral legislatures, voting rights expansion, and political reforms following the Civil War, questioning whether states act democratically and efficiently.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/are-they-doing-their-job-vital-issues-volume-5-number-5/325991/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/are-they-doing-their-job-vital-issues-volume-5-number-5/325991.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Evangeline","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-02","2026-09-21",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",13,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"Why does the guide focus on the forty-eight states instead of the national government?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"It argues that state actions, working through local communities, affect daily life more directly and frequently than federal decisions.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What kinds of services does state government provide that influence personal well-being?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"It highlights public schooling, highways, state police functions for safety, and public health services such as welfare institutions, hospital inspections, and water supply analysis.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How does the guide describe changes in state government over time, including legislative structure and political reforms?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"It traces the development of state constitutions and bicameral systems, later shifts in responsibilities, and post–Civil War corruption reforms such as direct primaries and secret ballots.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},325991,1790294628,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",{"doc_id":79,"user_id":84,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":85,"doc_module":4,"category_id":86,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":87,"file_id":88,"file_url":89,"file_type":90,"file_size":91,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":33,"language":92,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":93,"faqs":94,"seo_title":95,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":96,"read_time":97,"preview_page_count":4},13056703019662,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/be000253a8e92610077?_k=1778726343310543188",8,"THE GOVERNMENTS OFTHE 48MARYGROVE CC:1.”△E LIBRARDETROIT,MICHIGANHIGANSTATES  \nVital Issues  \n\"A DISCUSSION GUIDE FOR  \nBETTER INFORMED AMERICANS”  \nPublished by the  \nCENTER FOR INFORMATION ON AMERICA  \nPLEASE DO NOT RE  \nWASHINGTON,CONNECTICUT  \nVolume V,Number 5  \n# ARE THEY DOING THEIR JOB?\n\nThe forgotten area in government of,by,and for the people  \nis that of the forty-eight states.  \nEspecially in years of Presidential election,what goes on inthe way our own state carries out its job gets very little notice.  \nAll eyes are on the race to see who'll occupy the WhiteHouse at Washington,and it's mostly national issues that catchour attention.  \nYet what our own state,with our local community as apart of it,does for and to us is pretty apt to affect our dailylives more directly and frequently than does our national gov-ernment.  \nPublic school education,for instance,is a local and stateconcern.Our state system of highways is indispensable to ourcitizens.How the state police function has a great dealto do with our personal safety.Through its various servicesconnected with public health—-running its welfare institutions,inspecting local hospitals to see that standards are kept up,analyzing local water supplies to make sure they're not con-taminated—our state very directly contributes to our personalwell-being.  \nThat's just part of the list.More and more,state services ingreat variety are expected by the people.In the last twenty-fiveyears,state expenditures on highways alone have increased morethan six thousand percent;expenditures for education by sixhundred percent.  \nThat's like space mathematics.  \nNot counting the nation's outlay for defense,the annualexpenditure of the forty-eight states about equals that of thenational government.  \nState government is too big and important to be foggy about—yet most of us are pretty ignorant of the subject.  \nHave we even glanced at our state's constitution—the rulesand regulations covering how it's run?Can we give the nameof one other state official beside the governor's?Do we knowwhether our legislature_represents us fairly--the very heart ofour self-government?The chances are,it doesn't.The vari-ous systems in the forty-eight states for apportioning seats inthe legislature tend to over-represent some elements of thepopulation and under-represent others.  \nLet's start with a look at our own state.But we've got tobear in mind that what's done and what goes on in the forty-seven others may be considerably different—just as are thestates themselves.Each one is important to us who are its citi-zens.All are important to us as citizens of the Union.Thesuccess of our federal system depends to a great degree on theperformance of the forty-eight states.  \nAre they doing their part of the job?Are they carrying ontheir appropriate functions democratically,responsibly,intelli-gently,and efficiently?It's a vital issue,all right,which we better look into.  \nBy 1800,all but one state had adopted the two chamber(\"bicameral\")legislative system.  \nFAMILY HISTORY  \nYears before our Federal Union,the original states werefunctioning as governments.As former British colonies,theyhad united in a loose confederation to win the War of Inde-pendence.With the Revolution ending,they wrote constitu-tions,putting into them what they and mankind had learnedabout self-government,and setting up safeguards against tyran-ny from without and within.  \nThis was probably in imitation of the national government.But it also came about during a time when many persons be-lieved that wealth and position were entitled to extra considera-tion.Special privilege could thus be given through settinghigher eligibility requirements both for voting for and sittingin the senate of a state.  \nWhen Andrew Jackson,in 1828,became President,startingthe era of the common man,this undemocratic notion peteredout—but the bicameral system stuck.  \nAfter a stormy trial period as a league of independent states,a more perfect union seemed essenti","cbCaie9tjSksZlD1","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaie9tjSksZlD1","pdf",378986,"English","# Are They Doing Their Job?\n## The forty-eight states and vital issues\n## Family history of state government","[{\"question\":\"Why does the guide focus on the forty-eight states instead of the national government?\",\"answer\":\"It argues that state actions, working through local communities, affect daily life more directly and frequently than federal decisions.\"},{\"question\":\"What kinds of services does state government provide that influence personal well-being?\",\"answer\":\"It highlights public schooling, highways, state police functions for safety, and public health services such as welfare institutions, hospital inspections, and water supply analysis.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the guide describe changes in state government over time, including legislative structure and political reforms?\",\"answer\":\"It traces the development of state constitutions and bicameral systems, later shifts in responsibilities, and post–Civil War corruption reforms such as direct primaries and secret ballots.\"}]","Are They Doing Their Job - Vital Issues - Volume 5, Number 5 | PDF",1789971917,10,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":99},[100,104,108,112,117,122,127,130,135,138,141],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":105,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":109,"show_sort_weight":110,"slug":111},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":113,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":114,"show_sort_weight":115,"slug":116},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":118,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":119,"show_sort_weight":120,"slug":121},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":126},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":86,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":128,"slug":129},30,"research-report",{"id":131,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":132,"show_sort_weight":133,"slug":134},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":133,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":136,"show_sort_weight":133,"slug":137},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":139,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":140},"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":142,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":143,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":144},19,"General","general"]