Granger constitutions restricted legislatures out of fear that corporate power could buy lawmakers

Evidence

What was the point of these restrictions? Basically, it was fear of gross economic power, so gross it could buy and sell a whole legislature. The Illinois Constitution of 1870 was the first of the midwestern granger constitutions, and it reflected the fears and interests of Illinois’s farmers. These constitutions typically called for tighter regulation of railroads and warehouses. The point was to set up some sort of countervailing force to balance the influence of the lobbies for industry. — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 2049

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Hayek proposed constitutions to anchor economic freedoms against legislatures — Quinn Slobodian, Globalists: The End of Empire and the…, 671; Powerful corporations have long used the Constitution to fight regulation — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 353; Post-1837 state governments barred themselves from owning corporate stock and lending credit — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 2978

Broader Connections

• Hayek proposed constitutions to anchor economic freedoms against legislatures #corroborates (0.82) — Quinn Slobodian, Globalists, 671
• Post-1837 state governments barred themselves from owning corporate stock and lending credit #exemplifies (0.80) — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 2978
• Powerful corporations have long used the Constitution to fight regulation #corroborates (0.78) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 353