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Laura Jane Gifford

Laura Jane Gifford holds a Ph.D. in American history from the University of California, Los Angeles, and has published extensively in the field of modern American political history. Her winter 2014 article for the Oregon Historical Quarterly, "Planning for a Productive Paradise: Tom McCall and the Conservationist Tale of Oregon Land-Use Policy," won the 2015 Joel Palmer Award for best article published in OHQ the previous year. Her other publications include The Center Cannot Hold: The 1960 Presidential Election and the Rise of Modern Conservatism (2009) and the co-edited volume The Right Side of the Sixties: Reexamining Conservatism's Decade of Transformation (2012).

Author's Entries

  • Alan “Punch” Green Jr. (1925–2001)

    Alan “Punch” Green Jr. was an Oregon businessman, Republican Party activist, and federal government servant with deep roots in the Pacific Northwest. While Green's service as ambassador to Romania during the overthrow of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu marked the pinnacle of his public stature, he played important roles in Oregon politics …

    Oregon Encyclopedia

  • Carl Hillmer Francis (1915–1995)

    Dayton lawyer and judge Carl Hillmer Francis served as a mayor, state representative, state senator, and Yamhill County district attorney before being appointed by Oregon Governor Mark O. Hatfield to the Yamhill County District Court bench. A dedicated liberal Republican, Francis was also an enthusiastic student of Oregon pioneer history. …

    Oregon Encyclopedia

  • Crisis in the Klamath Basin (documentary film)

    The 1958 KGW-TV documentary Crisis in the Klamath Basin broke important new ground for producer Tom McCall, the genre of documentary television, and above all the state of Oregon. Crisis marked an important foray into the politics of environmental conservation that would typify McCall’s future efforts as governor. His …

    Oregon Encyclopedia

  • Jean Kitts Young (1904–1992)

    During her life, Jean Kitts Young amassed a half-century of volunteer service and political activism, ranging from civic advocacy and governmental reform to work on behalf of the Republican Party in Oregon. “Few people,” U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield wrote, “have ever, and I emphasize the word ever, compiled …

    Oregon Encyclopedia