THE RISE of CITIZEN GROUPS When John Gardner formed Common Cause in 1970 as a citizens' advocacy group to make government and politics more open and accountable, it was part of a larger movement of citizen groups determined to take on big government and big business. Reflecting the iconoclastic times, these activists questioned the authority of large institutions and demanded to know what their actions and products were doing to the lives of average citizens. Although a seemingly natural outgrowth of an era in which people protested the war in Vietnam and marched for civil rights, these citizen groups have deep roots in American history. At the turn of the 20th century, progressives -- especially muckraking journalists -- uncovered abuses by corporations and unsafe products. As best exemplified by Upton Sinclair's classic book, "The Jungle," these exposes led to legislative action. In this case, Sinclair's vivid description of the meatpacking industry was the chief catalyst for the formation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1906. Throughout the century, there were sporadic outbursts of consumer action. In 1936, activists formed the Consumer's Union, whose Consumer Reports still provide consumers with reliable, scientifically-tested product data. In 1953, Congress passed new laws against the use of flammable fabrics in clothes. In 1962, the thalidomide tragedy, in which a drug given to pregnant mothers caused birth defects, prompted a tightening of drug approval laws. In addition, that same year Rachel Carson published "Silent Spring" which documented the environmental and health risks of pesticides. The consumer movement, however, was jump-started in earnest in 1965 when a young lawyer named Ralph Nader published "Unsafe at Any Speed," which criticized the auto industry for not engineering cars for safety, thus risking thousands of lives. This expose prompted two new auto and highway safety laws including the establishment of the National Highway Safety Administration. Nader kept up the pressure on industry. He enlisted young lawyers, "Nader's Raiders," to investigate industries from banks to nursing homes. In 1971, a year after Common Cause was founded, Nader established Public Citizen, an organization whose mission was to be a full-time advocate for citizens and consumers. They joined Common Cause in the push for campaign finance reform as well as took on other issues such as nuclear energy, medical device safety, and the establishment of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Critics have contended that this type of pressure has resulted in too many costly lawsuits -- litigation that makes it hard for businesses to operate and create jobs. Whatever one thinks of the citizen and consumer groups the concept of consumer rights has been imbedded into the national consciousness. Citizen groups and the media vigilantly watch products and services for potential harm, and governmental agencies regularly post warnings and recalls of defective products. Citizens and consumers feel empowered and have laws to back them up. It's a fitting legacy to John Gardner's belief in citizen action.