In this Book
- To Enlarge the Machinery of Government: Congressional Debates and the Growth of the American State, 1858–1891
- Book
- 2007
- Published by: Johns Hopkins University Press
- Series: Reconfiguring American Political History
-
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
summary
How did the federal government change from the weak apparatus of the antebellum period to the large, administrative state of the Progressive Era? To Enlarge the Machinery of Government explores the daily proceedings of the U.S. House and Senate from 1858 to 1891 to find answers to this question.Through close readings of debates centered around sponsorship, supervision, and standardization recorded in the Congressional Globe and Congressional Record during this period, Williamjames Hull Hoffer traces a critical shift in ideas that ultimately ushered in Progressive legislation: the willingness of American citizens to allow, and in fact ask for, federal intervention in their daily lives. He describes this era of congressional thought as a "second state," distinct from both the minimalist approaches that came before and the Progressive state building that developed later. The "second state" era, Hoffer contends, offers valuable insight into how conceptions of American uniqueness contributed to the shape of the federal government.
Table of Contents
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- Title Page
- pp. i-iii
- Copyright Page
- p. iv
- Acknowledgments
- pp. 205-206
- Essay on Sources
- pp. 241-248
Additional Information
ISBN
9781421428345
Related ISBN(s)
9780801886553, 9781421402413
MARC Record
OCLC
794701461
Pages
280
Launched on MUSE
2012-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
Yes
Creative Commons
CC-BY-NC-ND