The paradox of power : statebuilding in America, 1754-1920 / Ballard C. Campbell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Campbell, Ballard C., 1940- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Federal government--United States.

Federal government.

United States--Politics and government.

United States.

United States--History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Lawrence, Kansas : University Press of Kansas, [2021]

Summary:

"The formation of the American state was something of a paradox, rising so quickly in power and wealth in the midst of an anti-statist political culture. While most people think the American state did not emerge until the twentieth century, The Paradox of Power challenges this notion, synthesizing a wealth of historical, political, legal, and economic scholarship to offer a reinterpretation of the development of the American state from the late colonial era through World War I. Ballard Campbell demonstrates that the American state developed consistently throughout the "long" nineteenth century (1754-1920). During these decades disconnected British colonies evolved into an affluent society with a greatly expanded capacity to govern, ranking the nation as a major world power by 1920. The Paradox of Power examines this complex evolution of the American state from two perspectives. The first describes the historical process of statebuilding, while the second links this historical narrative to five themes: geography, economic development, war and the military, individual identities including nationalism, and political capacity. Unlike most broad accounts of American governance, The Paradox of Power stresses the central role that state and local governments (including municipalities) played in America. The history of American governance has never been simply a story set in Washington"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

The dynamics of American statebuilding

Rise of the little republics

Forging a national state

Geographic and economic expansion

Nationalism and public policy

The dynamics of antebellum governance

How the Civil War impacted statebuilding

Expansion and economic transformations

Nationalism, parties, and the coercive state, 1870-1917

The federal state during the Gilded Age

Progressivism and statebuilding

The wartime state

Conclusion: Statebuilding, 1870s-1920s.

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-7006-3256-5

OCLC:

1281904502