To Enlarge the Machinery of Government: Congressional Debates and the Growth of the American State, 1858--1891 (Reconfiguring American Political History)

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.--book Jacket. Introduction : Badly In Detail But Well On The Whole: The Second State -- Prologue : The Great, Noisy, Reedy, Jarring Assembly : The Capitol, Lawyers, And Public Space -- A Government Of States : Sponsorship And The First Debate On Land Grant Colleges, 1858-1861 -- The Object Of A Democratic Government : Sponsorship And Supervision Of Agriculture And Land Grant Colleges, 1861-1863 -- A Government Of Law : Sponsoring And Supervising The Freedmen, Abandoned Lands, And Refugees, 1863-1865 -- The Twin Pillars Of The State : The Supervision And Standardization Of Education And Law Enforcement, 1865-1876 -- To Change The Nature Of The Government : Standardizing Schooling And The Civil Service, 1876-1883 -- What Constitutes A State : Supervising Labor And Commerce, 1883-1886 -- A System Entirely Satisfactory To The Country : Standardizing Labor And The Courts, 1886-1891 -- Conclusion : To Answer Our Purposes, It Must Be Adapted. Williamjames Hull Hoffer. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [207]-248) And Index.

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.

Introduction : "badly in detail but well on the whole": the second state and the recurring paradox in the expansion of the U.S. national government Prologue : "the great, noisy, reedy, jarring assembly" : the Capitol, lawyers, and public space A "government of states" : sponsorship and the first debate on land grant colleges, 1858-1861 "The object of a democratic government" : sponsorship and supervision of agriculture and land grant colleges, 1861-1863 "A government of law" : sponsoring and supervising the freedmen, abandoned lands, and refugees, 1863-1865 The "twin pillars" of the state : the supervision and standardization of education and law enforcement, 1865-1876 "To change the nature of the government" : standardizing schooling and the civil service, 1876-1883 "What constitutes a state" : supervising labor and commerce, 1883-1886 "A system entirely satisfactory to the country" : standardizing labor and the courts, 1886-1891 Conclusion : "to answer our purposes, it must be adapted".