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"Whether the federal government could play any role in the development of infrastructure was a controversial issue in the early republic. Spending on roads and harbors was not one of the enumerated powers; therefore many argued such projects were left to the states. Demand for better transportation increased as the country grew, which put pressure on the federal government to become involved in the development of national infrastructure. Roads and harbors were the first projects the federal government supported. As railroads developed they also became objects of federal interest. This book tells a story about the development of the American state through the demand for support of railroads. Growing demand for national rail networks combined with the failure of many state initiatives put pressure on the federal government to act. This is a story of the development of the state from ground up"--

In this essay, President Donald Trump's policies are evaluated in terms of their impact on American federalism. Rather than producing an era of significant devolution, the paper argues that the Trump administration will primarily result in very typical policy changes to American federalism. In particular, the Trump administration will redirect state resources away from policy areas that undercut Trump's political agenda while placing more support behind programs that advance the president's agenda. The one significant change that the Trump administration could bring about is an even greater centralization of political power in the executive, perhaps to a degree that undermines the traditional checks and balances of American federalism.

This article argues that American federalism led both to a greater national role in rail promotion and more centralized railroads in the antebellum period. Local competition among states led Congressional representatives from state unable to build local railroads to turn to federal assistance. Early support for railroads came from representatives in the South and frontier, who were primarily drawn into rail coalitions because of their own inability to build local rail networks. However, over time, competition among states within the coalition as well as concerns about federal power led many initial members of the coalition to drop out. In their place, states that favored a stronger federal state stepped into the coalition and subsequently built a more nationally oriented rail system. This analysis argues that the shifting of policies from local control to national oversight due to local resource shortages is an important aspect of American states building. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright holder.]

This article argues that American federalism led both to a greater national role in rail promotion and more centralized railroads in the antebellum period. Local competition among states led Congressional representatives from state unable to build local railroads to turn to federal assistance. Early support for railroads came from representatives in the South and frontier, who were primarily drawn into rail coalitions because of their own inability to build local rail networks. However, over time, competition among states within the coalition as well as concerns about federal power led many initial members of the coalition to drop out. In their place, states that favored a stronger federal state stepped into the coalition and subsequently built a more nationally oriented rail system. This analysis argues that the shifting of policies from local control to national oversight due to local resource shortages is an important aspect of American states building.

Antebellum states were critical in supporting the emerging rail system of the nineteenth century, yet not all states engaged in active rail promotion efforts. In this analysis, I consider how local economic and political conditions, as well as the rail promotion activities of a state's contiguous neighbors, impacted a legislature's rail promotion decisions. The findings suggest that states only engaged in rail promotion when local infrastructure was of poor quality and a state's tax revenues were sufficient to support rail expenditures. These findings reveal that diffusion, powered by social learning, does not drive all state policy innovations. Instead, local conditions and parallel thinking are important factors in state policy development. Furthermore, the analysis underscores the power of local governments in the antebellum period, while also raising the question of whether such diffuse state building was effective.

Introduction : an unsettled time / Philip Rocco and Zachary Callen -- The scrambled cycle : realignment, political time, and the Trump presidency / Julia R. Azari -- The limits of policy feedback as a party-building tool / Daniel J. Galvin and Chloe N. Thurston -- Presidential nominations, factional conflict, and prospects for Democratic Party reform / Travis M. Johnston -- "One people, under one God, saluting one American flag" : Trump, the Republican Party, and the construction of American nationalism / Gwendoline Alphonso -- Trumpism and the dual tracks of American polarization / Paul Nolette -- Black Lives matter from Wilson to Trump : social movements in APD / Megan Ming Francis -- Whose president? Donald Trump and the Reagan regime / William D. Adler -- The policy state and the post-truth presidency / Philip Rocco -- Finding stability and sustainability in the Trump era : Medicare and the Affordable Care Act in historical perspective / Andrew S. Kelly -- State-building as parlor trick : Trump, the executive branch, and the politics of deconstruction / Zachary Callen -- Donald Trump and the end of American politics / Adam Sheingate -- Trumpism and the future of American political development / Robert C. Lieberman.

Local government is the hidden leviathan of American politics: it accounts for nearly a tenth of gross domestic product, it collects nearly as much in taxes as the federal government, and its decisions have an enormous impact on Americans' daily lives. Yet political scientists have few explanations for how people vote in local elections, particularly in the smaller cities, towns, and suburbs where most Americans live. Drawing on a wide variety of data sources and case studies, this book offers the first comprehensive analysis of electoral politics in America's municipalities. Arguing

Local government is the hidden leviathan of American politics: it accounts for nearly a tenth of gross domestic product, it collects nearly as much in taxes as the federal government, and its decisions have an enormous impact on Americans' daily lives. Yet political scientists have few explanations for how people vote in local elections, particularly in the smaller cities, towns, and suburbs where most Americans live. Drawing on a wide variety of data sources and case studies, this book offers the first comprehensive analysis of electoral politics in America's municipalities.