The twentieth century witnessed massive growth in the federal government. In many policy areas, federal expansion preempted action by the governors and the states. The chapters in this section, however, demonstrate that the extension of federal power has not put an end to state innovation and experimentation. Governors have continued to respond to the demands of the citizens of their states and to address the issues of their times regardless of federal initiative. The greatest creativity of governors, in fact, is the ways they have developed public policies within, around, and outside the constraints created by federal intervention. And it...

Over the twentieth century, a commitment to economic growth has generated a powerful political consensus that crosses both partisan and regional boundaries. Most politicians have viewed growth either as a democratic end in itself, or as the source of public resources for reform and the raw material for interventionist economic management. Not without reason was ecology dubbed the “subversive science”: notions of environmental limits pose significant challenges to expectations of continued economic expansion.

It remains somewhat surprising, then, that the twentieth century also witnessed a series of shifting yet sustained attempts to manage the nation’s natural resources for future generations...

Throughout the twentieth century, state governments and the individuals who have led them have played a vital role in the development of American tax policy. From the Progressive Era search for equitable and effective tax systems to the conservative property tax revolts of the 1970s, governors have been critical participants in a century-long debate over tax reform. As the political leaders of our country’s “laboratories” of democracy, state executives have helped forge fiscal policies that have not only spread from state to state but have also been emulated by national lawmakers.

At the same time, governors have been constrained in...

The history of welfare policy in the United States is in large part a story of the shift of responsibility for the health and well-being of Americans from families and local community organizations to government and from local and state government to the federal government. This process has occurred in fits and starts, and the division of responsibility between the public and private sector and between levels of government varies from program to program. Even so, the federal government has become the dominant force in policymaking and in financing the nation’s social programs.¹ In this chapter, I trace this shift,...

Over the twentieth century, governors achieved some of their greatest successes by working within their states. Faced with particular issues and demands unique to their polity, governors experimented with their own solutions. The chapters in this section focus on the work of specific governors in particular eras. Jon C. Teaford uncovers the role of governors, especially those in the South, in focusing new attention on economic development starting in the 1950s. Jason Sokol turns to an investigation of the governors of two states, Massachusetts and Virginia, during the 1960s and 1970s to demonstrate a convergence in the way governors responded...

Among the greatest changes in the gubernatorial role during the past century has been the emergence of governors as promoters of economic development. In 1908 voters did not expect their governors to provide jobs or generate business; regulation of corporate excesses took higher priority. Charles Evans Hughes of New York, Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin, and Hiram Johnson of California were the great governors of the age, and they won their distinction by crusading for reforms that would curb exploitative business practices and protect the individual worker and consumer. Regulation of public utilities, child labor laws, maximum hours legislation,...

The history of American governors almost always appears—in scholarly works, in popular images, and in statistical sketches—as a tale of white men and women. Among more than 2,300 governors of American states, just sixteen have identified themselves as racial minorities. The annals of U.S. history include eight Latino governors, five Asian Americans, and three African Americans—one of whom inherited Louisiana’s statehouse during Reconstruction.¹ Only Massachusetts and Virginia have elected African American governors, a pairing of states infused with deep historical irony. From Jamestown and Plymouth to Douglas Wilder and Deval Patrick, Virginia and Massachusetts continue to act...

When it comes to regulating business, governors have often had to reconcile the contradictory pressures inherent in a federalist system. On the one hand, they need to look after their states by attracting and nurturing businesses that can generate badly needed jobs and tax revenue. On the other, they must be mindful of their impact on the country at large and make sure that their actions do not stifle economic growth or lead to a regulatory “race to the bottom” that could leave consumers and investors vulnerable to sharp practices and fraud. This chapter will look at how governors of...

The history of the federal system in the United States has largely been written as a history of conflict. There is good reason for this; contention among the states and between the states and the national government has typified much of our history. Even the history of the twentieth century is often portrayed as a story of states opposing the mandates of a newly powerful federal government. This focus on conflict, however, has overshadowed a long-standing and equally important history of cooperation between the various levels of American government. The following chapters reveal this process of cooperation at work. Furthermore,...

Every American confronts issues of transportation: their daily commute, the products they buy and sell, the place where they work are all intimately connected with the nation’s transportation infrastructure. Most of us take this system of roads, rails, and planes for granted. It is only when this transportation system fails—as the collapse of a bridge in Minneapolis in 2007 tragically demonstrated—that transportation policy makes the front page.

For governors and other state government officials, however, transportation policy must remain a constant concern. Of the many issues on governors’ policy agendas, however, transportation policy is exceptional. First, transportation is...

The history of state-level public policy in America is one of centralization and modernization. Yet, all policy areas did not proceed at the same pace. In some realms, like transportation, states took control early in the twentieth century. In other realms, such as education, localities continued to direct policy choices and resisted attempts at uniformity and centralization. In the late twentieth century, after the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, states took an even greater role in shaping education policy. An influx of federal financial support spurred states to professionalize and provide greater oversight over schools....

Throughout the twentieth century, state governments in the United States have taken responsibility for health care policymaking. States regulate hospitals and outpatient clinics, they determine licensure for the plethora of health care providers, and they plan and direct the building and development of our health care infrastructure. While the federal government affects the financial health of hospitals (and other health facilities) and influences medical education when it writes Medicare policy for the aged, even these areas are primarily under state government control. Of all the health care policy issues states confront, however, it is the Medicaid program that dominates states’...