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MPR News Staff

History Forum: Some historical perspective on the role of government

The U.S. Capitol is seen in Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Capitol is seen in Washington, D.C., on March 23, 2020, as the Senate continues negotiations on a relief package in response to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Saul Loeb | AFP via Getty Images file

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Some historical perspective on the debate over the role of government: Should decisions be local or state or federal? Is government too big or too small? Who decides what's the proper role for government, especially in times of crisis?

Historian Steve Conn said the federal government has played a major role in American life for centuries. He calls it an “energetic federal government.”

The United States has always been “an expansive ambitious nation, since the beginning, and has always used the tools of the federal government,” Conn said.

In 1790, the Hamilton tariff could be considered “the first stimulus package.” And the 1792 Postal Act guaranteed privacy of correspondence, and made newspapers cheap to mail. This, too, was visionary, and “an act of nation-building.”

The “small government” philosophy of Thomas Jefferson actually ended up building an “empire.” He had an almost “imperial vision,” Conn said.

Conn gave three examples where government played an important role in American life:

1) The “democratization of education” through the Merrill Land Grant program and the GI Bill.

2) The development of a transportation system that includes trains, planes and automobiles with the transcontinental railroad system, the air traffic control system and the interstate highway system.

3) A public health system, including the founding of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Conn said, “the federal government is the investor of first resort…. and the backstop of last resort when things go wrong.” He said the most important role of government, throughout history, has been to give Americans confidence in their institutions. These efforts have included the establishment of the Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Housing Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

History professor Steve Conn of Miami University in Ohio spoke at the Minnesota Historical Society's History Forum on Feb. 22, 2020.