The Historical Framework for Local Government in the United States

1
The Historical Framework for Local Government in
the United States

• A Presentation of David Miller

2
Life a Thousand Years Ago

• Cities and rural fiefdoms not Nation-States
• City is sanctuary from lawlessness of countryside
• A freedom from not a freedom to
• Cities are becoming the nodes of a
  proto-mercantile economy
• How do you safely get your goods from A to B?

3
Citi-States or Nation-States?

• Because cities existed before the nation-state,
  how would the emerging nation-state deal with
  cities? Can both share power? Must one be
  superior over the other? The nation-state -
  master or agent?

4
Association v. Corporation Cities lose Round
One

• As association free from the the state or the
  sense that individual was part of the state
• As corporation would be created by law under
  revocable, amendable charters
• Cities were primarily merchants, agreeing to
  charter status in exchange for protection of
  goods was easy tradeoff
• Verdict Corporation

5
Nation-State Consolidates Power

• Charters create legal corporation status
• Subject(s) to /of the state
• At first - little interference
• Slowly expand the conditions of the charter
• Cities are not democracies - oligarchies
• Not instrumental in popular, democratic
  government institution building

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Political Theory I

• The real elements of society - the sovereign
  and the individual
• The state of nature - Locke, Hobbes, Bodin
• Society is a contract between those real aspects
  of society
• Other societal institutions are ltchurch, guilds,
  citiesgt are intermediary bodies
• All are extensions of one or the other

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Extension of Sovereign or Individual?
Cities lose Round Two

• Europes answer is an extension of the Sovereign
• Americas answer is confusion

8
Life on the Frontier

• America - self-constituted religious or
  mercantile associations
• Little sense of central authority
• From legal standpoint - adopt the European
  tradition of corporation
• A corporation is a corporation is a corporation

9
Public v. Private Corporation Cities Lose
Round Three

• Whaddaya mean? Different types of corporations
• Early towns owned railroads, minted money, fought
  a revolution, had armies
• And anyway, how you gonna distinguish types of
  corporations?

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Political Theory II

• The State of Nature - Individual enters society
  to
• Hobbes escape the cruelness of nature
• Locke preserve property
• America adopts John Locke
• The contract and society are means by which the
  individual preserves his property

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Putting Theory I and II Together

• Theory I Individual and Sovereignn are real
• Theory II Society is a contract involving
  property
• Individual is free to accumulate property, state
  is to help protect individuals property
• Role of intermediary institutions - the church,
  the cities, the guilds?

12
There are Two Types of Corporation

• One is an extension of the individual
• Artificial
• Contributes property
• Pursues property
• Preserves property
• Protected from State
• Private

• One is an extension of the sovereign ltstategt
• Artificial
• No individual property
• Threat to property
• Function to aid
• Controlled by State
• Public

13
Local Government Public or Private?

• Well, er, ah.......they are both
• With property owned by the body politic, they are
  private corporations
• When performing state functions, they are
  public corporations
• Expand the public
• Contract the private

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Local Government in the Early 19th Century

• A public side
• Police/militia
• Roads and bridges
• Communicable disease
• Poor
• Strangers
• Church relations
• Governmental Issues

• A private side
• Ownership of property
• Taverns
• Railroads
• Shipping
• Proprietary Issues

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Exit the Private Corporation Cities Lose Round
Four

• Add Dillions rule here

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The Context of Dillions Rule

• Image of objective, rational government staffed
  by the nations elite
• Comingling of public and private interests could
  not yield good government
• Concern that private interests would dominate
  public interests
• Perceived need to protect private economy from
  government intervention

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The Real ReasonA National Rail System or Local
Self-Government? Practical Economics Beats
Political Theory Nine Times out of Ten!
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The Rules of the Game I

• Local Government is a subdivision of the State
• The relationship between the state and local
  government is hierarchial with the ultimate
  responsibility for the delivery of public goods
  and services resting with the State
• Local government is a territorial abstraction,
  temporarily constructed to serve a well defined
  purpose

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The Rules of the Game II

• What local government does and is and how well it
  performs its task is empirically testable based
  on standards of efficiency and any element may be
  manipulated to improve efficiency
• Functional interests are more important in
  organizing and conducting public affairs than
  territorial interests

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Transition to Alternative View
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Government How Viewed?

• Moralistic - A commomwealth, means to achieve
  good community through positive action
• Individualistic - A marketplace, means to respond
  efficiently to demands
• Traditionalistc - A means to maintain the
  existing order

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Government Appropriate Sphere of Activity?

• Moralistic - Any area that enhances the community
• Individualistic - Largely economic or related to
  supporting capital enterprise
• Traditionalistc - Those that maintain traditional
  patterns of relationships

23
Government New Programs?