Beginning with Abraham Lincoln. FedZilla was created by Lincoln. There was no putting it back in the bottle after he let it out.
Notice all the corruption that occurred in the Grant Administration? My thinking is that the New York power brokers, having realized that if they can start a civil war to protect their finances, they could use their influence in government for all sorts of money making schemes.
I think it is no accident that the corruption swirling around the Grant administration is the consequence of the influence these same classes of people (New England Power Brokers) developed in the Lincoln Administration.
So where did all these Corrupt New England businessmen and officials get the idea they could influence government with bribes, schemes and kickbacks? They got this idea from Lincoln, who effectively did their bidding in launching that economic war against their competitors in the South.
Rubbish.
In fact, except for payments on the Civil War debt, the Federal Government by, oh say, 1872, was roughly the same size & scope as 1860.
For example, military spending in 1872 was the same percent of GDP as it had been in pre-war 1860 = less than 1%.
Yes, tariffs remained relatively high until 1900, but by 1917 had returned to the lowest levels seen since 1815.
And Civil War income tax (which had also been proposed for the War of 1812, but was not needed then) was abolished after the war, not reinstated until the 16th Amendment was ratified under President Woodrow Wilson.
So, whatever "FedZilla" proved necessary for the Civil War was afterwards eliminated as soon as possible.
"Progressive era" thinking did not become dominant until the turn of the century, circa 1900, and was certainly more popular amongst Democrats than Republicans such as Calvin Coolidge.
Sorry, I missed this one the first time...
Am not willing to defend "New England Power Brokers", as you call them, but am very uneasy with your over-eagerness to engage in class warfare against alleged groups who are neither specifically named nor known nor accused of anything in particular.
Further, your implication that there was no corruption before 1861, and therefore it was Civil War which taught politicians & businesses how to be corrupt, is just laughable.
Indeed, your narrow focus on economic reasons and classes of people suggests an underlying Marxist ideology, and tells us that you are likely on conservative Free Republic as a poser, a false flagger whose real ideology is quite alien here.
Are you?