Nathaniel Gorham Speaks on Growth in Government

“No one is more surprised than I that our efforts in creating a Constitution were so successful.  As I expressed many times, I believed that the United States would divide into many nations within 150 years.  I am pleased that I was wrong about this.  While I pushed for a strong central government throughout our convention, I think that it has grown beyond any bounds I envisioned.

“After exploring data on the relative size of the State Governments and the Federal Government I found that the 50 state governments total to roughly the same size as the Federal Government (not counting the military.)  This is certainly not what we envisioned when we created the Constitution.  I venture to say that, without counting the military forces, we expected that the Federal Government would be roughly the size of one state government.  Let me discuss the reasons for this growth of the Federal Government to well beyond what we had envisaged.

Obviously, new functions have arisen as technology and society have changed.  The Federal Government has also taken over functions we envisioned for the States.  Neglecting, for now, the original functions of Defense (or War) and State, I will explore findings about these new roles and their consistency with our goals for the Nation.

First let us look at Agriculture.  Abraham Lincoln created Agriculture as a non-cabinet department in 1862 and Grover Cleveland raised it to cabinet status in 1889.  During our times (1789) and through the 19^th Century the US was largely an agrarian country and the fostering of agriculture was a natural function of the government that led to increased wealth and prosperity for the citizens of the country.  During the 20^th and 21^st Centuries, agriculture has become a relatively small portion of the wealth of the country, yet the Federal Government Agriculture workforce has remained relatively constant during the latter half of that period.

Second, let us explore the social functions.  Although President Harding proposed a Department of Education and Welfare in 1923, such a function was not actually established until Dwight Eisenhower, in 1953, using presidential reorganization authority, created it.  In 1979, the department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was split from the Department of Education.  Later, in 1995, the Social Security Administration was split from HHS and became a separate agency of the Executive Branch.  There was huge growth in these functions during the 1950s to 1970s with some decline during the 1980s to a relatively steady level roughly comparable to the mid-70s.

Third, Homeland Security has evolved significantly and we need to address that function.  These functions grew slowly throughout the 20^th Century and then more than doubled from 2001 to 2003 as a result of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.  Homeland Security continues to grow since the big step up in 2003. 

Fourth, we had considered a domestic department from the 1^st Congress, but these issues were handled by the State Department.  The Department of the Interior was created as a separate department in 1849. 

Fifth, there is now a whole arm of the Government addressing transportation.  Until 1966, this was a function of the Department of Commerce.

Sixth, we have always had a Treasury, however its role has evolved significantly.  In particular, taxes and various enforcement roles have grown greatly. 

Seventh, there is now a Cabinet Department devoted to Veterans.  We provided pensions for disabled veterans from the earliest days, and in 1989 veterans were recognized at the highest level of the Executive Branch by being included in the President’s Cabinet.  While veterans deserve respect, admiration, and preferential treatment, I cannot understand the establishment of a Cabinet position to advise the President on the impact to veterans on day-to-day issues.  The Department of Defense should provide adequate guidance in these matters.

And, finally, there are literally hundreds of smaller agencies, commissions, and groups that total to more than any single one of the departments above.