From the Mansion to the White House: Governors

Abstract

With the emergence of the Republican Party, national politics became dominated by the issue of slavery. After the Civil War, the north-south cleavage continued during Reconstruction. But there were other issues that were salient to Americans on which the parties failed to differentiate themselves. For example, western farmers, already hurting because of poor crops, felt crushed by business interests. During the Populist Era, farmers focused their attention on the railroads because these companies gave rebates to large shippers and passed the cost on to farmers. Neither national party was willing to take on the railroads because politicians rode the rails for free. As a result, the farmers turned to state governments to deal with the issue. Similarly, the state governments became the force for change for many issues that were important to voters.¹ As a result, governors became increasingly more influential politically, and increasingly more likely to become powerful contenders for the presidency. Today, it is commonplace to assume that service as the chief executive of a state is good preparation for service as the national chief executive. This chapter addresses whether that assumption is justified.