My vision of an America dominated politically by free yeoman farmers prevailed for about fifty years; that’s why the Federalists died out. But the combination of successful wars and dramatic technological change led to an America dominated by immigrants, large corporations, and industry. My dream was dead by 1900. America became Hamiltonian, and still is.
There are some people out there who think I would be on the side of the giant corporations and the red states against the federal government today. They point to my comments about immigrants and cities and my concern about the encroachment of federal powers on the states. Those are the same people who also falsely insist that I was a committed orthodox Christian. In reality, my attitudes about cities, immigrants, and the like were a product of the conditions that prevailed at the time; my overriding interest was in progress, tactical flexibility, the possibilities of science, and the need to protect the middle class from the predations of rich financiers.
Given a choice between a powerful federal government and unchecked giant corporations, I would pick the former every time, because it at least is accountable to the general public. That’s why I’m a Democrat today, not a Sarah Palin Republican.