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Company Towns: Industry Power and the Historical Foundations of Public Mistrust
Paperback
Series: Chicago Studies in American Politics
Business General20th Century United States HistoryGeneral Political Science
ISBN13: 9780226844534
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: Mar 9 2026
Pages: 192
Weight: 0.59
Height: 0.45 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Reveals the deep, historical roots of public distrust in former mining areas in the US, shedding new light on the corrosive feedback loops that persist today.
In Company Towns, Elizabeth Mitchell Elder examines the long-lasting political legacies of mining-company dominance in the Midwest and Appalachia. While the economic consequences of deindustrialization are well-known, Elder shifts the focus to a more insidious problem: the political dysfunction that took root long before the mines shut down.
Drawing on historical and administrative data, Elder shows that the coal industry hindered the growth of local government capacity in the places where it was dominant. Mining companies also engaged in outright corruption to shape local governments, practices which local elites then carried forward. When mining companies withdrew, they left behind not just economic decline, but local governments ill-equipped to govern.
These patterns have had enduring consequences for public life. Elder shows how these historical experiences have fueled a broader cynicism toward government, in which citizens expect little from public institutions and doubt the usefulness of elections. Company Towns underscores the consequences of corporate dominance for state capacity, public opinion, and democratic accountability today.
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Company Towns: Industry Power and the Historical Foundations of Public Mistrust
Elder, Elizabeth Mitchell
Hardcover
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Elder, Elizabeth Mitchell
Company Towns: Industry Power and the Historical Foundations of Public Mistrust
Elder, Elizabeth Mitchell
Hardcover
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