Federal Corruption

The territorial corruption of the post-Civil War period accompanied, and was fed by, a political corruption occurring in the federal government itself. This corruption fulfilled James Madison’s warnings about the consequences of an overly expanded, overly powerful federal government. The Civil War had greatly magnified the power of the federal government, while at the same time eliminating some traditional political restraints on that power. As a result, and most likely not surprising to James Madison, corruption ensued.