How did this change?
"The chief activities of the federal government in 1850 were about the same as in 1800. Then included national defense, the conduct of foreign relations, regulation of Indian affairs, sale of public lands, postal service, and collection of import duties. No important new function had been added to the list, and indeed the government had withdrawn from the field of banking. Outside the post office system, there were fewer than 5000 civilian federal employees in the whole country, and annual federal expenditures amounted to only $1.70 per capita."
Don E. Fehrenbacher, The Era of Expansion: 1800-1848 (New York: Wiley, 1969), p. 7.
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