New Books Network Elizabeth Mitchell Elder, "Company Towns: Industry Power and the Historical Foundations of Public Mistrust" (U Chicago Press, 2026)
Mar 22, 2026
Elizabeth Mitchell Elder, a political scientist at the Hoover Institution studying how industry shapes political beliefs. She explores coal-dominated Midwest and Appalachian places. She describes how mining firms supplanted local government, fostered corruption, and left lasting institutional weakness. She traces persistent public cynicism and political shifts rooted in those historical patterns.
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How Coal Transformed Rural Areas Into Mining Boomtowns
- Elizabeth Elder recounts how coal transformed rural subsistence farms into booming mining towns after the Civil War.
- The industry bought vast land, built infrastructure, and rapidly grew populations through domestic and international migration.
Company Control Stunted Local Government Formation
- Coal companies often replaced local governments by providing services privately, preventing formal municipal development.
- Companies ran unincorporated 'company towns' that built schools, roads, and infrastructure to keep control and avoid creating capable public institutions.
Coal Presence Caused Lasting Low Government Capacity
- Counties with larger coal industries developed smaller, less-resourced local governments measured by employees and spending.
- Census data shows coal arrival causally reduced government employment and local spending from the 1880s onward, leaving long-run capacity gaps.
