Hello,
As you may know, the United States is divided into states, counties
(in most states), municipalities and, in some states, towns or
townships. In 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau counted 3,043 counties,
19,372 municipalities, 16,629 townships, 34,683 special-district
governments and 13,726 school-district governments (1). That is a lot
of divisions -- although perhaps not necessarily compared to other
countries. France, a much smaller country, has 26 regions, 100
provinces and 36,433 communes (2).
The American states, of course, predate the federal government. The
United States was originally an association of state governments with
few powers of its own. In the late 1700s, many of the original 13
states claimed great tracts of the lands west of the Appalachians.
Competing land claims were a source of contention in the era. The
decision in the Constitutional Convention to give the federal
government the power to create new territories and later admit them as
states was a major step to the formation of a true union.
Most American states are divided into counties because of the
country's English heritage. In England, counties or shires served as
the local government as well as the administrative arm of the central
government (3). Louisiana, first settled by the French, adopted
parishes from Catholic ecclesiastical government as its major unit of
local government.
English counties were divided into parishes, or townships. Settlers in
New England and the Northeast adopted this pattern of local
government. In the South, which was more spread-out, the county
remained the predominant level of local government. Settlers from the
East Coast states carried their traditions of local government and
geography with them as the moved west -- as evident in the New
England-style townships of northeast Ohio, first settled by people
from Connecticut.
Meanwhile, the federal government needed a way to break down the vast
Western regions into sellable units. It had surveyors demarcate
36-square-mile squares, called townships. In the Midwestern states,
where settlements were closer together and many of the migrants came
from the Northeast, based their local governments on those survey
townships and kept the name (4).
In areas where the major units of local government were big enough to
have separate population centers in them, the state governments
devised ways for those population centers to incorporate as
municipalities (known in various states as cities, villages, towns,
boroughs, hamlets, etc.). Cities have a history dating to the earliest
civilizations. In England, many cities and villages had charters that
gave them specific rights. The monarch of England needs permission
from the lord mayor of the city of London to enter the city (which
includes just the downtown area of Greater London).
Why does the U.S. still have so many local governments? The country
has a long tradition of local self-rule. Generally, local-government
boundaries in the U.S. change only on the initiative of local
governments themselves, such as an agreement between a city and a
suburban landowner to annex the land to the city. This is not the case
in some other countries, where central governments may alter local
authority boundaries at will. Many states have granted "home rule" to
local governments in their constitutions. The idea that government
functions should be performed at the lowest level feasible -- what
Europeans call "subsidiarity" -- is accepted in America as simply
common sense. Most Americans would see any attempt to alter local
governments from above as appalling and undemocratic.
I hope this answer meets your needs. If not, please request
clarification.
References
(1) U.S. Census Bureau, "Governments Integrated Directory"
http://www.census.gov/govs/www/gid.html
(2) Scotland Office, "Summary of Devolved Parliaments in the European
Union"
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/government/devolution/sdpe-02.asp
(3) National Association of Counties, "About Counties-General
Information"
http://www.naco.org/counties/general/index.cfm
(4) Association of Minnesota Counties, "Minnesota County History"
http://www.mncounties.org/About%20Counties%20&%20AMC/about_counties.htm |
