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Notes -
US government has become more centralized and thus more prone to authoritarianism since George Washington himself during Whiskey Rebellion, through Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, FDR and Lochner era of utilizing Commerce Clause to gain more power and virtually every single president ever. The Cthulu always swam toward more centralized power in hands of a few. We may talk abut lawful breaches of decorum or this or that norm being ignored, but this is an old story and nowhere near what happened in the past like Habeas Corpus Suspension Act or dozens more examples throughout the history and for sure in the future.
Although there is clearly a drift to centralisation, it isn't a ratchet. Clear reversals in US history include:
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