Political scientist Samuel DeCanio examines how political elites used high levels of voter ignorance to create a new type of regulatory state with lasting implications for American politics. Focusing on the expansion of bureaucratic authority in late-nineteenth-century America, DeCanio’s exhaustive archival research examines electoral politics, the Treasury Department’s control over monetary policy, and the Interstate Commerce Commission’s regulation of railroads to examine how conservative politicians created a new type of bureaucratic state to insulate policy decisions from popular control. "Highly recommended to anyone interested in the subject of political ignorance and its implications for democracy...[DeCanio] reshapes our understanding of key aspects of American history." Ilya Somin, Washington Post . "Detailed and deeply researched...this is a worthy addition to scholarship on nineteenth-century state building and American political development." Joanna Grisinger, Journal of American History. "This is an excellent book...A terrific work by an emerging scholar of the first rank...[DeCanio] hits it out of the park." Keith Poole, Journal of Politics . "Supported by research based on an exhaustive amount of primary sources...this work offers a fresh perspective on both the rise of the regulatory state as well as the sources of modern political power." David Mason, American Historical Review . "DeCanio has written a thoughtful, well-researched book that raises critical questions about the state building process . . . it deserves to be taken seriously." Zachary Callen, Perspectives on Politics . Samuel DeCanio is a lecturer in the Department of Political Economy at King's College, London.