NEGOTIATED MEANINGS AND STATE TRANSFORMATION - THE TRUST ISSUE IN THEPROGRESSIVE-ERA

State transformation theory links social movements to state policy for mation processes by focusing on the role of cultural meaning in organi zed political struggles. Despite a resemblance among concepts and conc erns, constructionist ideas found in the social problems, social movem ents, and symbolic politics literatures have Mot been incorporated int o the theory In this paper I draw on these three literatures to enhanc e state transformation theory. I emphasize how competing political act ors struggle to reframe issues that shape subsequent policy. The negot iation over meanings occurs in a historically contingent process that depends on shifting definitions, strategic alliances, and organization al innovation. I apply the expanded theory to the ''trust problem'' in U.S. history. During the Progressive Era, the ''trust'' was a social problem at the forefront of public debate. After more than a decade of struggling, a politically mobilized segment of the dominant class suc ceeded in reframing the volatile issue into a more palatable and benig n form that was later institutionalized as federal antitrust policy.