Administrative history of the United States - Development and state of theart

Although certainly not mainstream to the study of public administration adm inistrative history in the United States has quite a tradition. In this art icle, the development of the study of the history of American government is traced in five phases and discussed against the background of political an d social change in society. The various studies are evaluated in terms of t he themes, the nature, and the approach. Combining the "history as history" and the "history as advocacy" approaches would clarify why administrative history ought to be a standard element in our research and teaching.