The radical annexation by Philadelphia of its surrounding county in 1854 occurred under conditions remarkably like today.
Philadelphians often dismiss the 1854 consolidation as a model for our own times by arguing that it was not about leadership, but instead was driven by the big changes of the 1800s. That argument basically says it was easy to make the big change of consolidation during a time of industrialization and growth, when transportation and technology all favored Philadelphia. But that argument is exactly backward. Consolidation is the greatest feat of managing decline on record. Only with hindsight does it look like riding on the coattails of growth that was going to happen anyway.
Thanks to Mark Alan Hughes
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