That World War II and the ensuing cold war heated up the courtship between professionals and the federal government does not mean that external factors alone accounted for the new symbiotic relationship that emerged by 1950 – what I have called the “proministrative state.” The foundation had been laid in the interwar years. In the Progressive Era, four barriers prevented the flirtation from being consummated. By the eve of World War II, two of these obstacles had almost been surmounted.

Immaturity was the first to fall. In organizational terms, maturity could be measured by “state capacity.” In profession-building terms, it could be measured by professional autonomy. The interwar years were a crucial period of parallel development for both the professions and the federal government. The millions of dollars poured into professional development by the voluntary sector and the growth of American research universities nurtured the professions in both the physical and social sciences. The crises of World War I, the Great Depression, and America's role as an economic world power enhanced the federal government's capacity to administer complex programs. Both the professions and the federal government matured in fits and starts. Particularly in the public sector, rapid expansion was often followed by even swifter demobilization. The professions developed more unevenly: those grounded in the physical sciences advanced faster than those drawing on the social sciences.