He leaves out an important development.
The U.S., unlike the Roman republic, was structured as a Russian doll.

It was designed with the federal government to have the least power and influence over your life, concerning itself with those matters affected the union.
Then came the States, also republics, a requirement for membership. The State had much more affect on your life, but, being a republic, its powers were likewise limited, based upon the State Constitution each State adopted.
Then the most influence on your life comes at the local level, where you can reach the politicians directly, and where stupid ideas can easily be escaped by moving a few miles to another community.

But, the progressives have always tried to push the most power up the chain. I can only assume their logic is that their ideas are so "good" and so "beneficial", that they must be implemented at the highest level so the most people can enjoy said benefits. Besides, as argued by Ivy Starnes in AS, if anybody can escape these social theories, the social theories can't work.