[OneEyedRobot]

I'd say that the pressure for fission becomes higher as the scope of federal government increases. Using spending as an approximation for control:

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYONGDA188S

WWII being an outlier of course. I'd like to have the numbers for the 19th C.

There was a time when a state/county/municipality could largely ignore central government diktat. With centralization there'll be a tendency for a single dominant group to get into everyone's business more and more. This can happen via statute, spending, or even lack of law enforcement in desired behaviors.

..and of course it tends to split urban vs. rural, Anglosphere vs. everyone else. The wish or need for central control varies quite a lot between the groups.

[R0b0t1]

I agree, a lot of problems seem to stem from over-reliance on federal authority to solve problems. It can get a bit reductionist but people are essentially mad they are not able to live in the way they want.