The Boss of New Orleans - by Eric Criss (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Although relatively unknown today, Martin Behrman dominated New Orleans politics in the early twentieth century, serving as mayor from 1904 to 1920 and again in 1925 for a brief period before his death. His political organization--loosely referred to as 'The Regulars,' 'The Old Regulars,' or 'The Choctaw Club'--was in complete control of the city during a period of rapid change. Behrman's model of government, often called 'Behrmanism' by detractors, was a pragmatic hybrid of machine politics, progressive reform, populism, and federalism that eventually found its way into Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and Huey Long's political platform. The Boss of New Orleans is a masterful examination of Behrman's remarkable life and political career, during which he rose from the orphaned son of immigrant parents to the Crescent City's undisputed leader. As mayor, he blended consensus building with the exercise of raw power in ways that few politicians of the era could match, allowing him to navigate numerous controversial events, including the implementation of national prohibition and the forced closure of Storyville, the city's red-light district. Behrman successfully managed the city's last epidemic of yellow fever and built new schools and infrastructure that moved New Orleans along the path of modernity, earning a reputation as a hard-working, detail-oriented manager of city and machine affairs. As Criss demonstrates, with the singular--and deeply troubling--exception of the disenfranchisement of Black voters, Behrman led an era of truly progressive change in the Crescent City"

Book Synopsis

Although relatively unknown today, Martin Behrman dominated New Orleans politics in the early twentieth century, serving as mayor from 1904 to 1920 and again in 1925 for a brief period before his death. His political organization--loosely referred to as "The Regulars," "The Old Regulars," or "The Choctaw Club"--was in complete control of the city during a period of rapid change. Behrman's model of government, often called "Behrmanism" by detractors, was a pragmatic hybrid of machine politics, progressive reform, populism, and federalism that eventually found its way into Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and Huey Long's political platform.

The Boss of New Orleans is a masterful examination of Behrman's remarkable life and political career, during which he rose from the orphaned son of immigrant parents to the Crescent City's undisputed leader. As mayor, he blended consensus building with the exercise of raw power in ways that few politicians of the era could match, allowing him to navigate numerous controversial events, including the implementation of national prohibition and the forced closure of Storyville, the city's red-light district. Behrman successfully managed the city's last epidemic of yellow fever and built new schools and infrastructure that moved New Orleans along the path of modernity, earning a reputation as a hard-working, detail-oriented manager of city and machine affairs. As Criss demonstrates, with the singular--and deeply troubling--exception of the disenfranchisement of Black voters, Behrman led an era of truly progressive change in the Crescent City.

Review Quotes

"Ralph Eric Criss provides only the second biographical account of this powerful mayor and the first study in fifty years. . . . Criss constructs an insightful biography, enlightening readers on early twentieth-century urban political machines and Louisiana politics."--Journal of American History

"This is a book that has needed to be written for almost 100 years. Martin Behrman is one of the most important American politicians of the Progressive Era that no one has heard of. . . . Criss is a clear and effective writer. . . . [He] does an excellent job sketching out the background to the various issues with which Behrman is involved. The book would work very well as a classroom text."--American Nineteenth Century History

"This well-constructed book presents the political truism that 'all politics are local' through the life and career of Martin Behrman, who served as mayor of New Orleans from 1904 through his death in 1926, save for five years. . . . this biography of a key mayor of one of the South's most important cities provides a fine addition to both urban and Progressive-era historiographies."--Journal of Southern History

"Progressive-era New Orleans mayor and Louisiana politico Martin Behrman is no Huey Long. And that is just the point of this engaging biography and wonderful political study of a machine politician who was also a progressive reformer. Behrman got things done for the city of New Orleans. Criss's book is a terrific urban and political history."--Gregory L. Schneider, author of Cadres for Conservatism: Young Americans for Freedom and the Rise of the Contemporary Right and editor of Conservatism in America since 1930: A Reader

About the Author

Ralph Eric Criss holds a doctorate in history from Florida State University. He has been a staff member or consultant to Fortune 500 corporations and has worked on presidential, congressional, and gubernatorial campaigns.