When Bosses Ruled Philadelphia

Lincoln Steffens called Philadelphia the most corrupt and the most contented city in America, and its Republican bosses have long been treated as a single, unchanging dynasty. Peter McCaffery argues otherwise. Working closely from city records, he shows that James McManes and his Gas Ring in the 1870s held far less power than the disciplined organisation Matt Quay built in the late 1880s, and that genuine boss rule only took hold just before the turn of the century.

He also asks who actually benefited, which parts of the electorate backed the machine and why, and whether it served the city at all. His answer is a firm no, and the romantic picture of the boss as the good guy of urban politics does not survive it. A sharp, evidence-led study for anyone drawn to American cities and the long contest between bosses and reformers.