Martin Behrman and Machine Politics in the Crescent City
Martin Behrman
Reviewing The Boss of New Orleans in the "Journal of American Nineteenth Century History," Bruce E. Baker argues that "This is a book that has needed to be written for almost 100 years." He describes the book as "very much a political biography, and there is plenty of detail about campaigning and the complex political factions and feuds, especially with the shifting array of anti-machine politicians and organizations. The author's wide experience working on political campaigns shines through here."
Indeed, Behrman's story is a saga of politics, survival, and today, obscurity. But before the political icon, Huey Pierce Long—the self-proclaimed “Kingfish” of Louisiana—there was “Papa,” Martin Behrman of New Orleans. Unlike Huey, whose volatile career and temperament made him infamous, Behrman is largely forgotten. The two men crossed paths at crucial moments in the state’s political history. Their careers—through both similarity and difference—shed light on each other. They were political prodigies with distinct strengths, weaknesses, and styles. Huey was confrontational and uncompromising, while Behrman was an affable dealmaker. The two men were arguably the most influential figures in twentieth-century Louisiana politics.
After forming the Choctaw Club in 1897, Behrman and the Regulars rapidly accomplished their mission of regaining control of local government. During the first two decades of the twentieth century, their hegemony in New Orleans politics was unparalleled except in New York. Even in the Empire State, Tammany leader George Olvany described Behrman as a “strong organization Democrat and a loyal friend” and New York City mayor James Walker called Behrman a “constant source of inspiration” and “a class A soldier” for the Democratic Party.
Behrman was elected to lead the municipality five times, and his remarkable life reflects the political and social tensions of early twentieth-century America.
Huey Long
After Behrman successfully led the effort to defeat Huey in his first campaign for governor, Long's political future depended on performing better in New Orleans during his second attempt in 1928. In an attempt to eliminate his political rival, Long orchestrated Behrman’s only serious opposition in the 1925 mayoral campaign. Behind the scenes, Long worked feverishly against Behrman, urging Francis Williams to withdraw from the campaign and throw his support behind Behrman's opposition. He met with John Sullivan, head of the “New Regular” faction, who opposed Behrman. Huey also met with Colonel Robert Ewing, publisher of the New Orleans States, who soon announced his opposition to Behrman.
Early Twentieth Century New Orleans
The early twentieth century was a revolutionary period in American politics and society. Those who claimed the mantle of reform often despised Behrman. His role as chief of the political machine raised many traditional concerns about bossism. In their eyes, Behrman stood for the old way of doing things: undemocratic and corrupt “machine” politics and support for the Storyville red-light district.Anti-machine reformers often exaggerated these allegations for their own political benefit, but they were not entirely unfounded. Use of municipal funds to advance the political interests of incumbent political parties was commonplace in American cities such as New York, Chicago, and New Orleans. Taxpayer money was often used, directly or indirectly, to benefit machine candidates. Government employees, for example, were often expected to work as “volunteers” for campaigns. Prior to the implementation of many civil service reforms, these were legally permissible political activities and hallmarks of politics in the machine age.
Nevertheless, Behrman ushered New Orleans into the twentieth century, modernizing its water and sewer infrastructure, building schools and roads, and helping to eliminate diseases such as yellow fever that plagued the city since its founding. All of this at a time when many cities in the South remained much as they had existed during Reconstruction.
Reviews
Journal of Southern History
"Ralph Eric Criss establishes two major points in his excellent introduction. First, he points out that Behrman's unusual functioning as New Orleans's chief executive and leader of the city's party machine, the Regular Democratic Organization, and as a pragmatic moderate made him the antithesis of the prototypical urban political boss of
"Ralph Eric Criss establishes two major points in his excellent introduction. First, he points out that Behrman's unusual functioning as New Orleans's chief executive and leader of the city's party machine, the Regular Democratic Organization, and as a pragmatic moderate made him the antithesis of the prototypical urban political boss of the early-twentieth-century United States...Second, Criss notes the fractured nature of Progressivism, once seen by historians as a monolithic national movement. Behrman proved willing to enact reform when it came to public health and improved infrastructure, but he parted ways with Progressives such as future Louisiana governor John M. Parker in matters of party organization and electoral politics." John Thomas McGuire, Independent Scholar
The Honorable Neal Dunn
“A great book for political junkies and serious scholars of government alike. Behrman’s story illuminates the importance and the difficulties of balancing federal and state powers. This is a timeless subject that we still struggle with daily in Washington.” — Neal Dunn represents Florida's 2nd District in the U.S. Congress.
Gregory L. Schneider
“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 histo
“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
Howard Hunter
"This is an important contribution to New Orleans Political history. While Martin Behrman was hardly a glamorous figure, the author makes the case that Behrman ushered New Orleans into the twentieth century by overseeing the building of a modern infrastructure that included drainage, sewerage, and drinkable water; all engineering marvels
"This is an important contribution to New Orleans Political history. While Martin Behrman was hardly a glamorous figure, the author makes the case that Behrman ushered New Orleans into the twentieth century by overseeing the building of a modern infrastructure that included drainage, sewerage, and drinkable water; all engineering marvels for a city constantly beset by environmental challenges. And he did it by enacting political reform through a tight grip on his own machine, the Regular Democratic Organization, also known as the Choctaw Club. By melding progressive reform with machine politics, Behrman essentially threaded a needle. Howard Hunter is coauthor of Tearing Down the Lost Cause: The Removal of New Orleans Confederate Statues.