The Boss of New Orleans: Martin Behrman and Machine Politics in the Crescent City

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,...