LEADER 05025nam 22008051 450 001 9910790883003321 005 20230803022412.0 010 $a0-8135-6214-7 024 7 $a10.36019/9780813562148 035 $a(CKB)2550000001157694 035 $a(EBL)1562498 035 $a(OCoLC)863824464 035 $a(SSID)ssj0001040033 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11644875 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0001040033 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10991111 035 $a(PQKB)11034766 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC1562498 035 $a(OCoLC)862746819 035 $a(MdBmJHUP)muse31588 035 $a(DE-B1597)529746 035 $a(OCoLC)1097152493 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780813562148 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL1562498 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10795473 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL540740 035 $a(EXLCZ)992550000001157694 100 $a20130111d2013 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur|n|---||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aAmerican dictators $eFrank Hague, Nucky Johnson, and the perfection of the urban political machine /$fSteven Hart 210 1$aNew Brunswick, New Jersey :$cRutgers University Press,$d2013. 215 $a1 online resource (194 p.) 225 0 $aRivergate Regionals Collection 225 0$aRivergate regionals 300 $aDescription based upon print version of record. 311 $a0-8135-6213-9 311 $a1-306-09489-5 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 327 $aIntroduction: The One Who Got Away, and the One Who Didn't -- In the Court of the Emerald King -- Lines of Power -- Boom Times -- Hard Times -- Public Works -- A Choice of Enemies -- Decline and Fall -- Epilogue: The Machines That Didn't Stopages. 330 $aOne man was tongue-tied and awkward around women, in many ways a mama's boy at heart, although his reputation for thuggery was well earned. The other was a playboy, full of easy charm and ready jokes, his appetite for high living a matter of public record. One man tolerated gangsters and bootleggers as long as they paid their dues to his organization. The other was effectively a gangster himself, so crooked that he hosted a national gathering of America's most ruthless killers. One man never drank alcohol. The other, from all evidence, seldom drank anything else. American Dictators is the dual biography of two of America's greatest political bosses: Frank Hagueand Enoch "Nucky" Johnson. Packed with compelling information and written in an informal, sometimes humorous style, the book shows Hague and Johnson at the peak of their power and the strength of their political machines during the years of Prohibition and the Great Depression. Steven Hart compares how both men used their influence to benefit and punish the local citizenry, amass huge personal fortunes, and sometimes collaborate to trounce their enemies. Similar in their ruthlessness, both men were very different in appearance and temperament. Hague, the mayor of Jersey City, intimidated presidents and wielded unchallenged power for three decades. He never drank and was happily married to his wife for decades. He also allowed gangsters to run bootlegging and illegal gambling operations as long as they paid protection money. Johnson, the political boss of Atlantic City, and the inspiration for the hit HBO series Boardwalk Empire, presided over corruption as well, but for a shorter period of time. He was notorious for his decadent lifestyle. Essentially a gangster himself, Johnson hosted the infamous Atlantic City conference that fostered the growth of organized crime. Both Hague and Johnson shrewdly integrated otherwise disenfranchised groups into their machines and gave them a stake in political power. Yet each failed to adapt to changing demographics and circumstances. In American Dictators, Hart paints a balanced portrait of their accomplishments and their failures. 410 0$aRivergate Regionals Collection 606 $aCity and town life$zUnited States$vCase studies 606 $aMayors$zNew Jersey$zJersey City$vBiography 606 $aMetropolitan government$zUnited States$vCase studies 606 $aPolitical culture$zUnited States$vCase studies 606 $aPoliticians$zNew Jersey$zAtlantic City$vBiography 606 $aPoliticians$zUnited States$vBiography 607 $aAtlantic City (N.J.)$xPolitics and government$y20th century 607 $aJersey City (N.J.)$xPolitics and government$y20th century 610 $aDemocratic leader of Jersey City. 615 0$aCity and town life 615 0$aMayors 615 0$aMetropolitan government 615 0$aPolitical culture 615 0$aPoliticians 615 0$aPoliticians 676 $a974.9/0430922 676 $aB 700 $aHart$b Steven$f1958-$01464957 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910790883003321 996 $aAmerican dictators$93674774 997 $aUNINA