THIS BOOK HAS BEEN in the back of my mind for so long that I cannot possibly name all those who helped to shape it. One of that multitude is Richardson Dilworth, whose invitations to write essays about Baltimore in his edited collections helped to move this project from the back of my mind to the front. Edward C. Papenfuse did more than anyone to complete the project and make it a book. As Maryland State Archivist, Dr. Papenfuse took on the responsibility for managing the Baltimore City Archives. He and his staff enhanced the order and accessibility of this enormous collection, which has been my principal reliance in reconstructing Baltimore’s political history. Dr. Papenfuse also provided detailed comments on an earlier and even longer version of this study, as did my colleague Tristan Davies. Howell Baum offered a candid and honest assessment, took apart my early attempt at an introduction, and induced me to start over. He was right, and I did. His advice helped to reshape my conception of the book.
Saul Gibusiwa ensured my daily access to the City Archives for more than three years. Rob Schoeberlein, Tony Roberts, and Anthony Freeman provided guidance and steered me toward materials that I might otherwise have missed.
I am especially grateful to Mary Jane Arnold. She gave me access to the papers of her late husband, Joseph Arnold, who never finished his history of Baltimore. His trove of documents and articles is now in the Special Collections of the Albert O. Kuhn Library of the University of Maryland Baltimore County. I thank Tom Beck and Lindsay Loeper of the Kuhn Library for their help in finding materials for this book.
Also helpful were Patricia Anderson at the Maryland Historical Society, Paul Espinosa at the George Peabody Library, the staff of the Maryland Room at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, and Tracy Melton, who shared materials he had unearthed in his own research about Baltimore.
The staff of the Sheridan Libraries at Johns Hopkins University were unfailingly helpful, and I want in particular to thank Rosemary Spellman, Chella Vaidyanathan, and Rosanne Liebermann for their assistance in collecting illustrations.
At Johns Hopkins University Press, Robert Brugger took an interest in this book long before it became a book, and his own scholarship concerning the history of Maryland added more than editorial expertise to his guidance. Linda Strange was an ever-attentive copy editor who caught every irregularity in my footnotes and every opportunity to sharpen my prose. And I am grateful to Kim Johnson of Hopkins Press for nursing my book to the point of publication and to Meagan Szekely for wrestling with the illustrations.
I would also like to express long overdue thanks to the late Vincent “Murph” Lanasa, who introduced me to street-level politics in Baltimore when I was an undergraduate collecting material for term papers.