In 1936, New Yorkers approved a radical change in local democracy. By a margin of nearly two to one, they replaced the corrupt board of aldermen with a city council elected via proportional representation (PR). Rather than traditional winner-take-all elections between two candidates representing two political parties, PR allowed voters to rank candidates on their ballots in order of preference and guaranteed victory to anyone polling more than 75,000 votes. This system enabled the election of the most diverse legislatures in New York's history, comprised of the city's first African American legislators and unprecedented numbers of women and third-party representatives. With their authority threatened, the Democratic and Republican parties allied against PR and the system's coalition of supporters. Following several unsuccessful repeal attempts led by the two major parties, the election of two Communists spurred a groundswell of red-baiting that set the stage for a battle that
would define New York City governance for generations.
Defining Democracy examines struggles over electoral reform in New York City to clarify our understanding of democracy's evolution in the United States and the world. In the midst of global crises concerning the purpose and power of government during the Great Depression, Second World War, and early Cold War, New Yorkers debated the meaning of self-rule in the United States. Through a series of campaigns over the expansion of voting rights in New York City, activists challenged the boundaries of who could be elected, what interests could be represented, and ultimately what policies could be implemented at the local level.
Industry Reviews
"While a number of scholars of New York City politics have recognized that PR yielded diverse political representation both ideologically and racially, no one has explained its history in the detail that Prosterman has provided...We are in Prosterman's debt for explaining how and why those changes came about and what their implications were."--American Historical Review
"Daniel O. Prosterman has given us a marvelous book. Defining Democracy is a fascinating and illuminating account of the rise and fall of proportional representation (PR) in New York City elections during the early to mid-twentieth century. Well written and well researched--drawing largely upon original sources--the book situates the story of PR within the broader movement to reform municipal government that extended from the mid-1800s to the
mid-1900s, providing valuable insight into the political dynamics and stakes involved...Prosterman gives us a wonderful resource to further examine issues fundamental to the project of democracy."--Journal of American
History
"[H]istorians and political scientists will find that Defining Democracy offers valuable insights about the diffusion of political reforms and strategies used to oppose change...Highly recommended."--CHOICE
"Fascinating"--Representation
"Based on a notably wide range of primary and secondary material, including municipal archives, national and local newspapers, oral histories, and other very useful bibliographic sources, Prosterman offers a fascinating investigation of the fortunes of a quite radical experiment in American local municipal democracy in the 1930s and 1940s. In addition, he makes a strong case for the early emergence in New York City between 1936 and 1945 of the basic elements of
a wider anti-Communist discourse, one that would come to dominate America's national politics in the early years of the Cold War."--e-Extreme
"Those concerned with how our democracy functions would do well to read this important book. The lessons from New York City's use of PR are important for today's electoral reformers."--L. Sandy Maisel, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Government, Colby College
"Defining Democracy reconstructs New York City's eleven-year experiment with proportional representation (PR), an electoral method that challenged not only Tammany Hall's predominance in city politics but also the idea that a two-party system and majority rule were essential to democratic institutions. Anyone interested in PR's fraught history will find this book enlightening; anyone interested in the history of New York City will find it
indispensable."--Elisabeth Israels Perry, John Francis Bannon Professor of History, Emeritus, Saint Louis University
