Claiming the city : politics, faith, and the power of place in St. Paul
Are Minneapolis and St. Paul "Twin Cities" in proximity only? How can two cities, often spoken of in one breath, differ so greatly in their histories and characteristics? The author traces the contours of St. Paul's "civic identity" to show how personal identities and political structures of power are fundamentally informed by the social geography of place. While Minneapolis in the last part of the nineteenth century bore the stamp of Scandinavians, Protestants, and Republican Yankee progressives, St. Paul emerged as an Irish, Catholic, Democratic stronghold. Increasingly overshadowed by the economic might of Minneapolis, out of necessity St. Paul evolved complex alliances among business, labor, and the Catholic Church that cut across class and ethnic lines--a culture of compromise that sharply contrasted with Minneapolis' more strident labor politics
Print Book, English, 2001
Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 2001