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Who Really Governs American Cities?

 

September 1995

by Andrew Harrison, Ph.D. candidate, History Department, Temple University

 

Are office-holders the real decision-makers or are they the pawns of powerful business elites?  Who initiates and impedes public policy and why?  Does political power derive from access to economic assets or does it emanate from actually holding a governmental post and its associated resources?

 

My doctoral dissertation will address those issues among others by analyzing the life of Albert M. Greenfield (1887-1967).  As a realtor, retailer, financier, civic leader, philanthropist, and political broker, Greenfield dominated practically all aspects of Philadelphia life.  No one in Philadelphia during the twentieth century has impacted urban development, site planning, and commercial patterns in the city more than Greenfield.  The local and national media referred to him as Mr. Philadelphia in recognition of his power and influence in communal concerns.

 

Tens of thousands of Philadelphians lived, worked, shopped, and commuted in enterprises in which he had a direct financial stake.   Greenfield systematically changed the skyline of Philadelphia through his involvement in a variety of projects such as the creation of Independence National Park, the rehabilitation of Society Hill, the renovation of the Graf House, the construction of Convention Hall, and the erection of the Benjamin Franklin Hotel.

 

Yet, Greenfield's contributions and significance lay largely unknown and unacknowledged by both scholars and the general public.  This study will fill that vacuum by demonstrating the ways in which Greenfield both shaped and reflected his time.  It will provide a clearer picture of the techniques utilized by the private sector to manipulate, implement, and stall public policy.  By doing so, it will offer insight into the
manner in which democracy and the decision-making process works.

 

An important task of this dissertation is to demonstrate the manner in which financial contributions impacted urban politics.  It will show the means by which Greenfield used his national business resources as a springboard for political and civic power.  His real estate firm, Albert M. Greenfield and Co., conducted the largest volume of real estate
transactions in the nation.  His investment company, Bankers Securities Corporation, controlled a vast array of assets which included City Stores (national holding company of department stores operating in 19 states), the Loft Candy Corporation, Bonwit Teller's of Philadelphia, and six major Center City Philadelphia hotels.  At its zenith, the Greenfield empire conducted a volume of business of $850 million per annum.  By generating that type of revenue, he was able to contribute large sums of money to the coffers of national politicians which provided him with allies across the country.

 

Preferring to work behind the scenes rather than hold elected public office, Greenfield served as a power broker in local, state, and national affairs.  He acted as Philadelphia's unofficial ambassador to the rest of the country as well as the world.  His corporate prominence in conjunction with his political-fund-raising (he was a Republican until the
early 1930's when he became a Democrat), enabled him to gain access to the highest political circles.  He conferred with Presidents Calvin Coolidge through Lyndon Baines Johnson as well as with a number of foreign dignitaries such as the Pope, Winston Churchill, and David Ben Gurion.  While his access to national and international policy-makers provided him with a forum to be heard, it is crucial to determine whether Greenfield's contacts translated into action.

 

Case Studies in the dissertation will assess the strengths and limitations to Greenfield's clout in political concerns.  While rejecting a Marxist interpretation, this study will trace the correlation of wealth and status in the political decision making process.  Through analysis of Greenfield's political dealings my study will demonstrate the validity of the political adage "He who pays the piper calls the tune."