History, Department of
Date of this Version
Summer 7-18-2011
Abstract
At the turn of century the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan began debating plans for expanding its water supply. These debates quickly spawned corrupt dealings, which in turn produced the city’s water scandal. The city’s first genuine scandal, the water scandal marks a turning point in the city’s history. The fact that the rather ordinary bribery scheme became a scandalous event reveals the city had adopted enough of the Progressive ethos to punish corruption. The water scandal stands as the tipping point of municipal politics in Grand Rapids between Gilded Age politics rooted in personal connections and Progressive politics centered around impartial administration.
Adviser: Timothy R. Mahoney
970.zip (1150 kB)
The Corrupt Network
The Corrupt Network
Comments
A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts, Major: History, Under the Supervision of Professor Timothy R. Mahoney. Lincoln, Nebraska : July, 2011
The M.A. Thesis is accompanied by a related digital project The Corrupt Network.
Copyright 2011, Brian F. Sarnacki