In an era when many U.S. cities were reacting to urban industrialism, Milwaukee had a unique vision for its urban planning. Led by a Socialist city government, Milwaukee sought to annex several of its burgeoning suburbs in order to increase the citys tax base and provide the space in which to disperse its inner-city population. This plan met with much resistance. McCarthy examines the relationshp of the city to its suburbs during a critical period of urban history.