How Did Boss Tweed Influence The Political Parties In The Late 19th Century

After the soaring ideals and tremendous sacrifices of the Civil War, the post-War era of the United States was generally one of political disillusionment. Even as the continent expanded and industrialized, political life in the Gilded Age was marked by ineptitude and stalemate as passive, rather than active, presidents merely served as figureheads to be manipulated rather than enduring strongholds. As politicians from both the White House to the courthouse were deeply entangled in corruption and scandal during the Gilded Age, the actual economic and social issues afflicting urbanizing America festered beneath the surface without being seriously addressed.

The structure of our government is complex. With local, state, and federal levels of government, it can be confusing to understand how the government works. Luckily, Morris Fiorina wrote a document about the structure of the government called The Rise of the Washington Establishment. The Washington establishment simply refers to big government workers such as, included but not limited to, house representatives, senators, congressmen, and party leaders. These legislators and bureaucrats are the ones who run the government and establish laws. In his document, Fiorina argued that these people are in office only for personal gains. He strongly focused on congress, in which he believes they act in favor of their reelection. Power, money, and insurance benefits are the main influences that motivate congressmen to hold their position. Governmental representatives are supposed to reflect the values of the people, but they ultimately act in a selfish manor. The Rise of the Washington Establishment analyzes how congressmen act for their own self-interest.

Everybody is talkin' these days about Tammany men growin' rich on graft, but nobody thinks of drawin' the distinction between honest graft and dishonest graft." With this sentence in the first chapter Plunkitt sets the tone for his short treatise on New York City politics while Tammany Hall ran the show. George Washington Plunkitt was a senator in New York during the turn of the 19th Century to the 20th Century. He was very successful in politics, and at one time he held four offices at once and collected salaries from three of them. G. W. Plunkitt held any one (or more offices) in Tammany Hall for over forty years. He was a shady politician who took care of his constituents and his

Politician in the gilded age which was from 870 to 1910. America’s industrial economy exploded generating unprecedented opportunities for individuals to build great fortune, but also leaving many farmers and workers merely for survival. The growth in the economy supported materialism and political corruption. In the gilded age, politics were corrupted by politicians who bribed and gave high hour government jobs to their supporters. Politicians wanted to be elected for different positions used bribe and problems of the city as ways to promise the city different things for them in order to get elected but when elected, they refuse to fulfill their promises. Most of these promises were made to the lower class immigrants. Also, they have people working for them, to form a sort of support, promising things to people when voted in, they decide who will do certain jobs for the city. They have business where they charge excess and then they get to share the money between the workers and themselves. Even though most cities were “ruled by corrupt political machines unresponsive to urban problems, progressives rallied for “good”

In the words of Thomas Jefferson, “A wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circlue of our felicities.” (Jefferson, 1801) This idea echoed far beyond it’s time and into the minds and hearts of the Populist’s, and became the center and the driving force of the Progressive era. During the gilded age railroads were being built, Industrialization was rising, the population of United States was increasing dramatically; and corporate businesses were becoming extremely

Throughout the end of the 19th century and into the 20th century, the United States saw a huge growth both socially and economically. The Gilded Age and the Progressive Era was a time when we saw great industrialization as well the construction of new railroads across the country. However, during the years of 1870-1900, known as the Gilded Era, this period was seen as a time filled with great corruption and uncontrolled politics and capitalism. Well-known author Mark Twain referred to these years of as the “Gilded Age” to reference how on the surface everything looked as though it was perfect or glittering, however beneath it all was corruption. (Mintz, S) Even though this era was known to have a great deal of corruption and scandals, it can also be seen that it was a time for development. A lot was changing and people were transforming from small town producers to urbanized workers. It is also to be considered as a time of economic and political reform. The last few decades of the 19th century will prove to be rough and challenging as people struggle to adapt to the new changes. As the turn of the century came, America entered into a new time known as the Progressive Era. During the early years of the 20th century Americans began to see political, social and economic reforms. There would be stricter laws on child labor, factory regulations were being improved, schools and playgrounds were being built and the corrupted politics were being replaced with more efficient

During the time from the 1890s to the 1920s a period of social and political reform took place in the United States known as the Progressive Era. “The era saw the expansion of political and economic freedom through the reinvigoration of the moment for woman suffrage, the use of political power to expand workers rights’ and efforts to improve democratic government by weakening the power of the city bosses and giving ordinary citizens more influence on legislation.” The progressive reformers from this time gained a majority of their support from the education middle-class of urban areas. Another term used to describe these reformers is Muckrakers.

There were 3 components to the political machines: the county committee, the ward or precinct leaders and the party loyalists. The county committee members were those that held the top offices in the county political party. People like Thomas J Pendergast from Kansas City, James Michael Curley in Boston and Richard J Daley from Chicago. At this level they controlled the party’s nominations, the money and the votes. Much of their power came from the people that they got elected that owed them favors for the votes.

The Gilded age was the period in U.S. history where politics had caused a halt in social advancement. The Robber Barons had become so rich and powerful that the country had plunged into an era of corruption. As illustrated in Joseph Keppler’s , “The Bosses of the Senate,” the monopolies of the rich had garnered immense influence in the government, effectively removing the people

Boss Tweed is the best example of machine politics. He was in charge of the “Tweed Ring” in New York City. Machine politics worked wonderful in New York City where the Irish stuck together and used machine politics to their advantage(Mandlebaum 28). Tweed gained control over the police officers allowing him to exercise control over contracts of jobs. The Tweed Ring stole more than two hundred million dollars from the city and state (Mandelbaum 97). In 1872, the New York Times exposed and the lawyer Samuel Tilden exposed Tweed and destroyed his career (Mandelbaum 199).

The political machine is very powerful in the city and because of how powerful it is that urban United States was able to develop so much and increase in power in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. A political machine is system of political organization based on patronage, the spoils system, and political ties. Sometimes political machines have a boss and sometimes they may not have a boss, and always have a corps of workers who depend on the patronage given by government contracts and jobs. Machine politics has existed in many United States cities for a long time now, but are still in effect in some areas.

New York City during the Gilded Age experienced a transformation on society that would leave a lasting effect on all aspects of the city. During this era in New York City, the idea of politics and its characters developed into some of the modern definitions that citizens still see in government today. The political corruption that consumed politics during this time period became a staple in New York City society. The word corruption gives the tactics of politicians in the Gilded Age a reputation that is filled with destructive and harmful methods that were unbeneficial to society. In reality, not all of the strategies of these politicians resulted in poor outcomes. Through questionable political tactics, officials used their power to negatively and positively push New York City into the 1900s, which would lead to political activism by the city’s people looking for change. Tammany Hall was one of the most influential political machines that directly impacted the people and society of New York City at this time, and exemplified what it meant to be a corrupt institution that helped positive change happen.

FDR’s New Deal programs greatly expanded the size, scope, and power of the federal government, giving the President and his Brain Trust near-dictatorial status. “I want to assure you,” Roosevelt 's aide Harry Hopkins told an audience of New Deal activists in New York, “that we are not afraid of exploring anything within the law, and we have a lawyer who will declare anything you want to do legal.” FDR was faced with the same difficult position of putting words into action. The establishment machine forges a “coalition of progressives that were divided into two parties” (54).

So finally in 1913, Congress passed the 17th amendment that called for the direct election of United States senators. Also Congress would later pass the 19th amendment which allowed women’s suffrage, or the ability to vote. Also states and people began to use the secret Australian ballot to keep the privacy of the voters. Before, big bosses and companies used to be able to scare or buy people to vote for whom they wanted, but now people could vote without the fear of being connected to their ballot. With people now voting anonymously, these businesses no longer as successful as before for they could no longer tell for whom the bribed were actually voting for. In the bar graph, it shows the gradual decrease in the number of voters who voted for the presidency (Document J). this showed how people were no longer being bribed or forced to vote for whomever the businesses wanted. This called for more fair and impartial elections for such important offices in the government. In the Washington Post 1907 article, Roosevelt is shown standing over a dead bear of bad trusts (Document A). This demonstrated Roosevelt’s attempted to rid the country of bad trusts for the good of the people. Also these reformers made great strides in the social component of the country.

In 1832 the nation's first presidential nominating convention was done by the Democratic Party. Unfortunately, this actually weakened the role of political parties since one of the most important duties of a party was to select a presidential candidate. Similarly, direct primaries further weakened the role of political parties. In the 1870s as large numbers of immigrants flooded into the US, parties competed for their support. This resulted in the creation of "machines" which recruited people (mostly new immigrants) to gain votes in