The Impact Of Political Machine On The City

Throughout American history, politics changed with the times, forming and growing as new situations and environments took place. However, the most drastic differences occurred between 1815 and 1840. During this time, the North and South develop different economic systems, which created political differences between the regions. Between 1815 and 1840, the number of eligible voters drastically increased as politicians utilized a wider variety of campaigning methods in order to appeal to as many voters as possible, all essentially caused by economic growth. Politics grow to include universal white male suffrage, a strong national government, and nationalism versus sectionalism. Economic Growth (American System, Industrial Revolution,

The new government views in the late 1800’s helped to promote America’s huge industrial growth because not one party controlled the government anymore; so all views were used to formulate new ideas.

There was a certain big change in economic and social changes in the United States since 1800. The election of 1800 was between John Adams and Andrew Jackson, which was an emotional and hard-fought campaign. Each side in this campaign thought that the opponent in which would victor, would ruin the nation. Federalists had actually attacked Jackson as an un-Christian deist because they believed his sympathy for the French Revolution would bring similar bloodshed and chaos to the U.S. Overall, the Federalists wanted strong Federal Authority to restrain the excess of popular majorities, while the Democratic-Republicans wanted to reduce national authority so the people would be able to rule through state governments.

Part of the reason was the beginning of the progressive era. With the start of civil service merit to get government jobs the ability to reward a worker with a good job went away and with that the power of the political machine did too. Without the jobs to give, the workers went away. With the progressive era came the beginning of social services and welfare so no longer were the political machines necessary to provide for the residents in their ward. Another reason is that primary elections were beginning to put a damper on the ability of the political machine to appoint the nominee they wanted to run for

Tammany Hall took money from taxpayers to maintain their political machine and increase their personal fortune. This is a clear example of failure within what seemed to be a fair political system. Boss Tweed used a graft

As the age of Reconstruction ended, the Gilded Age of big businesses began in the United States and with it came new jobs and goods for Americans. When new corporations became more successful, it made an immense impact on the economy, the political system and the lives of citizens. Economically, the cost of food and living went down significantly as well as a surplus of jobs. Political leaders were corrupted by big business as their decisions and laws were influenced by the wealthy class’ bribes and stealing from the common man. Though mass production allowed goods to be made quicker and in greater quantity, the workers’ horrible working conditions and remarkably long hours caused the creation of unions and strikes. Despite the great effect big business had on the economy in the Gilded Age through the decline in the cost of food and fuel, the daily lives of average working-class citizens were negatively impacted by long hours, horrid working conditions leading to unions and a corrupted political system.

Amidst the late 19th century, the rise of political machines tantalized the longing, from many, for a post-Civil War reconstruction which would have been punctuated by an ethical, aiding government. The aforementioned political machines were small networks which offered services to voters in exchange for economic or political gains. While these groups aided many groups, including immigrants, many political machines fell victim to corruption. The reason being, once the candidates from said machine came into office, these men would use their political standing for personal gain. For instance in the case of the Tweed Ring Scandal, William Tweed, the boss of the Democratic political machine, headed a group of politicians who sought to defraud New York. The provided excerpt, which outlines one scheme which was orchestrated by Mr. Tweed, reads “One scheme, the construction of the New York County Courthouse, involved extravagant graft. The project cost taxpayers $13 million, while

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).

Political Machines were completely unregulated. Tammany Hall is one of the biggest of these. Tammany Hall used its resources to keep Democrats in power. Specifically those who the organization was “in” with. William “Boss” Tweed ruled Tammany Hall therefore much of the local political sphere. For example: An estimated

In Plato’s republic, a philosophical account on the kallipolis (the beautiful city) is built on the perspective of Socrates and his discussion between his companions. In the republic, the city in which ones live in depends on the soul and the character of the city one lives in. In this paper the character of human nature and politics will be discussed in how a city is ought to be by the influence of human nature and politics. Firstly, the influence of human nature on politics will be looked at, for example according to Plato on behalf of Socrates; he claims that a just soul creates a just society, where it is human nature to be just, that influences in creating a just political system. Secondly, politics influences human nature, where in

The United States has always housed two types of people: those who embrace change and those who resist it. From loyalists and revolutionaries in the eighteenth century to democrats and republicans in the twenty-first, changing economic tides and social conditions often spark factions in this nation. In the case of the Antebellum period, new technology and working environments caused turmoil. In a few short decades, the country would be locked in a civil war. However, before that came a series of religious and reform movements. Some of these movements would grow into national conversations, but began first with small groups. In Antebellum America, industrialization caused a breakdown in social structure, especially norms of class, gender, and race. This led to middle and upper class men in the North and the South using similar strategies to resist social change. Industrialization also allowed alternative voices to advocate for entirely new dynamics of power surrounding class, gender, and race.

The most important aspect in understanding political corruption in New York City during the Gilded Age would have to be identifying how these officials were able to come into power and gain support. In the book, Party Games: Getting, Keeping, and Using Power in Gilded Age Politics, the author Mark Summers has examined just that. The tactics and approaches to government and interaction with New York City citizens were something that was very unique as well as new to American society. The corrupt officials

By the twentieth century, the rise of big business and the large migration of Americans from the countryside to the cities caused a shift in political awareness, as elected officials saw the need to address the growing economic and social problems that developed along with the urban boom. Progressives believed that the government needed to take a strong, proactive role in the economy, regulating big business, immigration, and urban

Landè defines clientelism as a “Vertical dyadic alliance, an alliance between two persons of unequal status, power or resources each of whom finds it useful to have as an ally, someone superior/inferior to them.” Patronage is defined as “the exchange of political sector jobs for political support, the patron is an office holder who has access to state resources. One of the necessary conditions for clientelism to exist

Moreover, one of the largest negative consequences of the political corruption was the laziness that was displayed officials. To the understanding of the officials, once they were in power, there was no real need to do anything or make any changes. This could potentially stem from the idea that they did not really have any true ideas on how to fix any of the problems that the local populations were concerned about. Many of these men seemed to lack real political experience but decided to run for office because of the prestige that came with it. There was also a lot of fear from the public about things getting worse. Some politicians used “Negative campaigning which usually worked, and especially among people for whom the risks of change mattered more than the possibilities form improvement.” This infers the ability of the corrupt people in politics contradicting their election platforms. People were voting these men into office based on promises that they would better things for them. This shows how men manipulated the pathway to government positions, yet did nothing when they achieved them. It was common practice to “defend what was already in place than to propose something new, with all of its potential for bad consequences.” This concludes that running for election was not the only way that these men protected their livelihood and name. By not proposing any sort of change to policy, they were not giving the people what they had promised but also shielding their image