The Role Of Political Machines In The Early 19th Century

A political party is a group of people who seek to win elections and hold public office in order to shape government policy and programs. George Washington warned the nation against creating political parties in his famous “Farewell Address”. He feared political parties would divide the country and weaken support of the Constitution (Doc 4). The first major political parties, the Federalists and the Republicans, were created during the term of President George Washington. Despite President Washington’s warning, the rise of the two political parties, in the years after his term was inevitable. The Federalists were in favor of a strong central government, while the anti-federalists opposed most their ideas. Over time, the gradual development

Political parties themselves began to change as people like Martin Van Buren tried to go back to old political parties (Document C). He thought that the best political combination would unite southern planters and “plain Republicans of the North.” 
Van Buren was part of a group of shrewd politicians called the Albany Regency--With the help of their newspaper, the Albany Argus, they controlled party nominating conventions and political patronage (spoils system) while in office. The Albany Argus is a great example of how newspapers came to be a big part of politics. Seen in Doc G, the number of different newspapers in the United States increased to 1,200, with the number more than tripling between 1810 and 1835. Newspapers were widely distributed, and—after innovations made newspapers affordable—were widely used as a campaign tactic.

(2B) The second party system was in the time period of 1828-1854. During this time the citizens became more involved in the elections by voting, partisan newspapers which supported choice candidates. Citizens were loyal to their parties. The two parties were the Democratic Party and Whig Party. (Norton, M.B. 2015)

They educated the public of their interests through publications and public speaking throughout the rural areas of America. Through education, they sought to appeal to the working class of people, mainly those who produced goods, as they believed in a strong community organization. The Populist Party tried to appeal to industrial workers, but failed to connect with the population of mostly immigrants and Catholics. Although Populism didn’t appeal to some people, it nevertheless worked towards providing democratic and economic opportunities for the working class of the United

During the Age of Jackson, America was still trying to find it’s definite identity. America was making progress, but they were not where they wanted to be yet. The sense of optimism and ongoing expansion during the early 19th century that helped to bring America together for a period both contributed to a time of happiness and breakthroughs in which America is trying to be defined as a happy and thriving nation. The rise of democracy coupled with the the gradual political process, both magnify the degree to which America was still trying to find themselves politically. The rise of sectionalism and decline of nationalism point to the once wavering aura of togetherness and separateness and now complete dominance of sectionalism. These

The rapid growth of American cities in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s created huge problems for the government that ran the cities as in most cases in was very poorly structured and could not really give the people what they needed. It is because of the inability of city government to provide these things to the people that there was a rise in political machines. These political machines gained support from the population by providing houses for people who needed them and by also offering people jobs that they desperately needed. This gave the political machines a lot of power and support from there loyal followers.

The election of 1800 changed the system because each political party nominated candidates for president and vice president.

In the United States of America, the political party system is pivotal to the function of our nation. The political party system in our society today is separated between the Democrats and the Republicans. Although political parties do possess uncertainties their advantages outweigh their drawbacks in America. The United States of America is made up of two basic political parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. A political party is a group of individuals who share similar interest and they work together with one another to construct and execute policies. The Democratic Party was established in 1828, by Andrew Jackson. The Democratic Party was created based on a belief in an unyielding government and an advocacy of social and

Whitkin, Francois and Amato were Movement whips from Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. As whips, they were responsible for reviewing vote counts. Normally, they would count the votes of elected representatives in the Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island statehouses. With the state constitutional conventions on the horizon, William directed the whips to count the votes of the delegates who town and city councils across the region had nominated for the state constitutional conventions. Many of the delegates were less well known to the Movement officials, so it took a considerable amount of time and effort for the whips to vet each of the delegates.

There are thousands of years of history that have taken place. History is not like art(less subjective), but there is still plenty of room for speculation, criticism, and debate among historians, professors, as well as average citizens. However, not all these moments are documented, or done successfully specifically. Some of these moments end up becoming movies, books, or even historical fiction novels, but what about those fundamental moments that aren’t readily documented? In the book The Birth of Modern Politics Lynn Hudson Parsons claims that the 1828 election was momentous in the history of both political history, as well as our nation. Parsons not only discusses the behind the scenes of the first public election of 1828, but the

Election campaigns slowly became debates on societal issues. They were not only discussed by the elite, but also by the people from the lower classes, who demanded the rights to vote and elect their officers.

The parties formed after the Constitution was adopted as the need to systematically search for and encourage popular support became apparent. The structure of a party allows a group of like-minded politicians to mold popular support in the favor of the candidate of their choice where alone they could only accomplish the creation of multiple less organized and therefore less politically potent factions. The nature of the political system already in place gave no value to coming in second or third in elections at any level of government, leading to the natural growth of two strong parties who battle for supremacy at every election (July 22). The winner takes all, and the opposition spends their time getting ready to try again as they wait for their next chance. Once the two parties, Democrat and Republican, were firmly settled in to the system they affected legislation to give themselves automatic ballot access and state funding, making election that much harder for other parties and thereby ensuring that it remained a two party system (July 22).

Furthermore, voting was organized not by the voice of the citizenry, but by a national two–party system staffed by disciplined professionals. These professionals included candidates, appointed office holders, newspaper editors, and local leaders who organized voters, wrote party platforms, and developed party ideologies in ways that only partially and indirectly reflected popular wishes. Thus political participation was democratized by the 1830s. But democracy included only white men, and even they were transformed from citizens to spectators.

Today, political parties are an authoritative and essential component of the United States political system. However, it is important to examine how the political parties began and evolved over hundreds of years, since they were first established. In 1794, the major political parties were the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. The major difference between these two was that the Federalists favored a strong central government, while the Democratic-Republicans preferred a central government with limited power and more state control. At the time of the election, it seemed that the prominent, distinguished Federalist Party clearly had the upper hand, but in the end the

Mayors lead city party organizations. The mayors office is a stepping stone to other offices. In legislatures parties are at a 50/50 tie with Democrats and Republican parties. In order for a candidate to win the legislative they must form party apparatus to wage a winning campaign. Yet it is important for them to be associated to a party also.( Magleby 83)