Political machines

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Political machines

• V264 Class 22
• November 10, 2009

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Overview

• Conditions giving rise to machines
• Nature of machines
• Disadvantages of machines
• Benefits of machines
• Origins of reform movement
• Decline of the machine

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City government in the preindustrial city

• City governments performed few functions
• Water supply
• Some policing
• Volunteer fire companies
• Few paved streets, parks
• City government limited, dominated by small elites

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Growth of cities in nineteenth century

• Immigration
• Increased need for services
• Increased importance of government and need for
  centralized authority

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Immigration

• Large influx of immigrants
• First a powerless minority
• Then a majority and potential political based for
  someone who could capture their votes
• Liberalization of franchise made everyone (male)
  eligible to vote

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Problems with immigrants

• Large lower-class immigrant population created
  potential for social conflict and unrest
• Anti-Catholic riots in Boston in 1940s
• New York City draft riots in 1863
• If immigrants not brought into society in some
  way, society may have torn itself apart

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Increased need for services

• Tremendous growth of cities created need for
  public works from bridges and street paving to
  sewers and parks
• City services like police and fire protection had
  to be expanded, professionalized
• Growth of private utilities expanded role of
  cities in granting franchises and regulation

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Increased importance of city government

• Growth in size of government
• Need for centralized authority to get things done
• Greater interest, benefits in taking control of
  government
• Scope of government provided tools for control,
  in form of jobs and money
• Created environment for political machines

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Political machines

• Political machines developed in the latter part
  of the nineteenth century
• Took advantage of these conditions to achieve
  political control

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Structure of machines

• Highly-organized, hierarchical political
  organizations
• At base were precinct captains, knew everyone,
  got out vote, helped get assistance
• Next ward committeemen, dispensed patronage,
  handed out aid, got problems with city resolved
• Boss controlled organization
• Not necessarily political officials, but
  controlled officials

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Basis for machine control

• Everyone got something out of it
• Party workers got patronage jobs, opportunities
  for graft
• Voters got
• Jobs, sometimes
• Aid, food, coal, or money
• Attention and friendship of political leaders
• Sometimes direct payment for votes
• Members of own ethnic groups in control

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Results of machines

• Efficient political organizations
• Could turn out votes, elect its candidates
• Keep itself in power
• Control city government in a centralized manner

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Problems with machines

• Graft and corruption
• Tammany bankrupted New York City
• Vote fraud, sometimes leading to violence
• Inefficient, padded payrolls with excessive
  numbers of incompetent employees
• Used people
• Inherently conservative didnt seek reform of
  system to better meet needs of constituents

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Benefits of machines

• Gave immigrants, working class control of city
  government
• Provided upward mobility for some members of
  immigrant ethnic groups
• Provided basic aid to those in need
• Personalized city government, made it responsive
  to citizen concerns
• Centralized authority so things could get done

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Decline of the machine

• Reform movement only one factor
• Rise of middle class and decline of lower classes
• Migration of new groups who did not become part
  of machine constituency, e.g., African-Americans
• Depression, New Deal, increasing role of federal
  government, provision of basic welfare assistance

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Origins of reform movement

• Late nineteenth, early twentieth century time of
  ferment in American politics
• Dissatisfaction with excesses of nineteenth
  century capitalism, age of the robber barons
• Period referred to as Progressive Era

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Examples of national and state reforms

• Child labor laws
• Workmans compensaion
• Pure food and drug act (FDA)
• Primary elections for candidates

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Climate for urban reform

• Excesses of machinescorruption, fraud,
  etc.creating backlash
• Problems of cities getting worsehousing, public
  health, utility franchisesand machines were not
  addressing

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Climate for urban reform

• Muckrakers brought problems to public attention
• Lincoln Stevens, The Shame of the Cities
• Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives
• Upton Sinclair, The Jungle
• Organizations of social scientists, other
  professional, formed and presented alternative
  approaches

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General results of urban reform movement

• Reform of government structures
• Institution of new means of dealing with problems
  (substantive reforms)
• Private philanthropic efforts