Citizendia

In this 1899 cartoon from Puck, all of New York City politics revolves around boss Richard Croker
In this 1899 cartoon from Puck, all of New York City politics revolves around boss Richard Croker

A political machine is an unofficial system of a political organization based on patronage, the spoils system, "behind-the-scenes" control, and longstanding political ties within the structure of a representative democracy. Puck was America's first successful Humor magazine known for its sharp humor and colorful Cartoon Caricatures satirizing the political Richard Croker Sr (November 24 1843 &ndash April 29 1922 was an American politician a leader of New York City 's Tammany Hall. Patronage is the support encouragement privilege and often financial aid given by a person or an organization In the Politics of the United States, a spoils system is an informal practice where a political party after winning an election gives government jobs to its voters as a reward Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of the people's representatives Machines sometimes have a boss, and always have a long-term corps of dedicated workers who depend on the patronage generated by government contracts and jobs. A boss, in politics, is a person who wields De facto power over a particular political region or Constituency. Machine politics has existed in many United States cities, especially between about 1875 and 1950, but continuing in some cases down to the present day. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the It is also common (under the name clientelism or political clientelism) in Latin America, especially in rural areas, and also in some African states and other emerging democracies, like postcommunist Eastern European countries. Clientelism refers to a form of Social organization common in many developing regions characterized by "patron-client" relationships Japan's Liberal Democratic Party is often cited as another political machine, maintaining power in suburban and rural areas through its control of farm bureaus and road construction agencies. The, frequently abbreviated to LDP or, is a Centre right, conservative, Political party and the largest party in Japan. South San Jose (cropjpg||thumb|A suburban development in San Jose California. Rural areas can be large and isolated (also referred to as "the country" and/or "the countryside over the course of time (American Journey, 2005)

The key to a political machine is patronage: holding public office implies the ability to do favors (and also the ability to profit from political corruption). Political corruption is the use of governmental powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain Political machines generally steer away from issue-based politics, favoring a quid pro quo (something for something) with certain aspects of a barter economy or gift economy: the patron or "boss" does favors for the constituents, who then vote as they are told to. Barter is a type of Trade in which goods or services are directly exchanged A gift economy is a Social theory in which goods and services are given without any explicit agreement for immediate or future Quid pro quo. A boss, in politics, is a person who wields De facto power over a particular political region or Constituency. Sometimes this system of favors is supplemented by threats of violence or harassment toward those who attempt to step outside of it.

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Political machines in the United States

In the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century, it was mainly the larger cities that had machines — Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New York City, Philadelphia, Kansas City, etc. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state The City of New York Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə Kansas City Missouri only Items for the metro area Kansas City Kansas or North Kansas City MO should go on their respective pages — and each city's machine was run by a "boss," a man who had the allegiance of local business leaders, elected officials and their appointees, and who knew the proverbial buttons to push to get things done. There were benefits and problems because of political machines ruling.

Many machines formed in cities to serve immigrants to the U. Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term S. in the late 19th century. Many immigrants viewed machines as a vehicle for political enfranchisement. Additionally, many immigrants were unfamiliar with the sense of civic duty that was part of American republicanism. Republicanism is the Ideology of governing a nation as a Republic, with an emphasis on Liberty, Rule of law, Popular sovereignty They traded votes for power. The main role of the machine staffers was to win elections—usually by turning out large numbers of voters on election day. Occasionally illegal tactics were used in local elections (but rarely in state or presidential elections).

In recent years, the presidency of George W. Bush and the presidential candidacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton show evidence of dynastic political machines at the national level.

Civic-minded citizens, such as the Anthony Alatzas, denounced the corruption of the political machines. They achieved national civil-service reform and worked to replace local patronage systems with civil service. By Theodore Roosevelt's time, the Progressive Era mobilized millions of civic minded citizens to fight the machines. Theodore Roosevelt (ˈroʊzəvɛlt October 27 1858 January 6 1919 also known as T The Progressive Era in the United States was a period of reform which lasted from the 1890s to the 1920s In the 1930s, James A. Farley was the chief dispenser of the Democratic Party's patronage system through the Postal Department and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) which eventually nationalized many of the job benefits machines provided. James Aloysius "Jim" Farley ( May 30, 1888 &ndash June 9, 1976) was an American Politician, business executive The Post Office Department is the former name of the United States Postal Service when it was a Cabinet department The Works Progress Administration (renamed in 1939 the Work Projects Administration; WPA) was the largest New Deal agency employing millions of people The New Deal allowed machines to recruit for the WPA and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), making Farley's machine the most powerful, all patronage was screened through Farley including Presidential appointments. The New Deal was the name that United States President Franklin D Civilian Conservation Corps ( CCC) was a Work relief program for young men from unemployed families established on March 21, 1933, by U The New Deal machine fell apart after James A. Farley left the administration over the third term in 1940. The New Deal was the name that United States President Franklin D James Aloysius "Jim" Farley ( May 30, 1888 &ndash June 9, 1976) was an American Politician, business executive Those agencies were abolished in 1943 and the machines suddenly lost much of their patronage. In any case the poor immigrants who benefited under James A. Farley's National machine had become assimilated and prosperous and no longer needed the informal or extralegal aides provided by machines. James Aloysius "Jim" Farley ( May 30, 1888 &ndash June 9, 1976) was an American Politician, business executive In the 1940s most of the big city machines collapsed, with the notable exception of the Chicago machine. Chicago machine redirects here For the Major League Lacrosse team see Chicago Machine. A local political machine in Tennessee was forcibly removed in what was known as the Battle of Athens. Tennessee ( is a state located in the Southern United States. The Battle of Athens (sometimes called the McMinn County War) was a Rebellion led by citizens in Athens and Etowah, Tennessee,

Machines are often said to have drawn their strength from, and served as a power base for, ethnic immigrant populations. In truth it was primarily Irish immigrants who benefited from the Machine system, which reached its pinnacle under James A. Farley during Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal administration. James Aloysius "Jim" Farley ( May 30, 1888 &ndash June 9, 1976) was an American Politician, business executive The New Deal was the name that United States President Franklin D Also, even among the Irish, help for new immigrants declined over time. It was in the party machines' interests to only maintain a minimally winning amount of support. Once they were in the majority and could count on a win, there was less need to recruit new members, as this only meant a thinner spread of the patronage rewards to be spread among the party members. As such, later-arriving immigrants, such as Jews, Italians, and other immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, rarely saw any reward from the machine system. At the same time, most of political machines' staunchest opponents were members of the established class (nativist Protestants).

Since the 1960s, some historians have reevaluated political machines, considering them corrupt but also efficient. Machines were undemocratic, but at least responsive. They were corrupt, but they were also able to contain the spending demands of special interests. In Mayors and Money, a comparison of municipal government in Chicago and New York, Ester R. Fuchs credited the Chicago Democratic Machine with giving Mayor Richard J. Daley the political power to deny labor union contracts that the city could not afford and to make the state government assume burdensome costs like welfare and courts. Chicago machine redirects here For the Major League Lacrosse team see Chicago Machine. Richard Joseph Daley ( May 15, 1902 – December 20, 1976) served for 21 years as the undisputed Democratic boss of Chicago A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming Welfare is financial assistance paid to people by governments Describing New York, Fuchs wrote, "New York got reform, but it never got good government. " At the same time, as Dennis R. Judd and Todd Swanstrom point out in City Politics, ISBN, this view often coincided with a lack of period alternatives. They go on to point out that this is a falsehood, since there are certainly examples of reform oriented, anti-machine leaders during this time. Hazen Pingree is one such example. Hazen Stuart Pingree ( August 30, 1840 &ndash June 18, 1901) was a four-term Republican mayor of Detroit (1889-1897 and Though sometimes labeled as a "boss", Pingree in fact did not operate under the same type of patronage system that characterized the Machines. While this hardly settles the matter in either direction, it is simply important to remember that the legacy of the Political Party Machines in the 19th and 20th centuries remains ambiguous at best.

Smaller communities as Parma, Ohio in the post-Cold War Era under Prosecutor Bill Mason's "Good Old Boys" and especially communities in the Deep South, where small-town machine politics are relatively common also feature what might be classified as political machines, although these organizations do not have the power and influence of the larger boss networks listed in this article. Parma is a City in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States and the largest Suburb of Cleveland. For example, the “Cracker Party” was a Democratic Party political machine that dominated city politics in Augusta, Georgia for over half of the 20th century. Augusta Georgia is a city in Richmond County, Georgia, United States. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Notable "Bosses" and their political machines

See also Political boss and Category:Political bosses. A boss, in politics, is a person who wields De facto power over a particular political region or Constituency.


State Bosses

County Bosses

City Bosses

See also

References

Further reading

External links

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