a political organization offering services to business and voters in exchange for political or...
TRANSCRIPT
A political organization offering services to business and voters in exchange for political or financial support
› Huge growth in cities = huge problems › New demands on public services:
Fire Police Sanitation
› bridges, roads, parks, schools, sewer systems, utility systems needed to be built
› Political Machines developed to get things done.
› Goal of PMs = get candidates they supported elected to office
› “Bosses” managed the Political Machines
Controlled the local party officials › Local party officials
Handed out jobs, political favors, social services = loyalty
local residents – voted for political machine’s candidates
› Machines gained loyalty of the urban poor
› Tammany Hall of New York met immigrants as they exited Ellis
Island Recommended housing and jobs,
helped them get settled Helped get new immigrants
naturalized and able to vote for Tammany Hall candidates
› Political Machines had to keep power. Resorted to corruption to take and keep
control› Election Fraud
Voter Fraud – machines would organize groups of
voter to vote multiple times names of the dead would be used to
help non-registered voters cast ballots used disguises to vote multiple times paid off election officials to overlook
discrepancies (in Philadelphia, a district with only 100 registered voters returned 252 votes)
Party officials tried to increase political power and gain personal wealth
Graft – acquiring money through illegal or dishonest methods
Pocketed money meant for public works Kickbacks
Bosses gave contracts for work to people who would pay them a portion of the earnings from the contract
Bosses granted certain companies monopoly power in exchange for cash payments