Political Machines

1
Political Machines
2
I. Whats a Political Machines?

• A political organization offering services to
  business and voters in exchange for political or
  financial support

3
(No Transcript)
4
II. Why Did P.M.s Develop?

• 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.

5
III. Structure

• 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 machines
  candidates

6
(No Transcript)
7
IV. Immigrants and Political Machines

• 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

8
V. Corruption

• 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)

9
(No Transcript)
10
(No Transcript)
11
VI. Graft

• 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

12
(No Transcript)