Politics in the Gilded Age Flashcards

Political Machines

• Organized groups controlling a political party's activities in cities, offering services for political or financial support.
• Local precinct workers seek voter support in neighborhoods, reporting to ward bosses who secure votes across precincts.
• City bosses oversee the entire operation, collaborating with precinct captains and ward bosses to elect candidates.

Structure of Political Machines

• Resembles a pyramid; local precinct workers form the base, moving up to ward bosses and culminating with the city boss.
• Each level plays a crucial role in securing votes and managing local political activities.

Role of Political Bosses

• Controlled access to city jobs, business licenses, and influenced city agencies and courts.
• Utilized power to improve infrastructure (parks, sewer systems, waterworks) and funded schools and hospitals.
• Aimed to solve urban issues to solidify voter loyalty and expand political influence.

Immigrant Support for Political Machines

• Many political leaders were immigrants who spoke the same languages and understood newcomers' challenges.
• Political machines assisted immigrants with naturalization, housing, and job placements, securing their votes in return.

Corruption in Political Machines

• Engaged in practices like casting votes under fake names and employing graft for personal gain.
• Graft often involved inflating job costs and collecting kickbacks from workers who were pressured to share earnings with the machine.

Understanding Graft

• Defined as illegal use of political influence for personal profit, often through inflated billing in city contracts.
• Kickbacks from these inflated costs contributed significantly to the wealth of political machines and their leaders.

The Tweed Ring Scandal

• Led by William M. Tweed (Boss Tweed), who oversaw corrupt practices in city governance, particularly in construction projects.
• Tweed Ring’s manipulation of a construction contract inflated costs from $3 million to $13 million, pocketing the excess.
• Public outrage, partly incited by political cartoonist Thomas Nast, led to the downfall and imprisonment of Tweed.

Impact of Thomas Nast

• His political cartoons played a vital role in exposing the Tweed Ring's corruption and galvanizing public sentiment against it.
• Tweed was recognized by Spanish officials from a Nast cartoon after escaping from prison, resulting in his capture.