Party Machines and Immigrants

Party Machines and Immigrants

The objective of this study is to discuss party machines and immigration from the 19th Century and the methods used to manipulate immigrant votes as reported in the work of Swanstrom (2012) entitled "City Politics" in Chapter 3. Swanstrom writes that the imagery in the "smoke-filled rooms in the back of taverns" as fat politicians who smoked the cigars and passed out "buckets of coal to poor widows" as they made deals has a "sacred place in the lore of American politics." (p.49) While the politician was very committed to those who were loyal to his party at the same time those politicians were self-centered and highly dishonest. The entire syst5em was very much corrupt. Swamstrom writes that the "urban machines were organizations held together by a combination of ethnic identity and partisan loyalty." (p.50) But there were also reported as "hierarchical and disciplined, often controlled by single leader, a 'boss', or a tightly organized clique that shared power." (p.50) This was a democratic system because they worked hard toward mobilization of voters while at the same time preserving "a high degree of independence from outside influences through an internal system of command, coordination and control." (p.50)

Boss rule is reported to have been at its strongest in the 1920s and in 1932 when Franklin D. Roosevelt became president 10 of the largest 30 cities in America were under the rule of machine bosses. The end of the time of the classic party machines is reported as marked by the death of Richard J. Daley, Chicago boss in 1976. These machines were dependent on the "patronage and the regular distribution of material incentives to keep their organizations intact." (p.50) The machines were targeted in the early 20th century as the method that would be utilized in bringing about clean politics while simultaneously bringing about a reduction in immigrant voter influence. While these reforms focused on ending the rule of the machines resulted in cleaner politics, the reforms also "changed the rules of the game to the disadvantage of people at the lower end of the social spectrum." (p.52)

In the present there are still conflicts concerning the ease or difficulty that should be experienced by registering to vote. The rise of the urban machines was enabled by two things: (1) the emergence of the mass electorate; and (2) industrialization. (p.53) At the time of the ratification of the Constitution in 1789, Swanstrom reports that approximately 5% of white adult males were those who could vote. However, voting based on property ownership was beginning to ease by 1776 and by 1850 Swanstrom reports that nearly all "free white males were eligible to vote in city elections." (p.53)

By the election of 1940, Swanstrom reports that 80% of adult white males were able to vote and as the cities grew between the 1830s and 1920s more than 30 million immigrants arrived in the United States and upon becoming citizens, the males could cast their vote in the elections. This resulted in " a new breed of enterprising politician" who figured how they could gain from this fact. In the cities that were industrialized it is reported that politics resulted in local followings and election of alderman. Since the electoral units were minute, the personal connections resulted in the ability of politicians to enter into politics. Those who benefited the most were those who owned neighborhood pubs since the pubs are reported to have been "central to the day-to-day life of working-class neighborhoods." (p.54)

Swanstrom reports that party machines "managed to combine two seemingly incompatible qualities: (1) the absence of formal rules; and (2) a disciplined organization. (p.54) The party machine politician was an individual who gained their stature within the organization based upon their "ability to deliver votes and their skill at forging alliances with other politicians…" (p.54) It is reported by Swanstrom that 'Precinct captains' were those with the responsibility of 'getting out the vote in the smallest and most basic political unit of the city" since they personally knew the voters and generally were neighbors and friends with the voters. The majority of machine politicians were "schooled in rough-and-tumble political competition" and were men "of incredible energy, quick temper, and rough manners." (p.54) These were men who valued political power over good social standing. The result the persuasion of the public that benefit would be realized by all in cooperation was the emergence of "disciplined political organizations." (p.54)