The Effect of Political Machines on the Democratic System

The Effect of Political Machines on the Democratic System

“A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the

all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers

control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because

they love their servitude To make them love it is the task assigned” -

Aldous Huxley (Quotes, 1). Through the strong sarcasm in this

statement the negative effect political bosses have on a liberal

society can be seen. In the late 1800’s there was a rise in the number

of incoming immigrants in the United States, and that was when certain

groups called ‘political machines’ started to spring up. These groups

were initially designed to help the incoming immigrants adjust to the

harsh lifestyle in America; however, this quickly changed as the

leaders in the group, also known as the ‘bosses’, realized how they

could profit from the situation. One can look at how the political

machines, specifically those of Boss Tweed, Edward Crump, and Frank

Hague’s had a negative impact on the democratic system.

The political machine of New York, known as Tammany Hall, was the

largest, and therefore had the greatest impact. Its leader William

Tweed, or “Boss Tweed” was one of the most fraudulent leaders. He

would often take bribes, illegally set up elections, appoint his

friends to the high paying jobs within Tammany Hall, and steal large

sums of money from the city. When a newspaper cartoonist tried to

expose this in his cartoons, Tweed became enraged and ordered the

newspaper to fire the cartoonist. A little while after the newspaper

refused, Tweed cut off their contact to provide New York s...

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Overall, I think the following quote sums it up pretty well, “talk of

democracy has little content when big business rules the life of the

country through its control of the means of production, exchange, the

press and other means of publicity, propaganda and communication”

(Quotes, 1). In New York, Memphis, and New Jersey the “big businesses”

or political machines controlled everything, with no say of the

people, which is exactly the opposite of a democracy. Before there

were political machines, democracy was practiced to the best it could

have been at that time by the government, which may have been why

initially many people did not realize the negative impact political

machines had on the democratic system, since “the most serious threat

to democracy is the notion that it has already been achieved” (Quotes,

1)