Urban workers received numerous benefits from the political machines of the late nineteenth century. In major cities such as New York, political machines flourished due to the large influx of immigrants. The machine politicians sustained power by forming treaties with citizens and immigrants, in return the machines received political support. They would primarily target those in need, most often new immigrants. The immigrants would likely take the machine's offer due to their lack of money, poor housing, and an inability to find sufficient work. Many of the citizens were reluctant to oppose the machines due to the immense support that they provided for everyday citizens, as well as businesses. Political machines offered a way for urban …show more content…
"Looking out for their own, the political machines made it possible for the Irish to get jobs, to deal with naturalization issues, even to get food or heating fuel in emergencies" ("Irish Identity, Influence and Opportunity"). Political machines would care for their loyal voters. The machines knew that if they wanted to stay in power, they would have to help out their loyalists, who in turn would supply them with political support. Therefore, the machines would offer jobs, food, and clothing to their loyalists. For example, a job-seeking immigrant would turn to a political machine for help; in exchange for his vote, he would be provided with a job. This was referred to as patronage. The disadvantaged were grateful to have this support and thus more likely to offer their vote to the political machine in …show more content…
"Bosses like Roscoe Conkling in New York used their power to build parks, sewer systems, and waterworks, and gave money to schools, hospitals, and orphanages" (Danzer). These services benefited citizens by enhancing their living conditions and improving their everyday environments, well-being, and safety. For example, many students were able to receive a better education due to the donations machines gave to schools. "Due to the rapid rate of urban growth, cities [government] could scarcely keep up with city dwellers' needs for transit, water, sewers, street cleaning, and fire and police protection" ("Growth of Cities"). With the help of the machine's services, cities were able to revamp and improve their infrastructures, making them much safer to live in. This resulted in easier commutes to work and better working conditions for
Immigrants during this time period came to America seeking wealth for their family they had brought with them, or to send back to their families in their homeland. Whichever case it was immigrants spent the majority of their time working in the factories in hope for a better life than the one they gave up in coming to America. However, upon arriving immigrants soon realized that the home they left behind was not all that different than their new one. Immigrants came seeking the types of jobs that would give them Liberty and independence, leaving them only to find themselves just a working part in a large factory dependent on machines, rather than their own skills.
As technologies like steam developed industrialization was able to make use of the geography of the country. There was plenty of cheap land for farming so "American skilled workers tended to be both scarce and expensive" (Cowan 90) and it was necessary for people to create more efficient ways to work. Inventors created machines and methods that would require fewer people or people with fewer skills to compensate for the reduced labor force. This land rich environment lead to a working class that was for the most part transient. Men worked for a short time to make money to start up farms or businesses of their own. Women worked in factories to earn money to send home before they married and raised families. The American worker did not think of themselves as a permanent fixture in the factories, only as transient participant to earn what they need to move on to the next stages of their lives.
There are thousands of years of history that have taken place. History is not like art(less subjective), but there is still plenty of room for speculation, criticism, and debate among historians, professors, as well as average citizens. However, not all these moments are documented, or done successfully specifically. Some of these moments end up becoming movies, books, or even historical fiction novels, but what about those fundamental moments that aren’t readily documented? In the book The Birth of Modern Politics Lynn Hudson Parsons claims that the 1828 election was momentous in the history of both political history, as well as our nation. Parsons not only discusses the behind the scenes of the first public election of 1828, but the pivotal events in Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams’ lives leading up to the election as well. Parsons succeeds in proving her thesis that the 1828 election was crucial to American politics as we know it today, as well as provoking evidence from various sources with her own logic and opinions as well.
...l to readers to see how the reform movement played a major role in better health and labor standards across many cities in the United States. By giving more focus to these positive elements, I thought it could have made for a very interesting contrast between pros and cons for the reform movement, similar to what readers received while reading about machine politics in Chapter 3.
In the late nineteenth century, many European immigrants traveled to the United States in search of a better life and good fortune. The unskilled industries of the Eastern United States eagerly employed these men who were willing to work long hours for low wages just to earn their food and board. Among the most heavily recruiting industries were the railroads and the steel mills of Western Pennsylvania. Particularly in the steel mills, the working conditions for these immigrants were very dangerous. Many men lost their lives to these giant steel-making machines. The immigrants suffered the most and also worked the most hours for the least amount of money. Living conditions were also poor, and often these immigrants would barely have enough money and time to do anything but work, eat, and sleep. There was also a continuous struggle between the workers and the owners of the mills, the capitalists. The capitalists were a very small, elite group of rich men who held most of the wealth in their industries. Strikes broke out often, some ending in violence and death. Many workers had no political freedom or even a voice in the company that employed them. However, through all of these hardships, the immigrants continued their struggle for a better life.
The Effects of American Reform Movements in the 1900s Living in the United States of America is all about opportunity. The opportunity to get a good job, make money, and lead a life of good quality; in other words, the opportunity to live, live, and live the Pursuit of Happiness. However, the opportunity for many people was not around throughout the 1800s. Certain groups of people did not hold the basic rights that were guaranteed by the Constitution. In fact, most of the people that had opportunity were the wealthy white men, and few other people ever had any chance to lead a good life.
During the 19th century, there were many important political ideologies all across the European continent. There was Conservatism, which favored the old or traditional political ideas. The extreme opposite of Conservatism was Liberalism. During this time period, Liberalism was considered any idea that went against the ideas of Conservatism. However, the ideas of Nationalism, possibly the most powerful political ideology of the time, did not fall under Conservatism or Liberalism. Nationalism was its own ideology that happened to be very compatible with Liberalism. Nationalism was the idea that nations should be comprised of people who share common roots and should be under one government; however, the Vienna Settlement directly opposed their ideas. The Austrians saw nationalism as a threat to them because they were comprised of many smaller nations while there were nationalist movements in
Politics in America from 1846 to 1861 have been remembered mainly for being strongly influenced by slavery. It was the hot topic of the time. Abolitionism was on the rise while Americans who were proslavery stood by their beliefs. With the compromise of 1850 declaring Free states, the division of the north and south, incidents such as bleeding Kansas, the Dred Scott case, and the election of 1860, it was clear that American Politics were all about slavery.
It would have been very dark, they would not have had a watch so they
During the 1920’s Republicans had dominated the white house with the two presidents of the decade being Warren G. Harding, and Calvin Coolidge.The expansion of government activities during World War I was reversed during the 1920s. The Government had eliminated its efforts to break-up trust, and to regulate businesses. Instead, the government began to emphasize on partnerships between government and business. Politics during the 1920s played a major role in the culture of the decade and the leaders of the 1920s represented the beliefs and ideas of the people during the time.
Political machines were supported by continuing immigration, sustained by patronage, enlarged by wealth, and in the end were weeded out by reformers progress for public rather than private good, and caused by the need for public works and skilled workers, after the population of cities expanded.
Urbanization in the early 20th century paved the way for massive industrial booms within larger cities, however leaving behind trails of corruptness and gruesome consequences. Many political scandals and factory based controversies emerged as a result of the lack of regulations, especially in the large, consumer-goods producing industries. Due to their political impact and high social standings, many feared the ramifications that would follow any protest to the corrupt practices. Company owners and managers would hire their own inspectors, who would essentially falsify information about the conditions, and deem them satisfactory, but in reality, it was quite the opposite. Immigrants were especially susceptible to malpractices, seeing that
Believe it or not, major events occurred in the 1870s. They did not go wild in their cowboy boots and hats riding along on their horses. The American people were expanding west and man was the controversy endless. Come on now, it’s drama, it can be dated back to the B.C. years. Of course the drama was all tied into politics. Politics in the 1870s consisted of changes, first time events, and two elections.
When they talk about immigrant, they’re referring to the machine. The machine relied on people votes and how business people relied upon the machine for street railway and other utility franchises that had former alliance in the nineteenth century (Dye & MacManus, 2012, p. 326). The upper-class people really fought to recapture the control of the local governments through the municipal reform movement (Dye & MacManus, 2012, p. 326). Machine politicians mainly catered to the ethnic
As the continuation of industrialization and urbanization sparked an increasing demand for a larger and cheaper labor force; an influx in immigrants from all over Europe, migrated in pursuit of higher wages. As the industrial revolution progressed, the country evolved from a rural agricultural society into an urban industrial nation. Capitalists now dominated the economy, sparking dramatic social, political, and economic tensions for immigrants. Although, the progressivism movement assisted immigrants by alleviating work conditions, immigrants were still left to face social and economic tension as they became the new competition for low wage earners and were ostracized for religious differences.