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Urban Political Machines & their Decline

Urban Political Machines & their Decline. Extent Reform Other Forces Impact. HAVE URBAN POLITICAL MACHINES REALLY DISAPPEARED?. Four elements of machines (in addition to patronage) Four changes in the practice of machine politics.

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Urban Political Machines & their Decline

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  1. Urban Political Machines & their Decline Extent Reform Other Forces Impact

  2. HAVE URBAN POLITICAL MACHINES REALLY DISAPPEARED? • Four elements of machines (in addition to patronage) • Four changes in the practice of machine politics

  3. Four Elements of Machines (in addition to patronage or material rewards) • Disciplined hierarchy – led by single boss • Party controls nomination to public office • Party leadership does not hold public office • Loyalty maintained by a mixture of non-ideological and psychic rewards

  4. Tammany Hall Politics revolves around boss Richard Croker(1889)

  5. Four Changes in Practices of Machine Politics • Racial divisions fracture hierarchy • Patronage less important • New immigrants less dependent on machines • New institutions take functions of central city machines

  6. DECLINE OF MACHINE POLITICS • EXTENT • REFORM • OTHER FORCES • IMPACT

  7. Reforming the Machines Out of Business • Social dimensions of Reformers • Programs of structural reforms

  8. Reformers and Bosses: Social Dimensions • View of social reformers as “morning glories” • Conflicts between reformers and bosses • Immigrants looked on politics from personal perspective • Upper-middle class reformers looked on politics as arena to realize broad moral principles • Differences in ethos: public regarding vs private regarding • Social Reformers • Concern with abuses of capitalist system • Example: (Hazen Pingree – Detroit)

  9. Goals/Programs of Structural Reformers • Goal: efficiency (as contrasted with anti-capitalism of reformers • Example: (Grover Cleveland – Buffalo) • Core programs • Merit appointments • Privatization

  10. Notable Innovations (electoral machinery) of the Urban Structural Reformers • Direct primaries • At-large elections • Short ballot • Non-partisan elections

  11. DECLINE OF MACHINE POLITICS • EXTENT • REFORM • OTHER FORCES • IMPACT

  12. Other Forces and the Decline of Machines • Federal government • Demography

  13. Federal Government and Decline of the Urban Political Machines • Welfare politics empowers the federal government • Magnitude of resources involved beyond the capabilities of municipalities • thought of as a legal right • Infrastructure development favors a national focus • Equity between cities/regions • Again, magnitude of resources problem • Courts

  14. Demographics and the Decline of Urban Political Machines • Minority migration pressures machines to become more inclusive • Westward drift increases proportion of population in urban areas lacking machine tradition • Rise of suburbia • Lack machine tradition • Suburbanites focus on their careers rather than on patronage from machines

  15. Decline of the Urban Machine • EXTENT • REFORM • OTHER FORCES • IMPACT

  16. Impact of the Urban Political Machine’s Decline: Institutions • Kinds of cities that favor reform style of government • Strong mayor (Chicago) • Council – manager (Dallas/San Diego) • Commission (Galveston, Texas)

  17. Other Impacts of the Urban Political Machine’s Decline • Class bias of political reform • Fragmentation and the decrease of accountability

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