Chapter 7

Part 3

Terms to Know

• Political Machine

• Graft

• Boss Tweed

• Patronage

• Civil Service

• Rutherford B. Hayes

• James A. Garfield

Ore Terms!

• Chester A. Arthur

• Pendleton Civil Service Act

• Grover Cleveland

• Benjamin Jarrison

The Political Machine

• Growing Cities

• Growing Poverty

• Growing Crime

• And insufficient Government response

After the Civil War

• The Political Machine gained control of cities all ov er America

• An organized group that took control of a political party in a city

What the Machines Offered:

• Services to voters and businesses

• In exchange for

• Political or financial support

Machines were like a pyramid

• At the base were the block captains

• They helped the poor and got the votes when the poor became citizens

• At the top was the Boss: He could deliver the votes or the contracts

The Party Boss

• Was sometimes the mayor

• Or could be behind the scenes

• Controlled city jobs

• Licenses

• Could influence the courts

• And city agencies

The Machine

• Built Parks

• Sewer Systems

• Waterworks

• Gave miney to schools

• Hospitals

• Orphanages

The Machine

• By solving urban problems the machine continued to earn voters’ loyalty

Immigrants and the Machine

• Block captains were often recent immigrants themselves

• They understood the problems of the new arrivals

• Helped with jobs, housing, medical care, getting ready for citizenship, education

The immigrants were grateful

• They would vote for whoever the block captain suggested

• Help from the government and the Church was hard to come by

The Machine filled a need

• BUT it WAS corrupt

• Boss Tweed was the most famous of the big party Bosses

• 1869-1871 He led the Tweed Ring

• And defrauded NY city out of a great deal of money

The construction of a courthouse

• Cost $3 million dollars

• BUT the taxpayers ended up paying $13 million for it

• Eventually there was a punlic outcry

Thomas Nast

• A political cartoonist inspired the outcry

1871 Tweed was indicted

• 12 counts of fraud and extortion

• Was sentenced to 12 years in jail

• Was released after one year

• Then was rearrested

Corruption in National Politics

• Patronage: giving government jobs to people who helped others get elected

• Was sometimes called the Spoils System

• Often the people in these jobs were not qualified for the jobs

Reformers

• Tried to end corruption in government

• Tried to end Patronage

• Pushed for civil service reform

• Government jobs should be awarded based on merit

• Political views should not matter

Rutherford B. Hayes

• President 1877-1871

• Awarded government jobs in his cabinet to independents

• Established a commission to investigate the nation’s custom houses for corruption

Garfield 1881

• Was a Republican President who had Arthur (a Stalwart) as his VP

• Had Blaine (a Liberal who stood for reform) as his Sec. of State

Garfield was assassinated in 1881

• By Charles Guiteau

• Guiteau was upset because he did not get a government job that he wanted

• Said, “I am a Stalwart. Now Arthur is President!”

Garfield was shot in July

• Died in September

• Then Arthur was President

The Pendleton Act

• Provided for tests for government jobs

• More of a merit system

• Also a bipartisan Civil Service Commission was appointed to make the appointments

Less financial help

• From people ho[ing for jobs

• So money came from Big Business in exchange for government favors

• Businesses made big campaign contributions and it paid off

Cleveland 1884-88

• The first democrat since the Civil War

• Fought for a lower tariff

• Hurt Big Business

• Lost to Benjamin Harrison in 1888

• Harrison favored a high tariff and was supported by Big Business

NOTE

• Harrison had won the electoral vote but Cleveland had the popular vote

• During Harrison’s term the economy took a tumble

Election of 1892

• Cleveland beat Harrison

• The first President to serve two non consecutive termsThen, Panic of 1893

• And McKinley, a Republican, won in 1896