Download - The Political Machine
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THE POLITICAL MACHINE
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OBJECTIVES:
• Explain the role of political machines and political bosses
• Describe how some politician’s greed and fraud cost taxpayers millions of dollars
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POLITICS IN THE GILDED AGE• As cities grew in the late 19th century, so did political machines
• Political machines controlled the activities of a political party in a city
New York’s Solar System, 1898
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ROLE OF THE POLITICAL BOSS• The “Boss” (typically the mayor) controlled:• Jobs• business licenses• court system
• Precinct captains and ward bosses:• 1st or 2nd generation
immigrants • Helped with naturalization• Jobs• Housing
• All in exchange for votes for the boss
Boss Tweed ran NYC
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HOW WOULD POLITICAL BOSSES STAY IN POWER?
• Political machines used fake names and voted multiple times to ensure victory (“Vote early and often”) – called Election fraud
• Graft (bribes) was common among political bosses
• Construction contracts often resulted in “kick-backs”
• The fact that police forces were hired by the boss prevented close scrutiny
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THE TWEED RING SCANDAL• William M. Tweed, known as Boss Tweed, became head of Tammany Hall, NYC’s powerful Democratic political machines
• Between 1869-1871, Tweed led the Tweed Ring, a group of corrupt politicians, in defrauding the city $20 million
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•Tweed was eventually indicted on 120 counts of fraud and extortion (Brought down by cartoonist Thomas Nast)
•Tweed was sentenced to 12 years in jail – released after one, arrested again, and escaped to Spain
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POLITICAL CARTOON ANALYSIS: NAST VS. TWEED
• Thomas Nast= "Father of the American Cartoon“
• Nast's drawings were instrumental in the downfall of Boss Tweed
• Your Task: use the cartoon analysis sheet to peek into the deeper meaning of the following Nast drawings
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“THAT’S WHAT’S THE MATTER”
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GANGS OF NEW YORK CLIP• Leo DiCaprio- Amsterdam Vallon
• Daniel Day-Lewis- Bill “The Butcher” Cutting
• Jim Broadbent- “Boss” Tweed
• What You Are Looking For:• Political Machine Organization
• City Boss, Ward Boss, Precinct Captain• Scorsese’s opinion of political machines
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• WHO HAD THE POLITICAL POWER THEN?
• DOES THIS KIND OF CORRUPTION EXIST TODAY?• Give THREE examples
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