Political Machines
Successes
Setbacks and Challenges
Reform Tools
Word Definitions
100
A powerful New York political boss who led Tammany Hall and used patronage and corruption to control politics.
Boss Tweed
100
An 1883 U.S. law that created a merit-based system for many government jobs instead of giving them out as rewards for votes.
Pendleton Civil Service Act
100
Ballot stuffing and machine control made elections unfair.
Unfair elections
100
People who exposed political bosses to the public through, typically, illustrations.
Muckrakers
100
The practice of abusing government power to gain the favor of the people.
Patronage
200
A New York political boss who led Tammany Hall after Boss Tweed.
Richard Croker
200
Let voters, not political bosses, choose party candidates.
Direct primaries
200
The effect of political bosses using patronage, bribery, and graft is to make people lose faith in government.
Loss of public trust in government
200
One of the most powerful tools for reform is political cartoon illustrations. This person created this image that exposed corruption and helped push reform.
Thomas Nast
200
The core idea of patronage where political supporters are rewarded with government jobs and favors after winning an election.
Spoils system
300
A politician who was known for defending “honest graft.”
George Washington Plunkitt
300
The power of citizens to propose new laws.
Initiative
300
A system where political bosses had more power than ordinary voters.
Weak democracy
300
Voting privately to prevent pressure or intimidation.
Secret Ballot
300
Corrupt use of political power for personal gain, usually by taking bribes or kickbacks.
Graft
400
The longest-serving politician for Tammany Hall in the early 1900s.
Charles F. Murphy
400
A vote in which citizens approve or reject a proposed law.
Referendum
400
City money and contracts were used for personal gain.
Corrupt spending
400
Voters can remove an elected official from office before their term ends.
Recall
400
Casting illegal votes or submitting more than one ballot per voter.
Ballot Stuffing
500
A Kansas City political boss who controlled city politics through patronage and political machine power.
Tom Pendergast
500
Amendment that allowed the direct election of U.S. senators instead of having state legislatures choose them.
Seventeenth Amendment
500
The effect of powerful political machines like Tammany Hall causing corruption.
Resistance to reform
500
Voters directly elect United States senators.
Direct Election of Senators
500
Illegal payments or favors given in exchange for help, usually to secure a contract, deal, or political advantage.
Kickbacks