The Strengths and Weaknesses o
Machine politics had numerous strengths among which were the high levels of political participation it encouraged. It also satisfied important social needs that official government institutions could not fulfill due to the decentralized structure of government provided for by the Constitution. Effective party bosses were able organize and centralize fragmented power in order to satisfy the needs of different groups in their community. It humanized and personalized assistance to the needy by directly appealing to individual concerns instead of to broader public interests. It replaced what was perceived by immigrants to be the cold, bureaucratic dispensation of limited aid following upon detailed investigations of legal claims to aid of the client..." with the more personal techniques employed by the precinct captain who "asks no questions, exacts no compliance with legal rules of eligibility and does not snoop into private affairs."(Urban Politics A Reader, 104) Politicians of the machine were seen as "just one of us" and the machine politics became a system of patronage and personal ties. This was the case especially for immigrants, who faced discrimination and had limited opportunities for upward mobility. Machines provided imm
A reform politics approach could not be followed because it was a system that was created by and for the purposes of the upper class. However, many reformers introduced such measures merely to satisfy and quiet voters who did not support the consolidation of power in the hands of the privileged few. It fostered a more efficient form of local government that addressed more public concerns rather than specific individual and merely local interests. Therefore, machine politics had the long-term effect of slowing down the overall economic and social advancement of represented groups relative to other immigrant groups who did not fall into the patronage system of machine politics (112). In determining whether machine or reform politics would be more effective in addressing the major challenges facing cities in the United States it is important to note that both systems are deeply flawed. Hays states, "by requiring a high percentage of voters to sign petitions these innovations could be and were relatively harmless. Unfortunately, the system of patronage machine politicians did little else to improve the economic status of their consituents. By adopting a machine approach to this problem progress can be made to foster upward mobility for members of the lower class. Erie suggests that since party bosses had limited resources and a large group of constituents to assist they were forced to spread patronage as thinly as possible (114). "(146) The attack on machines came at the expense of political parties as only by weakening the influence of the party could the influence of machines be removed. Commission and city-manager forms of government were developed to replace officials selected to positions of power because of their personal relationship to the boss with non-partisan experts who could more effectively deal with the responsibilities of their position. Erie points to the fact that although the machine allowed Irish to gain strong political power politically and limited economic gains and social mobility other ethnic groups whom did not have ties to the patronage system enjoyed economic progress faster than their Irish counterparts. They believed that government would function more effectively if it were modeled after a corporation. "(145) These vital functions were not adopted by politicians of reform politics who tended to represent the upper third of socioeconomic groups.
Common topics in this essay:
Stephen Erie,
Samuel Hays,
Politics Reader,
Constitution Effective,
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Irish Eventually,
reform politics,
lower class,
patronage system,
party bosses,
political power,
upward mobility,
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machine politicians,
social mobility,
system representation,
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Acceptance Essays
