First, Overview of Cities in
America
•  In politics
–  development of parties
•  In thought
–  positive or negative force
•  Primary function
–  commercial vs. social/cultural centers
Political Development of US Cities
•  Theme - commercial enterprises
•  Colonial Town (1610 - 1770s)
–  1700 250,000 Europeans
–  1775 2.5 million
–  a nation of towns
–  towns (forts) used to settle west
Political Development
•  Colonial towns
–  Charters granted by Crown to est. business
enterprises
–  leadership in hands of those who chartered
–  corporate, self-rule
–  these are the roots of our towns/cities
•  still, largely agrarian society
Political Development
•  Early Republic (1770 - 1780s)
–  Anti-federalists v. Federalists
–  Conflict over founding highlighted worry
about cities
–  Anti-feds worried about
•  commerce
•  corruption of virtue
•  loss of citizen contact with government
Political Development
•  The Early Republic (1790 - 1860)
–  Age of Jefferson
–  Jeffersonian critique of city
•  mobs of cities are to pure democracy what
sores are to the strength of the human body
•  crowds, pursuit of commerce, recipe for
corruption of public virtue
•  virtue in agriculture
•  Louisiana Purchase, 1803
Political Development of Cities
•  The Early Republic (1790 - 1860)
–  Age of Jackson
•  by 1820, lt 10% of population in cities
•  expansion of franchise (2x)
•  new organizations evolving to structure politics
of cities....
•  Volunteer Fire Departments
•  Mass based political parties
Political Development of US Cities
•  Age of Jackson
–  Volunteer Fire Departments
•  mass based
•  egalitarian
•  offered fellowship, social recognition
•  built by efforts of working class
•  hierarchical leadership
Political Development of Cities
•  Early Republic (1790 - 1860)
•  Jacksonian Democracy+urbanization =
–  frequent elections
–  more local offices elected
–  universal (white male) suffrage
–  nationalization of political parties
–  to the victor go the spoils
–  as of 1840s, not much urban
Political Development
•  Early America reflected agriculture
interests
–  The Land Ordinance of 1785
–  Louisiana Purchase (1803)
•  Immigration and industrialization
resulted in growth of cities
•  Created jobs for immigrants from
Ireland, Germany, Russia, Italy etc.
Political Development of Cities
•  19th Century cities
–  Federal government very limited
–  cities provided few services
•  private firms streetcars, lighting..
•  first full-time NYC fire dept. 1865
–  no civil service...employee = partisan
–  what effects urbanization, immigration,
industrialization?
Political Development of Cities
•  Urbanization =
–  size, density, heterogeneity
•  Immigration
•  Industrialization
•  What effects on needs / demands?
–  housing, safety, fire, business regulations,
sanitation, occupational safety, labor rules
By 1860, only 20% of US population in cities & towns
But large cities home to millions of immigrants
By 1870s, some major cities dominated by immigrants
Political Development of Cities
•  Immigrant Population, 1870
–  New York City
–  Chicago
–  San Francisco
44%
48%
49 %
–  in 1850, 5% of US Catholics
–  by 1906, 17% of US Catholics
Urban Political Machines
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Immigration
Urbanization
Industrialization
Expanded Democracy
Urban Party Machines
•  Patronage
–  if you go along, you get along
–  loyalty purchased with material rewards
•  turkey on thanksgiving, coal for heating,
assistance with police, a job....
•  neighborhood leader tracks needs, delivers
blocks of votes to party
Urban Party Machines
•  Partisan elections, party ballot
– Machine required electing party loyalists
•  Elections were held with state and
federal elections
– Straight-ticket ballots—benefited all levels
•  Corruption
– Some stuffing ballot boxes, bribery, and
kickbacks, and graft ( honest graft )
Urban Party Machines
•  Machines benefited some illegal
businesses
•  Also provided many services and
building projects
•  Failed to address problems some key
problems
•  Fraud
Urban Party Machines
•  Demise of machines
•  Inefficient
–  who benefited
•  role in national politics
•  any evidence of upward mobility?
–  who harmed?
•  businesses, taxpayers
•  what reaction?
Urban Party Machines
•  From group conflict perspective
•  Immigrants
–  The others; mobs in city, Catholics, Jews,
don t speak English
•  WASP Nativists
–  Prohibition, restrict immigration, fear of
anarchists,
–  Progressivism
Urban Party Machines
•  Demise of Machines (post 1900)
•  Rival groups
–  Labor, legit. business
•  Increased affluence
•  Slower immigration
•  Rise of Federal role in social services
–  New Deal 1930s
•  Not total
–  Chicago, Albany NY, parts of MA...
The Reform Movement
•  Who were they
–  Rural legislators
–  Upper status urban professionals
–  Upper status urban women
•  Still w/o right to vote
–  Progressive moralists
–  Religious activists
The Reform Movement
•  Broad Progressive Agenda
–  Suffrage
–  Work place safety
–  Food safety
–  Child labor laws
–  Labor rights
–  Prohibition
–  Political institutions
Reform Movement
•  The Machine city (summary):
–  very large council
–  district based representation
–  council with control over hiring, firing,
spending
–  High turnout local elections
–  Machine power = majority on council
•  maybe Mayor matters....
The Reform Movement
•  National Municipal League
–  Model City Charter
•  A business model of how to run cities
–  get the politics out of city administration
–  not a partisan way to pick up garbage,
sweep streets
The Reform Movement
•  A menu of items that could go in a city
charter
–  1) Merit-based civil service
•  de-personalize offices, universalistic standards,
exams for hiring, promotions
–  2) Detailed accounting systems
•  sealed competitive bids, publicize transactions,
limit elected official influence on spending
The Reform Movement
•  Menu
–  3) Take power from council
•  make part time job, independent commissions to
administer services
•  City Manager
–  4) Reduce size of councils
•  from 50 - 100 to less than 10
–  5) Weak vs. Strong Mayor?
•  Strong mayor =
•  savior?
•  machine control?
The Reform Movement
•  At-large, off year elections