The Urban Political Machine Essay Example for Free

The Urban Political Machine Essay Basically, an urban political machine is a system which was born around the end of the 19th and the early part of the 20th century. This system was formulated to cater to the needs of immigrants and other urban dwellers because they have become part of the majority of the population around this time. The system served as a guarantor of the delivery of the basic needs of people, due to the fact that the state has started to face difficulties in promoting the said needs and services. (Urban Political Machine) Take note that these urban political machines are unique to the United States, and these systems are constructed in the pursuit of the two most important things in politics, money and power. Their roles extended beyond what the state offered; they provided things such as aid for immigrants in finding tangible things such as houses, to the intangibles such as jobs. These machines also helped distribute food in the forms of groceries to families that are deep in need. One of the most surprising things that these urban political machines did was help families that have members in jail, mostly in the form of bail. (Urban Political Machine) According to Jane Addams, an urban political machine, the Alderman, â€Å"bails out his constituents when they are arrested, or says a good word to the police justice when they appear before him for trial†. (Urban Political Machines) This is one way that the urban political machine garnered the negative image that was associated with it. In exchange for these forms of aid, one important thing needed by any political machine is the trust and loyalty by its members, most importantly the people’s votes. Looking at the urban political machine at a non-moralist point of view, one can see that it has indeed become effective in aiding the people especially immigrants because it was able to cater to some of the constituent’s most basic needs, but when looked at from the other side, it can be seen as a very ripe instrument which could lead to things like corruption and tyranny. Bibliography Urban Political Machine. Radford University Home Page. Retrieved May 6, 2009 from http://www. runet. edu/~shepburn/urban_political_machine. htm Urban Political Machines. University of Houston Digital History. Retrieved May 6, 2009 from http://www. digitalhistory. uh. edu/