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The Effect of Political Machines on the Democratic System Essay

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The Effect of Political Machines on the Democratic System

“A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude To make them love it is the task assigned” - Aldous Huxley (Quotes, 1). Through the strong sarcasm in this statement the negative effect political bosses have on a liberal society can be seen. In the late 1800’s there was a rise in the number of incoming immigrants in the United States, and that was when certain groups called ‘political machines’ started to spring up. These groups were initially designed to help …show more content…

Also, Tammany Hall was run by only a small percentage of the population, wealthy, privileged, white males. People in other classes were not represented and had no say, which therefore went against the basis of democracy where everyone is supposed to have an equal say and equal rights. A statistic that shows us just how corrupt Tammany Hall was, is that it is believed to have conned New York City out of somewhere between 30-200 million dollars (about.com, 1). Having such dishonest and deceitful leaders definitely goes against the democratic system, which is all about being honest. Another political machine that went against the principles of democracy was that of Edward Crump.

In Memphis, Tennessee, through his political machine Crump controlled everything. That in itself is one of the things that negatively impacted the democratic system. All of the peoples’ power was in one man, which is too much power for one person to have in a democracy. Also, with this power Crump mistreated those lower than him. For example, when he arrived at sporting events the crowd was expected to cheer, and he ordered the people to address him as “Boss” when talking to him. This is undemocratic since all this power is concentrated in one man, whereas in a

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