Political machine

A tightly organized political group that maintains power through disciplined voting blocs, patronage, and control of party or government resources.

Patronage: The distribution of jobs, contracts, or favors in return for political support. Machine leaders reward loyal workers and voters with access to employment and favors.
Tammany Hall: A New York City Democratic political organization that dominated city politics at several points from the nineteenth century onward. It became the most famous example of an urban political machine.
Urbanization: The growth of cities through population concentration and migration. Rapid urban growth created dense constituencies and new demands that machine organizations could mediate.
Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act: An 1883 United States law that established merit-based federal hiring for some government positions. It limited the federal patronage system that party organizations had used to reward supporters.
Spoils system: A practice of awarding public offices to political supporters after an election. It lets machine victors staff government with people whose livelihoods depend on party loyalty.
William M. Tweed: A New York politician who led Tammany Hall during its rise to power in the late 1860s and early 1870s. His leadership became associated with machine patronage and public corruption.
Political patronage in the United States: The use of public appointments and favors to reward political supporters in American government. Patronage supplied the jobs and incentives around which many machines organized.
Progressive Era: A period of social and political reform in the United States from the 1890s to the 1920s. Progressive reformers sought to weaken boss rule and make city government more accountable.
Ward politics: Local political organization centered on a city ward and its residents. Ward leaders connect neighborhood needs and votes to the larger machine.
Richard J. Daley: A Chicago mayor and Democratic Party leader who held office from 1955 to 1976. His administration exemplified the twentieth-century city machine’s disciplined organization.

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