© Bob Brousek 2005

© Bob Brousek 2005

SLIDESHOW GUIDE

WITHIN THE SLIDESHOW, CLICK THIS ICON TO ACCESS MORE INFORMATION

USE THESE ARROWS TO GO TO THE NEXT AND PREVIOUS SCREENS

WITHIN THE SLIDESHOW, CLICK THIS ICON TO FIND OUT THE CONNECTION TO THE POLITICAL BOSS

USE THIS ARROW TO GO TO THE PREVIOUS SCREEN

© Bob Brousek 2005

Immigrants

© Bob Brousek 2005

Immigrants

Elections

© Bob Brousek 2005

Immigrants

Politicians

Elections

© Bob Brousek 2005

Immigrants

Favors

Politicians

Elections

© Bob Brousek 2005

Immigrants

Favors

Politicians

Elections

© Bob Brousek 2005

Immigrants

• Arriving in large numbers from Southern and Eastern Europe in the early 20th century and largely move into the nation’s urban areas.

• These immigrants are used to autocracy rather than democracy.

• A majority are uneducated and unfamiliar with the English language and democratic traditions.

• Unprepared for these new surroundings, finding jobs and other survival needs are difficult without assistance.

• With universal manhood suffrage, these people make up a large voting bloc that can influence elections.

© Bob Brousek 2005

Elections

• Put simply, to control city government one needs to win elections.

• Universal manhood suffrage offered all adult male citizens the right to vote, therefore increasing the impact of new immigrants on deciding who would win public office.

• The ballot was 8-12 pages long in many citywide elections which made voting a very frustrating task. Therefore, straight-ticket voting was encouraged. This common practice involved voting for the same political party within all positions and sometimes could be completed by only making one mark on the ballot.

© Bob Brousek 2005

Politicians

Desired power and assurance of re-election…

When elected, politicians’ powers included having influence on filling government jobs, contracts, issuing licenses, tax breaks, and inspections

Needed votes and campaign funds in order to assure that they were successful in the next campaign

© Bob Brousek 2005

FavorsAlso called graft: - profit or advancement obtained by corrupt means

Recent immigrants needed jobs, resources, etc.

Illegitimate business owners needed protection from the police and courts. Legitimate business owners wanted to be favored for earning contracts with government agencies.

In return for these favors or “services,” people owe their vote, loyalty, and/or campaign contributions.

© Bob Brousek 2005

The Political Boss

• In many major cities, the boss was a business owner who profited from his position through the corruption

• Worked behind the scenes to trade services for votes.

• Organized the network of ward and precinct captains

© Bob Brousek 2005

The Political Boss & Immigrants

• The political boss understood the needs and conditions of recent immigrants– Find recent immigrants jobs– Acquire resources (ie. coal for heating) in times of

need• “Bosses” developed a loyal reputation within the

immigrant community as one who could help immigrants when in need.

• This loyalty resulted in influencing the voter behavior within the local immigrant community at election time.

© Bob Brousek 2005

The Political Boss & Elections

• Since political bosses influenced the large immigrant population vote, candidates for political office needed support from the political boss to assure victory at election time.

• Political bosses assured that desired candidates received enough votes to win in the districts they influenced.

• Representatives of the political boss would be present at the polling places to assure voters elected the desired candidate.

© Bob Brousek 2005

The Political Boss & Politicians

• In return for votes and victory in elections, politicians owed the boss favors.

• Using their elected position, politicians could influence hiring for government jobs, which businesses earned government contracts, and law enforcement officers.

© Bob Brousek 2005

The Political Boss & Favors

• Political bosses used these favors to meet the needs of immigrants and local businesses (legal and illegal).

• The favors were ‘paid back’ with loyalty to the political boss at election time and or favors that were then owed to the political boss upon request.

© Bob Brousek 2005

Where Immigrants Came From

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1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1821-'30

1831-'40

1841-'50

1851-'60

1861-'70

1871-'80

1881-'90

1891-1900

1901-'10

1911-'20

Decades

In millions

Northern, Central, & Western EuropeSouthern and Eastern EuropeTotal

© Bob Brousek 2005

Credits:

Background Pictures Taken From:

Historic Omaha On-Line Picture Gallery

Omaha Public Library On-Line Collection

Nebraska Studies Website

Menard, Orville. PhD. “The Rise and Fall of Urban Political Machines: Tom Dennison’s Omaha” [Handout] Teaching American History Workshop. 2/16/2005

Bibliography: