page_1098 < previous page page_1098 next page > Page 1098 Urban Bosses and Machine Politics When Chicago mayor and political boss Richard J. Daley died in office in 1976, obituaries not only lamented his passing but commented on the demise of urban political machines. Thirteen years later when his son, Richard M. Daley, was elected mayor, critics warned of a "pin-striped machine," in which the Loop's politically connected lawyers would replace old-style precinct captains. But the father had once told the son, "I can put you on the ballroom floor, but you'll have to dance for yourself." To the critics' surprise, in the early days of the younger Daley's first administration, the music was that of reform. The Daley family saga illustrates the complexity of urban politics. Call a politician a boss rather than a leader, label party structure a machine rather than an organization  either sends the voter a clear message. That is why the prototype of the political boss, William M. Tweed, proclaimed himself to be a "Statesman!" Whether Robin Hood or scoundrel, corrupter or modernizer of cities, omnipotent dictator or mere cog in the many-spoked wheel of municipal government, the boss is an urban institution that must be understood if one is to know the history of America's cities. A century ago, when he wanted to reinforce his belief that local government in the United States was a conspicuous failure, James Bryce described the boss as "dominant among his fellows. . . . He dispenses places, rewards the loyal, punishes the mutinous, concocts schemes, negotiates treaties. He generally avoids publicity, preferring the substance to the pomp of power, and is all the more dangerous because he sits, like a spider, hidden in the midst of his web. He is a Boss." Reading Bryce's The American Commonwealth, one envisions an all-powerful chieftain controlling every aspect of urban political life. But more often, the power was dispersed. Neighborhood or ward bosses contended with one another for political control; they had to deal with bureaucrats and found themselves confronted with the conflicting desires of competing ethnic groups. Even in cities with one preeminent boss, such as Tweed in New York, George Cox in Cincinnati, Thomas Pendergast in Kansas City, Daniel P. O'Connell in Albany, or Daley in Chicago, he was not so much Bryce's spider as a big fish in a large pool, who had to contend with sharks. Incipient bosses, such as Joel Barlow Sutherland of Philadelphia, and machines like Tammany Hall existed in one form or another as early as the 1780s. But the classic age of the machine began after the Civil War and continued until the Great Depression. It is no coincidence that this was also the age of the rise of America's industrial cities. In the preindustrial city, politics was left to the amateur; just as labor specialized in other ways with the rise of industrialism, politics emerged as a distinct and full-time professional pursuit. The boss and his machine helped cope with the enormous changes brought about by rapid urbanization. New York City's population increased by more than 800,000 between 1820 and 1870. By the latter year, the height of the Tweed Ring's activity, Irish and German immigrants composed almost half of the city's population. The growing numbers placed increasing pressure on the inadequate urban infrastructure  the streets, buildings, transportation  and what welfare services there were. Smaller cities like Cincinnati witnessed a similar breakdown in services during the 1880s and 1890s. That city's fire marshal, reflecting on the small size of his force, feared that if two fires erupted at once, it would mean disaster. The water supply ran short, and the lack of sewers created a health hazard. Because the structure of urban government incorporated the principle of the separation (and therefore fragmentation) of powers, it was difficult to respond to such needs. One theory contends that the boss and the political machine arose to cope with the problems the official city government could not solve. According to this view, the machines were parallel governments that functioned to meet the needs of the public. In turn, a grateful community offered its allegiance and votes. The boss helped someone find a job, filled the coal bin in winter, brought a turkey to the table at Christmas, and performed many other useful func-  < previous page page_1098 next page >