© 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 Favors Also 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

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: