Machine Politics: Chicago Model

Gosnell, Harold Foote

ISBN 10: 0404005918 / ISBN 13: 9780404005917

Published by Univeristy of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, 1970

About this Item

229pp/illus. Fully bound in green cloth boards. The title, the author's name, and a device depicting a giant cog superimposed over the silhouette of the state of Illinois are yellow-stamped to the front board. The title, the author name, and the Illinois-and-cog device are yellow-stamped to the spine. The publisher device is yellow-stamped to the center of the rear board. Illustrated throughout with black-and-white maps, sketches, and a three-fold fold-out facsimile of a ballot.

Seller Inventory # 009698

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Machine Politics: Chicago Model
• Publisher: Univeristy of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL
• Publication Date: 1970
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0404005918
• ISBN 13: 9780404005917
• Binding: Decorative Cloth
• Edition: First Edition
• Condition: Very Good+
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good+
• Seller catalogs:
  • Americana
  • Politics

About this title

Synopsis

Excerpt from Machine PoliticsIf time and money had permitted, the present study would have been entirely comparative. Wherever possible, an attempt has been made to show how typical of other cities the patterns of political behavior are in Chicago. Fortunately, in the past ten years a number of studies of the party politics of other cities has appeared; and, in so far as these studies yielded compa rable data, they have been compared with the findings reached in Chicago. Peel's study of New York City political clubs, Salter's and Kurtzman's quite different analyses of Philadelphia district leaders, and Mosher's research on upstate committee men in New York State have all furnished the basis of significant comparisons. However, none of these studies of other cities purports to cover as broad a field as the present analysis. The present study not only attempts to examine the party machine and the characteristics of the party workers but also presents an analysis of voting behavior in candidate and proposition elec tions. Among the in?uences studied are the circulations of the important daily newspapers in Chicago. To the writer's knowl edge, in no other city has so exhaustive a study been made of the social and economic background of voting behavior. The present analysis is a highly condensed presentation of the main findings of a number of studies. Preliminary manuscripts on the operation of the referendum in Chicago and on the 19928 committeemen are each longer than this book itself. The case stories of ward and precinct committeemen could be amplified and multiplied. Records were obtained regarding one hundred and seventy-five ward leaders and nine hundred precinct cap tains. As far as possible, the materials presented are the most representative. Those who are interested in a detailed study of two typical ward leaders in Chicago and the groups they serve should consult the author's Negro The Rise of Negro Politics in Chicago.

Review

“This is a valuable book because of the methodology employed and because of the author's findings that `you can't lick a ward boss,' and that in spite of the tremendous changes in party fortunes and the defeat of individual politicians for public office, party organization, methods, and leadership remained practically unchanged during the seven years of the depression.”–American Academy of Political and Social Science. Annals