Political Machine Quotes
George Barnsedale Cox, 1853–1916, was the corrupt, Republican, political boss of Cincinnati where he amassed a fortune of millions of dollars—hundreds of millions in today’s money—as a city party official in the early 1900s.
Tammany Hall was the political machine that controlled New York City in the first half of the 20th century.
those engaging in civil disobedience This was written in Scotland before Witherspoon emigrated to America. A major issue of political and religious debate at the time in Scotland was civil disobedience. “Reform” religious advocates argued for the moral propriety of civil disobedience where the protester’s conscience felt that the laws were immoral and unjust. The were referred to as “Moderates.” Witherspoon, early in his career, was one of the conservatives who argued then, against the Moderates, that civil disobedience should be punished very severely. The conservative rhetoric at the time sarcastically referred to protestors as having “tender consciences.” The issue was contentious then, later in America, and is so even today.
Tammany Hall was the name given to the New York City Democratic political machine. While it was, by modern standards, quite corrupt, the main source of its power was what it delivered to the general mass of New York City citizens. And Tammany Hall was unsurpassed in its delivery of public works to the city. Bridges, subways, parks, and other amenities were conceived of, financed and built by government. Although each of these projects had funds skimmed by the politicians, the projects were constructed to an extent and scale that was previously unknown in politics. In that sense, Tammany Hall was one of the major early instances of the liberal notion of government development of urban areas.
