Tiffany Hurtado
Professor Vance
POL 206 – Urban Politics
November 3, 2018
Midterm Paper
Short Answers
1.
Arriving into the country in the early 20th century resulted to be difficult for immigrants that were leaving their home countries. Without much resources, connections, or accessibility to homes or jobs political party officials would make themselves charge of people that were in need of help. A political machine is a style that relies on material incentives to nurture loyalty – is present in every political system as stated in City Politics. As these political party officials would keep charge of anything that one may need, in return the people would also have to do their part and vote for the official related to the party official. These urban party machines had made it possible for the rise of mass electorate and industrialization. Mass electorate occurred rapidly throughout the early 20th century, immigrant men that would come into the country could easily vote once they became citizens. As well that industrialization would had also occurred due to the increase of jobs that were provided from these political party members that were affiliated with the police, fire, sanitation, and street departments. Even though there was a wide increase in jobs along due to the political parties and an increment of votes, these machines posed as phony candidates. Judd and Swanstrom stated that constituents were told to vote cast their ballot on the basis of their ethnicity rather than policy considerations, disregarding any of their needs. Machines could provide the jobs, but vigorously oppose labor unions, neglected better working conditions, dismissed laws regulating hours and wages especially for women and children, and workers compensation.
2.
Cities started to increase tremendously during the century from 1830-1930 due to the millions of foreign immigrants that were pushed out their homeland by war, civil unrest, and hardships, and came to America. There were several waves of different types of immigrants that were migrating into the country. In 1820 through 1919, there was a total of 33.5 million foreign migrants. The first surge was the Irish and the German, the potato famine that occurred in Ireland in the mid 1840-1849 cause devastation leading to 46.00& to come into America. As to the civil war in German cause immigrants to come as well, with 27%. The German and Irish would make up roughly 70% of the new immigrants coming into the country. Throughout the years 1860-1869, there was now much more of a variation of immigrants coming from different parts besides Ireland, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Immigrants numbers from Italy, Austria-Hungary , and Russia, and much more of Canada were emerging. These countries not only brought more of a diverse identity to the country but also different religions. There had been a decline of immigrants coming into the country during World War I (1918-1930) because already during the 1870s half of the population in about 20 American cities were now foreign or children of parents who had immigrated. Rapidly the population had increase in America having either first and/or second generations immigrants leaving there to only be a slight amount of 8.2% immigrants arriving in 1900-1909 and 6.3% in 1910-1919.
5.
‘White flight’ and ‘redlining’ are terms that are referred to the departure of whites from places such as urban neighborhoods or schools increasingly or predominantly populated by minorities. There had been a consistent racial conflict between blacks and whites in America in the postwar era. Industrial jobs were beginning to developed much more rapidly in the northern cities such as New York, Washington, D.C.,or Boston would attract African-Americans to leave the south and move up. As well that African-Americans that were located in southern states such as Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas people went West, seeking to California; middle south moved up to St.Louis, Chicago, Detroit and so on. The number of African-Americans living in the south started to decline, and the started the increase of new home habitants in the north. Though it was problematic since homes were African American families would be living in segregated areas that would expressed significant amount of resentment. Whites as well felt the need to to keep their neighborhoods segregated. The Federal Housing Administration would make sure that African Americans would not be living in the same areas as Whites; they would refuse to show homes, or reject them completely. Though at times, these realtors would report to white owners that African Americans would be moving into the neighborhood which would cause them to sell their homes for a sellout price- later on charging African Americans a premium if they decided to buy this homes. Both African-Americans and White resulted in losses because of their racial wars- whites moved into the city while African-Americans moved towards the city.
7.
Political machines were groups that worked to keep political control in a city, state, and/or country. This tactic allowed a person, or a group of people, maintain their power in politics. Political machines were mostly ruled by on person known as, “the boss”. They provided voters, or businesses with certain goods and services, in exchange for their political loyalty/support. Therefore, political machines always had oversight on the actions of political parties and politicians. These actions helped the community to an extent, until it became extremely corrupt. Political machines began to steal money from tax payers, and committed voting frauds. This influenced people to take action in reformation. They didn’t want their elected officials to be corrupt, but honest people.They didn’t want their elected officials to be corrupt, but honest people. Cartoonists like, Thomas Nast, was a major lead in taking down the Tammany Hall machine in New York City. Many journalists for magazines and newspapers also took action by exposing machines in their articles.
Short Essay
Clarence Stone urban regime analysis is we as a city should not rely on these policies. Stone states that “Government is necessary for many problem-solving efforts, but government effort alone is rarely sufficient for making much headway. Business is important, but business executives have neither the capacity nor the inclination to tackle many of society’s problem (Stone 2008,126)”. Society as a whole, based of Stone is loosely joined with different interests that attract citizens to their own likings. Which makes them purposeful, for the fact that each and everyone has their own interests, they are willing to put in the effort to reach them and secure the ability of it working for them. In which is why Abu-Lughod readings from New York Chicago, Los Angeles demonstrate Stone’s views specifically in New York.
Abu-Lughod reading touches upon Robert Moses Highways in New York. Throughout 1906-1911, the expantition of highways had being to spread all through New York. Robert Moses was the man that was responsible to the disappearance of “The Heart of the Bronx”, East Tremont. This was a place where people had decided to move in due to inflation of rent in other locations around the city. East Tremont was community that had Jewish residents and within it mom and dad shops. This was a community where people would come together without needing to be fearful of what would happen to their homes. Though, Robert Moses later on the Coordinator of Construction had a plan for East Tremont; constructing the Cross-Bronx Expressway. Butchering right through the middle of the neighborhood, ripping apart the community.
Along with tearing up apart communities, throughout the 1960s there was a consistent racial confrontations amongst whites and African-American. In Harlem, there was a case in where a young African-American 15 year old boy was shot by a white cop off duty resulting later an unfoldment of a riot. The riot's lead on for weeks, leaving people dead, multiplied people injured, and hundreds arrested. Various of separating between the people throughout this time, whether it was at work,school,in the streets or even finding a home. Abu Lughod states that ‘An examination of the dates of completion of the 316 projects reveal that New York a has been providing public housing since 1936, that projects have been scattered throughout all the boroughs, but that the pace of construction has closely parallel expansions and then contractions in federal funding’ which meant that even though New York was able to provide public homes for people to live there was not a sufficient amount of funds to keep the project going.
Robert Moses Highway cutting through the East Tremont in the Bronx, and the racial riots occuring in Harlem demonstrate how Stones urban regime analysis can be viewed in New York. Moses highway was left to be taught about the future impact that the Cross-Bronx Expressway with no significant thought of the destruction, destroying a neighborhood in which people had come together and raise their children and make it their home. The neighborhood came into agreement against Robert Moses stating that they didn't want to relocate, and find somewhere else to live. Though the government influence between Moses and his colleagues brought the plan to continuing on and collapse the “Heart of the Bronx”. As of the rallies, and riots in Harlem people were brought together because they didn't want to live in social confrontation between one another. The riots produced a massive amount of damages, and destruction it reflected on how later on civil rights movements were going to affect the country.