10. The emergence of political machines in the United States
In 1789 a New York City furniture dealer founded a secret society he named the Society of Saint Tammany. One of its earliest leaders was Aaron Burr. The society was divided into thirteen tribes across New York, each led by a sachem, and its members were mostly working class. They opposed what was seen as the elitist policies espoused by Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists. The sachems were the forerunners of what became ward bosses. The society took hold by offering shelter and work for immigrants which began to arrive in New York in large numbers in the 1820s.
New York City officials were for the most part appointed by the state government in Albany, which used Tammany as a means of distributing political largesse until the late 1830s. By 1850 New York City had a city council of 20 aldermen, supported by 20 assistant aldermen, and in 1851 Tammany members took control of both. They became known in the city as the 40 Thieves. Control of voting in New York was firmly in the hands of Tammany Hall, as it came to be known, whose members decided who was elected as well as appointed to nearly all government jobs in the city. Tammany allied itself with the new Republican party in power in Albany.