What role did political machines serve in cities? a. ensuring public harmony and safety
b. educating and serving the public good
c. providing honest voting and experienced public servants
d. alleviating racism and ethnic prejudice
e. satisfying voter needs and making the bosses wealthy

Political machines were meant to satisfy voter needs and make the bosses wealthy.

Further Explanation:

Political machines refers to a system in which political organizations control city politics through bribery, fraud, and other unethical behaviors. The goal of a political machine was to get a certain candidate elected. In order to do this, political bosses would influence voters to pick their candidates. These bosses influenced people to vote for their candidate by:

A) Promising them payments.

B) Offering them jobs.

C) Threat of violence or retaliation.

These bosses would then have success in getting their candidate elected. Usually, these candidates ran for positions like mayor.

After the candidate was elected, they would then give favors to the political boss who got them elected. For example, if a political boss helped a mayor to get elected, that mayor would hire the boss in some capacity.

If the boss had a cleaning business, then the mayor would hire his cleaning company. Not only would the mayor hire the boss's company to do work for him, the mayor would pay the boss extraordinary amounts of money for his services. This corrupt system dominated politics during the Gilded Age (late 1800's through early 1900's).

Learn More:

Explanation of Gilded Age- link

Key Details:

Topic: American History

Grade Level: 9-12, College

Keywords: political machines, voter fraud, Gilded Age, city politics

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