Matthew Jacobson: ‘Barbarian Virtues: the United States Encounters Foreign Peoples at Home and Abroad, 1876-1917’

What are the famous metaphors used to describe American diversity?

"Melting pot," "mosaic," and "potato salad." (Sugarcoated and masked conflicts of nativism and racism)

What was the genesis of 'machine politics' and who was it associated with?

Irish immigrants; Catholic emancipation in 1829 led to mass exodus; Irish had pre-immigration experience using the ballot as a "weapon of the weak"

What advantages did Irish immigrants have in America?

"They settled in cities whose mechanisms of governance were newly ripe for capture by a proletarian bloc"

What expansion of voting rights helped Irish immigrants gain political power?

he franchise had just been expanded to include the propertyless

Who was the last state to abolish enfrachise property qualifications?

North Carolina in 1856

How did immigrant solidarity translate into political power?

"Crowded into precincts and wards whose class (and often ethnic) homogeneity easily translated into a harmony of political interests"

How did Jane Addams describe the relationship between aldermen and their constituents?

"The Alderman... bails out his constituents when they are arrested…etc"

Which cities were notable for 'boss politics'?

Kansas City, St. Louis, New York, Boston, Jersey City, Pittsburgh

What newspaper headline captured anti-Irish sentiment in machine politics?

The Times headline: "Irish Catholic despotism rules the city of NY, the metropolis of free America"

hat percentage of major cities' populations were immigrants and their children by 1890?

70-80% in NY, Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo;
60% in San Francisco, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Newark

hat was Tammany Hall and who were its major leaders?

NY political machine led by William "Boss" Tweed

What was the Irish-born population in NYC in 1860 vs 1870?

25% in 1860; 36% by 1870

How did Thomas Nast portray the Tweed Ring in New York Times cartoons?

Depicted with "apelike Irish prawns"

Who portrayed the Tweed Ring with "apelike Irish prawns"?

Thomas Nast in the New York Times cartoons

What did Lincoln Steffens conclude about Irish influence in NY boss politics in 1904?

"The Irish, the Catholic Irish, were at the bottom of it everywhere"

who argued that "The Irish, the Catholic Irish, were at the bottom of it everywhere"?

Lincoln Steffens in 1904

How powerful were political machines even into the 20th century?

The Cook County machine in Chicago could brag of delivering Illinois- and so the U.S presidency- to the Democrats as late as 1960

Where was the Cook County machine?

Chicago

What major reforms aimed to curb boss politics through immigration restriction?

• Emergency Immigration Act (1921)

• Johnson-Reed Immigration Act (1924)