Civic Reform Clubs The alter-ego of chambers in the early Gilded Age, the “dark side of their force” was undoubtably the civic reform or good
Gilded Age Chambers of Commerce: the Early Version
Chambers of Commerce Chambers of Commerce had been around, in Europe as early as the 16th century[1]. They spread to America early in the colonial
Political Machines Coexist with Businessman Mayors
Gilded Age Political Machines Machines, as defined in this history, probably existed somewhere and in some form since 1789. At least two critical drivers shaped
Hugh O’Brien: Boston’s Irish Businessman Mayor
Boston: Hugh O’Brien, Boston’s first Irish mayor, appeared on the scene in 1885. O’Brien, businessman and politician, and editor of Shipping and Commercial List, served
Boss Tweed and New York
New York City: The obvious centerpiece of ethnic-based machines is New York City’s Tammany Hall—and the obvious example of typical ethnic machine behavior is Boss
Alexander Sheppard’s Political Machine Washington D.C.
Washington DC: Washington D.C. as a policy system seems neither fish nor fowl—through frequently is rather foul. The city does not possess an economic base
Ron W. Coan 