Judd And Swanstrom: Chapter Analysis

The fourth chapter of City Politics by Dennis R. Judd & Todd Swanstrom covers the rise of "Reform Politics" with many local governments during the first half of the 1900s as a way to combat the entrenched political machines that took control of many large city governments in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Over the course of the chapter, Judd & Swanstrom quickly cover the history of the "reform movement" with different examples of how the reform movement affected city politics in different areas.

I commend the authors' overall work in being able to effectively present the aims of the reform movement and its progression over time. I am especially was appreciative of what seemed to be a very critical analysis of the policies that came out of

During the first few pages of the chapter, Judd & Swanstrom quickly touch upon how during the late 18th century, there was a middle and upper class backlash on what many perceived to be a major sense of political corruption that was taking over large urban cities in the United States. The authors quote James Bryce and his belief at the time that "the government of cities is one of the conspicuous failures of the United States," which was a common belief among many people at the time. Nevertheless, another important factor leading the charge for reform politics was the backlash by many upper & middle-class Americans of the rising tide of immigrants moving in urban areas. Most reform political movements during that late 19th and early 20th century time period typically created systematic ways of limiting the power of the lower

For example, there is a small "Outtake" section on page 78 that focuses on how "municipal reform was aimed at immigrants", and makes the point that most municipal reforms were designed in a fashion that typically made it harder for poorer people to influence and receive benefits from the local city governments. Another moment Judd & Swanstrom mentioned how delegates to the "First Annual Conference for Good City Government" were "united in the belief that...immigrant constituents had corrupted democratic institutions in the cities." I would have appreciated it if Judd & Swanstrom expanded that "Outtake" section to showcase more examples of how reform politics negatively affected other disenfranchised citizens, such as