Lesson plan
Platt machine
The Platt machine was a United States political organization and coalition of Republican Party members in New York which exerted heavy influence over the state's politics during the Gilded Age. The organization's leadership was maintained by U.S. senator T. C. "Tom" Platt, its "easy boss." Senator Platt, the machine's leader, was conservative though practical, in contrast to his shrewdly partisan mentor Roscoe Conkling. The machine's priority of party unity over a hardline conservative push resulted in its eventual demise at the hands of intraparty progressive forces led by Benjamin B. Odell Jr., and Theodore Roosevelt. By 1903, the machine was "smashed" at the hands of Odell. In spite of the general corruption associated with political machines, Sen. Platt was considered to have a largely clean record, never financially profiting from political dealings. However, the machine failed to fully root out bribery practices, and its influence by financial interests, among several factors, would result in assails against machine politics following Platt's death in 1910.
Article summary
The Platt machine was a United States political organization and coalition of Republican Party members in New York which exerted heavy influence over the state's politics during the Gilded Age. The organization's leadership was maintained by U.S. senator T. C. "Tom" Platt, its "easy boss." Senator Platt, the machine's leader, was conservative though practical, in contrast to his shrewdly partisan mentor Roscoe Conkling. The machine's priority of party unity over a hardline conservative push resulted in its eventual demise at the hands of intraparty progressive forces led by Benjamin B. Odell Jr., and Theodore Roosevelt. By 1903, the machine was "smashed" at the hands of Odell. In spite of the general corruption associated with political machines, Sen. Platt was considered to have a largely clean record, never financially profiting from political dealings. However, the machine failed to fully root out bribery practices, and its influence by financial interests, among several factors, would result in assails against machine politics following Platt's death in 1910.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.