BRI_APUSH_09_05_P02_Handout_B_Point-Counterpoint_Graphic_Organizer

Handout B: Point-Counterpoint Graphic Organizer Vanessa Velazquez Period 1 10-17-23 Issue on the Table Claim A Were urban bosses corrupt politicians who manipulated the political system for their own control and gain, or were they providing essential services for immigrants and enabling the growth of cities despite corrupt means? Claim B Summarize this argument in one sentence, using your own words: Even though Urban bosses gained significant political power through non-democratic means, they still helped immigrants get a foothold in the political processes in America which will in turn improve their economic, social, and political placement. Select and record the sentence or sentences that best demonstrate the author’s argument: “Many historians simply focus on Tweed’s practice of “buying” votes or having immigrants commit voter fraud to explain his rise to power, but more commonly, he assisted immigrants with the naturalization process and ensured the victory of his machine in a way that also provided immigrants with longterm benefits.” Summarize this argument in one sentence, using your own words: Through the promises to grant benefits to their voters, the urban bosses took advantage of their political schemes and still left the community in disarray making the immigrants stuck in a cycle that keeps them subjugated. Select and record the sentence or sentences that best demonstrate the author’s argument: “ In the very neighborhoods that gave Tammany Hall’s machine its heaviest majorities, the garbage piled up so high in some streets that it blocked doorways. Cholera throve in urban drinking water, and tuberculosis found a home in every apartment building of the slums” Compare the two arguments. To what extent do these claims support or oppose each other? The argument in claim A surrounds the idea that even though the politicians greatly benefitted from their sneaky maneuvers, it was okay because the immigrants benefitted as well. Claim A supports the idea that the use of the political machine was beneficial because it gave the immigrants a political presence that would eventually grant them more power and identity in America. On the other hand, the argument in Claim B does not believe the effects of the political machine were great because the promises made by the politicians were not kept. Being that everyone was politically corrupt, they knew how to make connections to take