Politics in Hartford in 1900s essays

Politics in Hartford in 1900's essays During the early 1900s, politics in Connecticut, particularly the growing metropolis of Hartford, were generally similar to the rest of the nation. Connecticut was run by Democrats and Republicans, and partially influenced by political machines. In order to compare and contrast the difference between the politics in Connecticut and the politics in the rest of the country, one must provide answers to a few questions. How active and successful were progressive efforts in Connecticut? Were there political machines in Hartford? Were they powerful? How active and successful was the Progressive party in Connecticut? Is there evidence of corruption in Hartford politics? Answers to these questions will be provided below in this essay. Progressivism was prominent in Hartford in the early twentieth century by middle class citizens. These citizens were predominately white, Protestant, long time citizens of the state and country, and were concerned in the decline of the American way of life, and theyre individual role in that lifestyle. One of their chief concerns was that of the population regulations in determining how many senators and representatives from individual towns were sent to Hartford. Every town was allowed two representatives, no matter the size of the town. This made for unbalanced representation in the House. Towns like Union, with a population of 322, had the same number of representatives as Hartford and New Haven, which each had populations over 100,000. This estimates that only twelve percent of the states population could elect the majority of the lawmakers in the lower house. The situation in the senate was a little better, but it still took only about one-third of the states voters to elect a majority. The largest senatorial district had a population that was seven times that of the smallest. In all, the cities were better represented in the Senate than in the lower house and this made the s...