History of Chicago Politics

The politics of Chicago is world famous for the greatness that it has produced several presidential nominees such as the new President of America Barack Obama (elected in 2008), Stephen Douglas in the year 1860 and Adlai Stevenson (1952 and the year 1956). There is also the negative side of the history of Chicago politics. Sometimes the world of politics in Chicago has been ruled by corruption and controversies. The city politics has been in majority been dominated by the Democrats. The business men of the 19th century have also influenced the politics of Chicago to a greater extent.In the year of 1855, mayor named Levi Boone had brought the politics of Chicago into spotlight at the national level. He did this with very interesting proposals leading to the Lager beer riot. When the end of 19th century was nearing, the Democratic Party dominated the politics in Chicago. There emerged anarchist and socialist labour organizations during the 1880s and also during 1890s. In 1871, there was a great turning point in the politics of Chicago. The Great Chicago-fire was a famous historical turn in the politics of Chicago. Actually there was a rumor which was spread which said that it was a cow that had knocked down a lantern and that had caused the huge fire. The election which was conducted in that particular year had transformed the fire as 'a political football'. The fire turned out to be a fodder for controversy and questions began to be raised as to who had set the fire and this controversy, due to lack of sufficient control over it, erupted and spread very soon. The allegations of wrong management were used by the winning party to cause a group of voters to fear and excise the duty of voting for more than one time!Now talking about the twentieth century, political scenarios in the years 1920s and 1910s turned bad that organized crime were easily let to be done. Corruption was on an increase. The scandal of Chicago Black sox of the fixing of game by White sox of Chicago in the year 1919 was due to the above mentioned trend and culture. Richard Daley was the man who made the Chicago- Democratic machine as perfect and style honed after the election he faced in the year 1955. It is his son Richard Daley who is the mayor at present. The mastery of Richard Daley helped in the preservation of the Chicago - democratic machine.The politics of Chicago has witnessed and demonstrated several of the conventions and campaigns. The Democratic Party had decided to announce Harry Truman as the candidate for Vice president at the Democratic national convention in the year1944. In the year of 1968 the national convention had the scenarios of political rallies on a mass scale; mass discontent and it had led to the famous trial of 'the Chicago seven'.While considering the politics of the twenty first century, in the year 2008, the governor by name Rod Blagojevich was arrested for the charges that he was trying to sell Barack Obama's US Senate seat!