==Political machines==
Political scientists have compared the conditions that gave rise to urban machines in the United States (such as the the [[Tweed Ring]] in New York City in the 1860s) to conditions today in Africa and Asia. Both types of machines have been organized in societies undergoing a transition and seeking personal or family rewards rather than seeking national goals or civic duty. Both kinds of machines overcame the fragmentation of government power, the social fragmentation created by urbanization, and the poverty of the people. Patronage has been the key element in maintaining control in both situations. Perhaps the machine as an organization works best at a subnational level where the social structure is more appropriate for machine development.<ref>Scott (1969)</ref>
In the [[Progressive Era]] in the early 20th century, reformers determined to rewrite the laws to eliminate corruption in American politics. Assuming that the people were good and the politicians corrupt, they adopted means to enhance grass roots political activism, including the [[direct primary]], direct election of senators (instead of election by the legislature), the [[Recall election|recall]], initiative, and referendum. They tried to eliminate [[saloons]] and regulated financial contributions to politicians and parties. Seeing women as purer than men, they enacted [[womans suffrage]], and also reduced the voting powers of groups seen as susceptible to corruption, especially blacks and illiterate immigrants.
[[William Allen White]] was a leader of the Progressives in the 1900-1940 era who sought a viable moral order that would provide the nation with a sense of community. White recognized the powerful forces of corruption but called for slow, remedial change having its origin in the middle class. In the 'Heart of a Fool' (1918), White fully developed the idea that reform remained the soundest ally of property rights. He felt that the Spanish American Spanish–American War fostered political unity, and believed that a moral victory and an advance in civilization would be compensation for the devastation of World War I. White concluded that democracy in the New Era of the 1920s inevitably lacked direction, and the indifference to corruption of the [[New Deal]] baffled him. Nevertheless, he clung to his vision of a cooperative society until his death in 1944.<ref>Richard W. Resh, "A Vision in Emporia: William Allen White's Search for Community," ''Midcontinent American Studies Journal'' 1969 10(2): 19-35</ref>
===Prohibition===