A political machine was the name given to a corrupt political organization that were major factors in the American political system in the 19th and early 20th century. These political machines were usually organizations run by "bosses" that sought to sway political elections by bringing out masses of people to vote for candidates who supported these bosses financially or with government contracts/services. These bosses were supported financially and thus supported their underlings in efforts to sway political elections to bring in more funding to the machine as well.
