City Machine

This worksheet helps students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 analyze political machines through close reading, historical reasoning, evidence-based analysis, civic understanding, and informational text interpretation. By reading a focused passage about Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall, learners examine how political machines gained power during the Gilded Age and how corruption, media exposure, and reform efforts shaped urban politics and democratic accountability.

Skills Reinforced

• Political Machines (Grades 6-8) – Understand how Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall influenced city government
• Gilded Age Politics – Examine corruption, reform movements, and the role of political power in growing cities
• Text Evidence & Analysis – Cite specific details from an informational passage to support answers
• Civic Accountability – Explore the importance of transparency, reform, and responsible leadership

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to align with middle school social studies and ELA standards
• Text-Dependent Questions – Strengthen close reading and evidence-based responses
• Historical & Civic Integration – Connects urban politics to democratic ideals
• Flexible Use – Ideal for classwork, guided reading, assessments, or homeschool instruction
• Supports Critical Thinking – Encourages evaluation of power, corruption, and reform

This City Machine worksheet helps students develop a deeper understanding of how political machines shaped urban life during the Gilded Age. By analyzing Boss Tweed, media influence, and reform efforts, learners strengthen historical comprehension, civic reasoning, and evidence-based writing skills. It’s a no-prep, meaningful resource for classroom and homeschool settings focused on understanding political power and accountability in U.S. history.

This worksheet is part of our Industrialization and the Gilded Age Worksheets collection.