In Character Info:

Welcome to Central City, gateway to the American West. This rough and tumble city was once the largest hub west of the Mississippi, the last bastion of civilization before the wilderness. While the frontier has pushed on west, Central City's frontier mentality and pioneer spirit still remain even as the city becomes an industrial hub. It's a city filled with graft and vice. Saloons and gambling dens are on every corner and anything you desire can be bought for a price. It's a city where everyday municipal life is controlled by the Patterson Combination, a powerful political machine that has control of City Hall, a good chunk of the statehouse, and even a US Senator. Patronage is the order of the day and the Combination rewards loyalty with jobs. Policemen, alderman, and even dog catchers owe their jobs and allegiance to the Combination. Anythings happens in Central City, it does so with the Combinations approval. At the center of this Alan John "A.J." Patterson, a man who holds no public office but is still more powerful than the mayor or governor.

It's the summer of 1876 and it's an election year. Reform seems to be in the air and it's up to the Combination to show Central City that it is a force for good, a force that provides for the downtrodden and needy for the simple price of a vote or two or three. From the corridors of power all the way down to the muddy back alleys, it's up to you to see that the Combination stays in power and that you get your just reward for your hard won loyalty.

Out of Character Info

This game is a mixture of crime and politics. You'll play a member of the political machine, from lowly street hooligan and saloon owner to ward boss to beat cop and on up. There will be a few members of the machine that will be off limits, the upper ranks especially, but I have an overarching story in mind for the game and want to allow everyone a chance to work inside that framework and do their own things. There's a lot of flexibility in this. I want it to be about politics and crime, but also about just life in an urban city that was rapidly changing around its citizens and how they dealt with it. The backdrop of this is the American centennial and the controversial presidential election of 1876, along with a party convention that will be coming to town soon.

Primer:

What is a Political Machine?

From Wikipedia:

A political machine is a political organization in which an authoritative boss or small group commands the support of a corps of supporters and businesses, who receive rewards for their efforts. The machine's power is based on the ability of the workers to get out the vote for their candidates on election day.

Although these elements are common to most political parties and organizations, they are essential to political machines, which rely on hierarchy and rewards for political power, often enforced by a strong party whip structure. Machines sometimes have a political boss, often rely on patronage, the spoils system, "behind-the-scenes" control, and longstanding political ties within the structure of a representative democracy. Machines typically are organized on a permanent basis instead of for a single election or event. The term may have a pejorative sense referring to corrupt political machine



Precinct Captain

A precinct captain is the lowest level of power in the organization. This is the man out in the street, getting the vote for the Combination any way possible. Oftentimes a Precinct Captain will be someone who does not hold office but gets benefits -- money, power, a chance for political office -- from his loyalty to the machine. The Precinct Captain's territory is, you guessed it, the precinct where he lives. He is a neighborhood leader who uses his connections with the machine to help constituents with everyday problems that come with living in an industrial metropolis.

To get an idea of the day to day life of a the lower levels of party machine work, read this fascinating excerpt from the diary of a Tammany Hall member: Plunkitt's Diary

Ward Boss

The middleman in the organization, a Ward Boss usually controls a significant chunk of the city's political territory, with as many as seven or eight precinct captains under his watch. While the precinct captain deals in political tactics, the ward boss deals in political strategy. He is usually in some midlevel political position, a city councilman or a high-ranking police captain or a state legislator or some other bureaucrat, and is indebted to the machine staying in power for his job. The Ward Boss handles constituent problems, but is also the man to see about business licenses, court problems, and other problems that may pop up for the well to do members of the city.

Underboss

Very rare, maybe only two or three men in the machine can be considered underbosses. The Underboss has a significant chunk of political power. He is either a high-ranking elected official (city mayor, district attorney, US Congressman, US Senator) or a prominent businessman. The underbosses can move the levers of government in a way that nobody else in the machine can. With the snap of their fingers they can get legislation passed, they can get charges dismissed, and they can get state and federal contracts for anyone willing to pay the price.

City Boss

The pinnacle. The boss is the man you see when you are either powerful enough to warrant it, or have something he wants. The boss holds no political office and is rarely mentioned by the politicians who owe him so much. It is he who makes the big decisions that affect the machine, the city, and maybe even the country as a whole.



Eastside

The eastern side of the city is the remnants of the old frontier town Center, Central City's first incarnation. The city's oldest and most prominent families live on the eastside. Almost all of the residents of the eastside are "Americans" in the sense that their lineage can be traced back to ancestors living in America before the American Revolution. The occasional prominent immigrant may live Eastside if he or she has amassed enough money and political clout to buy one of the big homes on the hill.

Downtown

Built in the 1830's, downtown is where City Hall and Central City's other government buildings are. Downtown is also home to a large Irish neighborhood known as Little Galway, settled in the first wave of migrations to the West. A ghetto in the 30's and 40's, the neighborhood has developed into a stable working-class neighborhood home to many of Central City's middle-class families. Bordering Little Galway is Bohemia, a newer ethnic neighborhood, a slightly less well to do neighborhood that is none the less on the rise. Bohemia came about in the early 1850's as German, Czechs, and other members of the failed '48 Revolutions fled Europe for America.

Westside

The western edge of Central City is home to the new class of immigrants freshly arrived to the country after the American Civil War ended. Italians, Eastern Europeans, and Jewish immigrants still new to America all live in cramped houses and tenement buildings. Adding to their misery is the industrial factories that are also placed on the west side, factories that run all day and all night with a mostly immigrant workforce that has no other option but to spend sixteen hour days working. The Central Stockyards, a massive facility that supplies the Western US with meat, is where many work long hours for little pay.

Black Jack

Black Jack is the crude name of the city's African-American neighborhood. The overall black population in Central City isn't a lot compared to Southern cities, but it is more than the average black population in Northern cities. More African-Americans have come to the city in the years following the Civil War, though not enough to overcrowd Black Jack. The southern rail line that separates Black Jack between the rest of the city is known as the "Color Line." Outside of CCPD, very few whites are seen in and around Black Jack.

Saloon City

Running along one of the city's western boulevards, Saloon City is the vice hub for Central City. At least one hundred saloons, gambling dens, whorehouses, and opium parlors all reside in this one square mile of city. Tourists, travelers heading further west, and local residents all come to Saloon City to blow off steam and gladly hand their money over. Anything can be bought in Saloon City for a price. The graft and protection that comes with the district is a huge part of the Combination's revenue stream. Politicians, cops, and criminals alike all have a major interest in keeping Saloon City safe and trouble free.



Name:

Age:

Ethnicity:

Occupation/Place in the Combination:

Personal History:

Tagging: @Vilageidiotx, @Dinh AaronMk, @Morden Man, @Gwen, and @ZB1996

Name: Officer Daniel Shea

Age: 25

Ethnicity: Irish (1st generation American immigrant)

Occupation/Place in the Combination: Police officer

Personal History:

Danny Shea is the son of Captain Thomas Shea, an Irish immigrant who has used his political skills to rise in the Central City PD and amass great influence inside the Combination. Danny is the middle child of the family, his brother Joseph is an assistant district attorney while youngest son Matthew is away at college. Despite being from a family of wealth and influence, Danny has steadfastly held to the determination to be his own man and make his own path separate from his father. He lives across town from the Shea house in the city's westside in a neighborhood filled with new German, Italian, and Eastern European immigrants.

He patrols the westside twelve hours a day, six days a week, and is faced with the harsh realities of urban life. As a member of the police department, he is unwillingly part of the city's political machine. He considers himself nonpartisan, but still is forced to donate a portion of his pay to the Combination and take part in partisan acts for the sake of keeping his job and pleasing his father. He wants to rise and become a detective, but only on his own merits and not because of who his father is or what he could do for the machine.

Bumping and tagging: @Vilageidiotx, @Dinh AaronMk, @Morden Man, @Gwen, and @ZB1996, again

I didn't get the first notification for some reason but I'm here now.

Oh hi, it's up.

I'll work on a character sheet later today. I should pay another RP it's dues and actually write a post for it.

Name:
Donovan Adams

Age:
38

Ethnicity:
American

Occupation/Place in the Combination:
Officially: Street thug
Within the machine: Akin to a Precinct Captain

Personal History:
Born to a family who moved west out of New Jersey, Donovan was born and raised in the rough and dangerous back-streets of Central City's working poor; his father having failed to find fortune in the west and settled to dirty work in a slaughter house. As a youth, Donovan attended the local public schools, but was a notorious bad actor ending in him ultimately dropping out of the education system completely.

He found work in the thriving mid-western railroad industry helping to load incoming trains with coal and water. But Donovan being a temperamental young man and disapproving of authority he was fired after a year of labor for punching his boss across the cheek, and dislocating his nose. Charged with assault, he was locked away. But as political fortunes would have it the former Precinct Captain caught word of his lockup and seeking favors, endeavored to pay Donovan's bail and ultimately had the charges dropped.

This, at the age of nineteen was Donovan's first taste and introduction to the larger machine. Although an intelligent young man his education was sparse at best and heavily effected by the waves of immigrant communities migrating into America's mid-west seeking fortune and a place to call home in America's expanding mid-west. The trickling communities of foreign persons only emboldened Donovan's since of American pride and marshaled together a gang of misfits and thugs into an organization called the Number 45 Gang.

To the Precinct Captain, the Number 45 Gang became a simple asset to be used in neighborhoods and street corners were the local police were themselves unwelcome. Treating Donovan as a protege, he directed the young thug in the direction he wanted offering as a reward: permanent protection. Under the old ward's protection, Donovan could execute whatever manner of justice he had in mind, including keeping the "Jews and the Italians" in check. And when it came to election day, he became the muscle to get them to vote and to vote the right way.

The local captain made sure to educate Donovan, but sensing a great deal of ambition he kept hidden from him the mechanization of the machine above him. So much so that when he came to be promoted, he was secure in the belief Donovan - when he was made Precinct Captain himself at 31 - would not be a violent threat against him.

As before, Donovan's duties to his former boss remained the same but on a larger scale. But with greater power and influence he came to be a much more heavy handed and notorious name in the neighborhood politics of south-western Central City. To those he deems as "Naturally American blooded individuals" he is considered a saint of a man. But to all those not termed as such, it is terror that keeps them in check.

Still commanding the Number 45 Gang, Donovan rules over his small kingdom from the saloon he owns but does not manage, the Yellow Belly Inn. Serving as both defacto police in the area he commands the regional crime and ultimately all things are to be dealt with through him, for the distribution of the vote and the influence.

Nice. I need to come up with a thing about the city's neighborhoods, which ethnicity lives where, and the socioeconomic levels in those neighborhoods.

Name: Michael “Little Mickey” Bauer

Age: 38

Ethnicity: German

Occupation/Place in the Combination: Saloon Owner

Personal History

Michael Bauer is the son of Otto and Felicie Bauer, the owner of a saloon he inherited his from his father, and the oldest of seven siblings. He was born in Germany, in the Grand Duchy of Baden. His family participated in the Baden Revolution, one of the uprising that was part of the greater Revolutions of 1848, and Michael was ten years old at the time. After the uprising was crushed, his family, like many other German revolutionaries, immigrated to the United States, making him one of the Forty-Eighters.

After living a while in New York, his family moved westward to lands they deemed more attractive. They ended up in Central City. Michael’s father Otto ended up opening a saloon with the aid of the Combination. Michael fought in the American Civil War, first under Fremont then under Grant, returning with the rank of master sergeant. His father died in 1866, and Michael, as the eldest son, took over his father’s position as owner of the saloon.

In 1859, he married Carolin Hirsch, a fellow German Catholic Forty-Eighter. With her, he’s begun to raise a family. She gave birth to a son, Gerold, in 1860, a daughter, Adelheid, in 1867, a son, Fritz, in 1869, another daughter, Georgina, in 1872, and is currently pregnant with their fifth child. He has been a loyal low-ranking member of the Combination, using his position as Saloon Owner to induce people, especially poor immigrants, to vote in line with the political machine.

Excellent. Needless to say, you and Aaron are good to go when we get the IC rolling.



Name: Robert Thomas Stockton

Age: 59

Ethnicity: American (British descent)

Occupation/Place in the Combination: United States Senator/Advisor

Personal History:

The story of Bob Stockton is the story of American success. Born in 1817, Stockton's father was a veteran of the War of 1812 who moved west to seek his fortune. The state was still a territory when the Stockton family arrived in the small town of Center and set out as cattle farmers. The Stockton's made a modest living and Bob was prepared to learn the trade from his father when the Panic of 1837 changed everything. The depression ruined the elder Stockton's farm and business prospects. Heavily in debt and depressed, he took his own life. At twenty years old, Bob became the man of the house. The burden of supporting his mother and six brothers and sisters fell upon him.

Bob worked three jobs -- as a saloon floor sweeper, house painter, and general store clerk -- all while reading law at the offices of William "Bill" Patterson, a prominent local attorney. It was there that Bob met Bill's son A.J., an apprentice reading law as well. The two young men formed a fast friendship based on their mutual outlooks on life and fierce ambition. In 1840, Bob and A.J. passed the state bar and started Stockton & Patterson Attorneys at Law. The practice thrived in both criminal and civil cases. A.J. thrived in criminal court, representing the lowest class the city had, while Bob showed his talent as a representative of the growing special interests in the renamed Central City. The men were soon making money hand over fist and establishing connections from every facet of urban life.

In 1852, A.J. and Bob used their connections to get into the political game. Mayor Anthony Scott, the long-serving political boss of the city, was toppled by the two upstarts who used a coalition of poor ethnic voters and wealthy American businessmen to toss Scott and his city council cronies out of office and replace them with men loyal to A.J. and Bob. The Patterson Combination was born. The machine's power grew out from Central City and took over the statehouse. While A.J. preferred to work behind the scenes, Bob liked the spotlight and used the Combination's power to his advantage. In 1860, Bob ran and won a seat in Congress by capturing 99% of the vote in his district. He served for ten years, through the Civil War and Reconstruction, before he saw a greater prize. In 1870, the Combination controlled state legislature elected Bob to the US Senate. The man who had once worked eighteen hour days to provide for his family was now one of the most powerful men in the state and the entire West.

Now, Bob is ending his first term in the US Senate and is coming home to stand for reelection. As A.J.'s closest lieutenant, he helps the Combination plan its moves for the upcoming election season that will be hotly contested by reform candidates in both the city and the state. Michael Wood, the state's current governor, ha made his intention known that he wishes to take Bob's seat in the Senate. In addition, presidential politics may be coming into play as the party convention comes to Central City to elect a president. For a man who has achieved so much, Bob sees a path to the White House could be easily within his grasp if he can play his cards just right.

I'm going to write until I know a little more about the neighbourhoods and stuff before throwing a sheet up but you don't need to worry about me, hoss.

*Sees MM has posted, time to go look at his character--*



Punk ass bitch.

You best take my name out your mouth, punk. I got hitters that can reach you wherever you lay your head.

Everyone feel free to add your own inputs/neighborhoods to what I've written.



Eastside

The eastern side of the city is the remnants of the old frontier town Center, Central City's first incarnation. The city's oldest and most prominent families live on the eastside. Almost all of the residents of the eastside are "Americans" in the sense that their lineage can be traced back to ancestors living in America before the American Revolution. The occasional prominent immigrant may live Eastside if he or she has amassed enough money and political clout to buy one of the big homes on the hill.

Downtown

Built in the 1830's, downtown is where City Hall and Central City's other government buildings are. Downtown is also home to a large Irish neighborhood known as Little Galway, settled in the first wave of migrations to the West. A ghetto in the 30's and 40's, the neighborhood has developed into a stable working-class neighborhood home to many of Central City's middle-class families. Bordering Little Galway is Bohemia, a newer ethnic neighborhood, a slightly less well to do neighborhood that is none the less on the rise. Bohemia came about in the early 1850's as German, Czechs, and other members of the failed '48 Revolutions fled Europe for America.

Westside

The western edge of Central City is home to the new class of immigrants freshly arrived to the country after the American Civil War ended. Italians, Eastern Europeans, and Jewish immigrants still new to America all live in cramped houses and tenement buildings. Adding to their misery is the industrial factories that are also placed on the west side, factories that run all day and all night with a mostly immigrant workforce that has no other option but to spend sixteen hour days working. The Central Stockyards, a massive facility that supplies the Western US with meat, is where many work long hours for little pay.

Black Jack

Black Jack is the crude name of the city's African-American neighborhood. The overall black population in Central City isn't a lot compared to Southern cities, but it is more than the average black population in Northern cities. More African-Americans have come to the city in the years following the Civil War, though not enough to overcrowd Black Jack. The southern rail line that separates Black Jack between the rest of the city is known as the "Color Line." Outside of CCPD, very few whites are seen in and around Black Jack.

Saloon City

Running along one of the city's western boulevards, Saloon City is the vice hub for Central City. At least one hundred saloons, gambling dens, whorehouses, and opium parlors all reside in this one square mile of city. Tourists, travelers heading further west, and local residents all come to Saloon City to blow off steam and gladly hand their money over. Anything can be bought in Saloon City for a price. The graft and protection that comes with the district is a huge part of the Combination's revenue stream. Politicians, cops, and criminals alike all have a major interest in keeping Saloon City safe and trouble free.

Saloon City sounds like Donovan's place.

You best take my name out your mouth, punk. I got hitters that can reach you wherever you lay your head.

And I'd post but I want to see where or how others are going to get off the ground.

Yeah, same here. I'll probably work on a first post tonight and tomorrow.

If not anyone else either, I suppose I could. Was hoping someone would start which'd get me a lead or inspiration for something.

Are you guys still accepting? *hopeful look*

Are we ever!