The political club is a membership based organization. Membership of a political club is an outward show of political allegiance.
Victorian England
In the Victorian era the political club was synonymous with a political party. Parliamentarians therefore had to publicly say whether they are acting as a member of a political club or as a member of a political party. Notable political clubs that existed already back then include the Brooks's, and the Reform Club.
Urban politics in the United States
The political club is a feature of Urban politics in the United States usually representing a particular party in a neighbourhood. They were most prominent in the later 19th and early 20th centuries, most famously in Tammany Hall of New York City, which adopted them during the golden age of fraternalism in reaction to a strong challenge from the United Labor Party in 1886. Political clubs were associated with political machines and political boss culture, but also often saw a split between "regular" and "reform" political factions. They formerly often had a prominent local meeting house, but have declined since politics became less neighborhood-based.
References
- Seth Alexander Thevoz (2018). Club Government: How the Early Victorian World was Ruled from London Clubs. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 9781786723727.
- Seth Alexander Thevoz (2018). Club Government: How the Early Victorian World was Ruled from London Clubs. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 9781786723727.
- Edwin G. Burrows; Mike Wallace (1999). Gotham: a history of New York City to 1898. Oxford University Press. p. 1108. ISBN 0195116348. OCLC 37903500.
- Warren, Kenneth F. (2008-04-04). Encyclopedia of U.S. Campaigns, Elections, and Electoral Behavior. SAGE Publications. ISBN 9781452265872.
- McGerr, Michael E. (1988-05-19). The Decline of Popular Politics: The American North, 1865-1928. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195363760.
- Kilgannon, Corey (2017-09-15). "End of an Era for New York's Oldest Political Club". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-01-23.