Political Machines, such as the Tammany Machine in New York, granted favors in exchange for votes.
Often, these favors took the form of political patronage, or jobs, for voters that were loyal to the machine. As the 1800s turned into the 1900s, Radical Republicans led by Teddy Roosevelt pushed for Civil Service Reform, which took much of the power out of the hands of the political machines.
By the 1940s, the political machines had mostly died out throughout the country.