The political machines were supported by continued immigration, supported by patronage, expanded by wealth, and ultimately eliminated by the progress of reformers for the public rather than private good, and caused by necessity of public services works and skilled workers, after the population of the cities expanded. The political machine was supported by continued immigration from 1800 to 1920, when more than eighteen million European immigrants poured into the United States in search of economic opportunity and political and religious freedom. They initially came from northern and central Europe, then largely from eastern and southern Europe. (New Colossus, Pg. 1) New York alone reported that as of June 30, 1899, immigrant arrivals from the Russian Empire were approximately 90,787. The arrivals, in the same year, from all countries of people of German race were 29,682 and Jewish arrivals were 60,764. (Changing the Character of Immigration, p. 1) Unfortunately, with such a large influx of population in a short period of time and other variables such as immigrants' inability to speak English, inadequate affordable urban housing and jobs insufficient, large numbers of immigrants ended up in sprawling slums without a sense of security or knowledge of how to find help, if any, from an unrepresentative government. These factors transformed the arriving immigrants into easy prey for the political machine's clientelism and supported it by giving their votes. By the 1930s mass immigration had stopped and representative government had begun, leading to a decline in the clientelism needed by then-integrated immigrants and a decline in votes for the machine. The main tasks of the political machines were to look for the needy and communicate an offer t...... middle of paper ...... they knew nothing about it. Therefore, civil service exams were created to hire qualified professionals. These exams were a necessary condition of employment during a time when more technical skills were needed. It also displaced unskilled workers, some of whom were brought in by the political machine. Public service exams harm the machine in many ways. It freed the workers inserted by the machine and then eliminated because they were unqualified, from voting in their favor. They created an atmosphere that made it difficult for the machine to use their patronage to place unskilled workers in jobs. More importantly, it helped the public realize that with the arrival of a more representative government for all, which did not ask for individual favors, political machines no longer attracted them and were no longer necessary..