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121-603: William Magear "Boss" Tweed (April 3, 1823 – April 12, 1878) was an American politician most notable for being the political boss of Tammany Hall , the Democratic Party 's political machine that played a major role in the politics of 19th-century New York City and State . At the height of his influence, Tweed was the third-largest landowner in New York City, a director of the Erie Railroad ,

242-457: A volunteer fire company , which took as its symbol a snarling red Bengal tiger from a French lithograph, a symbol which remained associated with Tweed and Tammany Hall for many years. At the time, volunteer fire companies competed vigorously with each other; some were connected with street gangs and had strong ethnic ties to various immigrant communities. The competition could become so fierce, that burning buildings would sometimes be ignored as

363-404: A 15% overcharge to their "ring" in order to do business with the city. By 1853, Tweed was running the seventh ward for Tammany. The board also had six Democrats and six Republicans, but Tweed often just bought off one Republican to sway the board. One such Republican board member was Peter P. Voorhis, a coal dealer by profession who absented himself from a board meeting in exchange for $ 2,500 so that

484-679: A base in the Irish Catholic community, he opposed efforts of Protestants to require the reading of the King James Bible in public schools, which was done deliberately to keep out Catholics. He facilitated the founding of the New York Public Library , even though one of its founders, Samuel Tilden, was Tweed's sworn enemy in the Democratic Party. Tweed recognized that the support of his constituency

605-460: A change in style: Tweed began to favor wearing a large diamond in his shirtfront – a habit that Thomas Nast used to great effect in his attacks on Tweed in Harper's Weekly beginning in 1869 – and he bought a brownstone to live in at 41 West 36th Street, then a very fashionable area. He invested his now considerable illegal income in real estate, so that by the late 1860s he ranked among

726-544: A common seaman on a Spanish ship. The U.S. government discovered his whereabouts and arranged for his arrest once he reached the Spanish border, where he was recognized from Nast's political cartoons. He was turned over to an American warship, the USS ; Franklin , which delivered him to authorities in New York City on November 23, 1876, and he was returned to prison. Desperate and broken, Tweed now agreed to testify about

847-527: A direct successor to that party, and many Whig leaders, including Henry Clay, had aligned with the rival Democratic-Republican Party . In the 1836 presidential election , four different Whig candidates received electoral votes , but the party failed to defeat Jackson's chosen successor, Martin Van Buren . Whig nominee William Henry Harrison unseated Van Buren in the 1840 presidential election but died one month into his term. Harrison's successor, John Tyler,

968-935: A director of the Tenth National Bank , a director of the New-York Printing Company, the proprietor of the Metropolitan Hotel , a significant stockholder in iron mines and gas companies, a board member of the Harlem Gas Light Company , a board member of the Third Avenue Railway Company , a board member of the Brooklyn Bridge Company , and the president of the Guardian Savings Bank. Tweed was elected to

1089-911: A few exceptions in the Southwest, such as Phoenix, most large cities of 100,000 or more in the early 20th century had machine organizations, and usually claimed one or more local bosses, most of whom were Democrats. Some had a major impact and hold on state politics, such as E. H. Crump in Memphis, Tennessee . A few bosses had reputations as reformers, such as Frank Hague of Jersey City . Political bosses exist today. Politico in 2019 described insurance executive George Norcross as New Jersey's "most powerful unelected official", with "nearly uncontested control of South Jersey 's Democratic machine ". An October 2020 article in The Bulwark argued that Donald Trump 's appeal to white working-class voters in

1210-607: A firm stance on slavery , but Northern Whigs tended to be less supportive than their Democratic counterparts. The Whigs emerged in the 1830s in opposition to President Andrew Jackson , pulling together former members of the National Republican Party , the Anti-Masonic Party , and disaffected Democrats. The Whigs had some weak links to the defunct Federalist Party , but the Whig Party was not

1331-558: A former Democrat, broke with the Whigs in 1841 after clashing with Clay and other party leaders over economic policies such as the re-establishment of a national bank . Clay clinched his party's nomination in the 1844 presidential election but was defeated by Democrat James K. Polk , who subsequently presided over the Mexican–American War . Whig nominee Zachary Taylor won the 1848 presidential election , but Taylor died in 1850 and

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1452-504: A higher court, however, reduced Tweed's sentence to one year. After his release from The Tombs prison, New York State filed a civil suit against Tweed, attempting to recover $ 6 million in embezzled funds. Unable to put up the $ 3 million bail, Tweed was locked up in the Ludlow Street Jail , although he was allowed home visits. During one of these on December 4, 1875, Tweed escaped and fled to Spain, where he worked as

1573-597: A joint resolution providing for the annexation of Texas, and Texas subsequently became a state in 1845. Following the annexation of Texas, Polk began preparations for a potential war with Mexico , which still regarded Texas as a part of its republic and contended that Texas's true southern border was the Nueces River rather than the Rio Grande . After a skirmish known as the Thornton Affair broke out on

1694-537: A judge—Tweed's old friend George Barnard—enjoined the city Comptroller from issuing bonds or spending money. Unpaid workers turned against Tweed, marching to City Hall demanding to be paid. Tweed doled out some funds from his own purse—$ 50,000—but it was not sufficient to end the crisis, and Tammany began to lose its essential base. Shortly thereafter, the Comptroller resigned, appointing Andrew Haswell Green , an associate of Tilden, as his replacement. Green loosened

1815-804: A major part of the political landscape during the 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States , such as the political machines of Tammany Hall in New York City and the Choctaw Club in New Orleans , which controlled financing of campaigns and influence via owing of favors to arrange patronage public appointments. In the Southern United States , charismatic populist politicians like Huey Long commanded large networks of supporters. Similar practices existed in

1936-449: A plain "M.", and his middle name is often mistakenly listed as "Marcy". His actual middle name was Magear, his mother's maiden name. Confusion derived from a Nast cartoon with a picture of Tweed supplemented with a quote from William L. Marcy , the former governor of New York. Notes Citations Bibliography Further reading Political boss Reformers typically allege that political bosses are corrupt . This corruption

2057-594: A position with considerable access to city contractors and funding; he bought the New-York Printing Company, which became the city's official printer, and the city's stationery supplier, the Manufacturing Stationers' Company, and had both companies begin to overcharge the city government for their goods and services. Among other legal services he provided, he accepted almost $ 100,000 from the Erie Railroad in return for favors. He also became one of

2178-664: A separate proposal which included the admission of California as a free state, the cession by Texas of some of its northern and western territorial claims in return for debt relief, the establishment of New Mexico and Utah territories, a ban on the importation of slaves into the District of Columbia for sale, and a more stringent fugitive slave law. Taylor died in July 1850 and was succeeded by Vice President Fillmore. In contrast to John Tyler, Fillmore's legitimacy and authority as president were widely accepted by members of Congress and

2299-532: A special four-page supplement on July 29 headlined "Gigantic Frauds of the Ring Exposed". In August, Tweed began to transfer ownership in his real-estate empire and other investments to his family members. The exposé provoked an international crisis of confidence in New York City's finances, and, in particular, in its ability to repay its debts. European investors were heavily positioned in the city's bonds and were already nervous about its management – only

2420-580: A strict constructionist view of the Constitution , while Clay and Adams favored high tariffs and the national bank; regionalism played a central role, with Jackson strongest in the West. Jackson won a plurality of the popular and electoral vote in the 1824 election, but not a majority. The House of Representatives had to decide. Speaker Clay supported Adams, who was elected as president by the House, and Clay

2541-556: A treaty with Mexico. Democratic Congressman David Wilmot of Pennsylvania offered an amendment known as the Wilmot Proviso , which would ban slavery in any newly acquired lands. The Wilmot Proviso passed the House with the support of both Northern Whigs and Northern Democrats, breaking the typical pattern of partisan division in congressional votes, but it was defeated in the Senate. Nonetheless, clear divisions remained between

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2662-515: A victory for the people against an elitist institution. Jackson won another decisive victory in the 1832 presidential election , taking 55 percent of the national popular vote and 88 percent of the popular vote in the slavery states south of Kentucky and Maryland. Clay's defeat discredited the National Republican Party, encouraging those opposed to Jackson to seek to create a more effective opposition party. Jackson, by 1832,

2783-574: Is usually tied to patronage : the exchange of jobs, lucrative contracts and other political favors for votes, campaign contributions and sometimes outright bribes . The appearance of bosses has been common since the Roman Republic and remains fairly common today. In Spanish America , Brazil , Spain , and Portugal political bosses called caciques hold power in many places, while in Italy they are often referred to as ras . Bosses were

2904-566: The 2016 United States presidential election was driven by the same kind of paternalistic and localist mentality that was exploited by the Democratic political bosses of the early 20th century. An April 2022 New York Times article portrayed him as a modern party boss during his post-presidency . Boss Jim W. Gettys , portrayed by Ray Collins , is a secondary character in Citizen Kane and Charles Foster Kane's political rival for

3025-488: The Black Horse Cavalry , thirty state legislators whose votes were up for sale. In the Senate he helped financiers Jay Gould and Big Jim Fisk to take control of the Erie Railroad from Cornelius Vanderbilt by arranging for legislation that legitimized fake Erie stock certificates that Gould and Fisk had issued. In return, Tweed received a large block of stock and was made a director of the company. After

3146-477: The Brooklyn Bridge project would go forward, State Senator Henry Cruse Murphy approached Tweed to find out whether New York's aldermen would approve the proposal. Tweed's response was that $ 60,000 for the aldermen would close the deal, and contractor William C. Kingsley put up the cash, which was delivered in a carpet bag . Tweed and two others from Tammany also received over half the private stock of

3267-757: The Federalist Party , led by Alexander Hamilton , and the Democratic-Republican Party , led by Thomas Jefferson . After 1815, the Democratic-Republicans emerged as the sole major party at the national level but became increasingly polarized. A nationalist wing led by Henry Clay favored policies such as the Second Bank of the United States and the implementation of a protective tariff . A second group,

3388-521: The King of Great Britain at the time of the American Revolution . Jackson's decision to remove government deposits from the national bank ended any possibility of a Webster-Jackson alliance and helped to solidify partisan lines. The removal of the deposits drew opposition from both pro-bank National Republicans and states' rights Southerners like Willie Person Mangum of North Carolina,

3509-776: The Old Republicans , opposed these policies, favoring a strict interpretation of the Constitution and a weak federal government. In the 1824 presidential election , Speaker of the House Henry Clay , Secretary of the Treasury William H. Crawford , Secretary of State John Quincy Adams , and General Andrew Jackson all sought the presidency as members of the Democratic-Republican Party. Crawford favored state sovereignty and

3630-637: The Panic of 1837 struck the nation. Land prices plummeted, industries laid off employees, and banks failed. According to historian Daniel Walker Howe , the economic crisis of the late 1830s and early 1840s was the most severe recession in U.S. history until the Great Depression . Van Buren's economic response centered on establishing the Independent Treasury system, essentially a series of vaults that would hold government deposits. As

3751-596: The Republican Party . Chicago had numerous colorful bosses, such as Democrats Hinky Dink and Bathhouse John , and Pat Marcy . Chicago's Republican counterparts included Big Bill Thompson , who became mayor in the 1920s. One of Chicago's most iconic figures was longtime mayor and chairman of the Cook County Democratic Committee Richard J. Daley , who had a major voice in state and national Democratic politics. With

William M. Tweed - Misplaced Pages Continue

3872-725: The United States House of Representatives in 1852 and the New York County Board of Supervisors in 1858, the year that he became the head of the Tammany Hall political machine. He was also elected to the New York State Senate in 1867. However, Tweed's greatest influence came from being an appointed member of a number of boards and commissions, his control over political patronage in New York City through Tammany, and his ability to ensure

3993-555: The annexation of Texas his key priority. The annexation of Texas was widely viewed as a pro-slavery initiative as it would add another slave state to the union, and most leaders of both parties opposed opening the question of annexation in 1843 due to the fear of stoking the debate over slavery. Tyler was nonetheless determined to pursue annexation because he believed that the British conspired to abolish slavery in Texas and because he saw

4114-552: The "birth of the Whig Party" can be dated to Clay and his allies taking control of the Senate in December 1833. The National Republicans, including Clay and Webster, formed the core of the Whig Party, but many Anti-Masons like William H. Seward of New York and Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania also joined. Several prominent Democrats defected to the Whigs, including Mangum, former Attorney General John Berrien , and John Tyler of Virginia. The Whig Party's first significant action

4235-563: The $ 2,500 to buy off the Republican Voorhis on the Board of Supervisors, was found to have stolen $ 150,000 in post office receipts, the responsibility for Fowler's arrest was given to Isaiah Rynders , another Tammany operative who was serving as a United States marshal at the time. Rynders made enough ruckus upon entering the hotel where Fowler was staying that Fowler was able to escape to Mexico. With his new position and wealth came

4356-586: The Adams administration's nationalist agenda, becoming informally known as "Jacksonians". Due in part to the superior organization (by Martin Van Buren) of the Jacksonians, Jackson defeated Adams in the 1828 presidential election , taking 56 percent of the popular vote. Clay became the leader of the National Republican Party , which opposed President Jackson. By the early 1830s, the Jacksonians organized into

4477-486: The Bridge Company, the charter of which specified that only private stockholders had voting rights, so that even though the cities of Brooklyn and Manhattan put up most of the money, they essentially had no control over the project. Tweed bought a mansion on Fifth Avenue and 43rd Street , and stabled his horses, carriages and sleighs on 40th Street . By 1871, he was a member of the board of directors of not only

4598-545: The Department of Public Parks – providing what became known as the Tweed Ring with even firmer control of the New York City government and enabling them to defraud the taxpayers of many more millions of dollars. In the words of Albert Bigelow Paine , "their methods were curiously simple and primitive. There were no skilful manipulations of figures, making detection difficult ... Connolly, as Controller, had charge of

4719-872: The Erie Railroad and the Brooklyn Bridge Company, but also the Third Avenue Railway Company and the Harlem Gas Light Company. He was president of the Guardian Savings Banks and he and his confederates set up the Tenth National Bank to better control their fortunes. Tweed's downfall began in 1871. James Watson, who was a county auditor in Comptroller Dick Connolly 's office and who also held and recorded

4840-550: The North, Democrats benefited from the growing animosity towards the Whig Party among Catholic and foreign-born voters. Ultimately, Polk won the election, taking 49.5% of the popular vote and a majority of the electoral vote; the swing of just over one percent of the vote in New York would have given Clay the victory. In the final weeks of Tyler's presidency, a small group of Southern Whigs joined with congressional Democrats to pass

4961-529: The Republican Party and enacted much of their American System. Presidents Abraham Lincoln , Rutherford B. Hayes , Chester A. Arthur , and Benjamin Harrison were Whigs before switching to the Republican Party, from which they were elected to office. It is considered the primary predecessor party of the modern-day Republicans . During the 1790s, the first major U.S. parties arose in the form of

William M. Tweed - Misplaced Pages Continue

5082-502: The Treasury William M. Meredith issued a report calling for an increase in tariff rates, but not to the levels seen under the Tariff of 1842. Even Meredith's moderate policies were not adopted, and, partly due to the strong economic growth of the late 1840s and late 1850s, traditional Whig economic stances would increasingly lose their salience after 1848. When Taylor assumed office, the organization of state and territorial governments and

5203-515: The Whig Party due to his lack of public commitment to Whig policies and his association with the Mexican–American War. In late 1847, Clay emerged as Taylor's main opponent for the Whig nomination, appealing especially to Northern Whigs with his opposition to the war and the acquisition of new territory. With strong backing from slavery-state delegates, Taylor won the presidential nomination on

5324-519: The Whigs included a distrust of behind-the-scenes political maneuvering by party bosses instead of encouraging direct appeals to the people through gigantic rallies, parades, and rhetorical rabble-rousing. Early successes in various states made many Whigs optimistic about victory in 1836, but an improving economy bolstered Van Buren's standing ahead of the election. The Whigs also faced the difficulty of uniting former National Republicans, Anti-Masons, and states' rights Southerners around one candidate, and

5445-491: The biggest landowners in New York City. Tweed became involved in the operation of the New York Mutuals , an early professional baseball club, in the 1860s. He brought in thousands of dollars per home game by dramatically increasing the cost of admission and gambling on the team. He has been credited with originating the practice of spring training in 1869 by sending the club south to New Orleans to prepare for

5566-549: The board could appoint city inspectors. Henry Smith was another Republican that was a part of the Tweed ring. Although he was not trained as a lawyer, Tweed's friend, Judge George G. Barnard , certified him as an attorney, and Tweed opened a law office on Duane Street. He ran for sheriff in 1861 and was defeated, but became the chairman of the Democratic General Committee shortly after the election, and

5687-458: The books had been "faithfully kept", letting the air out of the effort to dethrone Tweed. The response to the Orange riot changed everything, and only days afterwards the Times /Nast campaign began to garner popular support. More important, the Times started to receive inside information from County Sheriff James O'Brien, whose support for Tweed had fluctuated during Tammany's reign. O'Brien had tried to blackmail Tammany by threatening to expose

5808-415: The books, and declined to show them. With his fellows, he also 'controlled' the courts and most of the bar." Crucially, the new city charter allowed the Board of Audit to issue bonds for debt in order to finance opportunistic capital expenditures the city otherwise could not afford. This ability to float debt was enabled by Tweed's guidance and passage of the Adjusted Claims Act in 1868. Contractors working for

5929-534: The city – "Ring favorites, most of them – were told to multiply the amount of each bill by five, or ten, or a hundred, after which, with Mayor Hall's 'O. K.' and Connolly's endorsement, it was paid ... through a go-between, who cashed the check, settled the original bill and divided the remainder ... between Tweed, Sweeny, Connolly and Hall". For example, the construction cost of the New York County Courthouse , begun in 1861, grew to nearly $ 13 million—about $ 350 million in 2023 dollars, and nearly twice

6050-434: The city's government was passed in 1870, four commissioners for the construction of the New York County Courthouse were appointed. The commission never held a meeting, though each commissioner received a 20% kickback from the bills for the supplies. Tweed and his friends also garnered huge profits from the development of the Upper East Side, especially Yorkville and Harlem . They would buy up undeveloped property, then use

6171-441: The corruption of Tweed and Tammany Hall, they did accomplish the development of upper Manhattan, though at the cost of tripling the city's bond debt to almost $ 90 million. During the Tweed era, the proposal to build a suspension bridge between New York and Brooklyn , then an independent city, was floated by Brooklyn-boosters, who saw the ferry connections as a bottleneck to Brooklyn's further development. In order to ensure that

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6292-584: The corruption of the law by the upholders of that law, of a venal irresponsible press and a citizenry delighting in the exorcism of witchery. In depictions of Tweed and the Tammany Hall organization, most historians have emphasized the thievery and conspiratorial nature of Boss Tweed, along with lining his own pockets and those of his friends and allies. The theme is that the sins of corruption so violated American standards of political rectitude that they far overshadow Tweed's positive contributions to New York City. Although he held numerous important public offices and

6413-418: The cost of the Alaska Purchase in 1867. "A carpenter was paid $ 360,751 (roughly $ 9.6 million in 2023) for one month's labor in a building with very little woodwork ... a plasterer got $ 133,187 ($ 3.5 million) for two days' work". Tweed bought a marble quarry in Sheffield, Massachusetts , to provide much of the marble for the courthouse at great profit to himself. After the Tweed Charter to reorganize

6534-399: The debate over the Independent Treasury continued, William Cabell Rives and some other Democrats who favored a more activist government defected to the Whig Party, while Calhoun and his followers joined the Democratic Party. Whig leaders agreed to hold the party's first national convention in December 1839 in order to select the Whig presidential nominee. By early 1838, Clay had emerged as

6655-427: The declaration of war against Mexico and also pushed through the restoration of the Independent Treasury System and a bill that reduced tariffs; opposition to the passage of these Democratic policies helped to reunify and reinvigorate the Whigs. In August 1846, Polk asked Congress to appropriate $ 2 million (~$ 60.7 million in 2023) in hopes of using that money as a down payment for the purchase of California in

6776-420: The disappearance and possible murder of William Morgan in 1826. The Anti-Masonic movement, strongest in the Northeast, gave rise to or expanded the use of many innovations which became an accepted practice among other parties, including nominating conventions and party newspapers. Clay rejected overtures from the Anti-Masonic Party, and his attempt to convince Calhoun to serve as his running mate failed, leaving

6897-426: The economy. They argued that traditional Whig policies, such as the restoration of a national bank and the implementation of protective tariff rates, would help to restore the economy. With the economy still in a downturn, Harrison decisively defeated Van Buren, taking a wide majority of the electoral vote and just under 53 percent of the popular vote. With the election of the first Whig presidential administration in

7018-490: The election of 1869, Tweed took control of the New York City government. His protégé, John T. Hoffman , the former mayor of the city, won election as governor, and Tweed garnered the support of good-government reformers like Peter Cooper and the Union League Club , by proposing a new city charter which returned power to City Hall at the expense of the Republican-inspired state commissions. The new charter passed, thanks in part to $ 600,000 in bribes Tweed paid to Republicans, and

7139-415: The family business in 1852. On September 29, 1844, he married Mary Jane C. Skaden and lived with her family on Madison Street for two years. Tweed became a member of the Odd Fellows and the Masons , and joined a volunteer fire company, Engine No. 12. In 1848, at the invitation of state assemblyman John J. Reilly, he and some friends organized the Americus Fire Company No. 6, also known as the "Big Six", as

7260-459: The fifth ballot of the 1839 Whig National Convention . For vice president, the Whigs nominated John Tyler, a former states' rights Democrat selected for the Whig ticket primarily because other Southern supporters of Clay refused to serve as Harrison's running mate. Log cabins and hard cider became the dominant symbols of the Whig campaign as the party sought to portray Harrison as a man of the people. The Whigs also assailed Van Buren's handling of

7381-459: The fire companies fought each other. Tweed became known for his ax-wielding violence, and was soon elected the Big Six foreman. Pressure from Alfred Carlson, the chief engineer, got him thrown out of the crew. However, fire companies were also recruiting grounds for political parties at the time, thus Tweed's exploits came to the attention of the Democratic politicians who ran the Seventh Ward. The Seventh Ward put him up for Alderman in 1850, when Tweed

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7502-503: The flag at City Hall to be flown at half staff . According to Tweed biographer Kenneth D. Ackerman: It's hard not to admire the skill behind Tweed's system ... The Tweed ring at its height was an engineering marvel, strong and solid, strategically deployed to control key power points: the courts, the legislature, the treasury and the ballot box. Its frauds had a grandeur of scale and an elegance of structure: money-laundering, profit sharing and organization. A minority view that Tweed

7623-434: The fourth ballot of the 1848 Whig National Convention . The Whigs nominated Millard Fillmore of New York, a pro-Clay Northerner, for vice president. Anti-slavery Northern Whigs disaffected with Taylor joined with Democratic supporters of Martin Van Buren and some members of the Liberty Party to found the new Free Soil Party ; the party nominated a ticket of Van Buren and Whig Charles Francis Adams Sr. and campaigned against

7744-401: The front-runner due to his southern support and spirited opposition to Van Buren's Independent Treasury. A recovering economy convinced other Whigs to support Harrison, who was generally seen as the Whig candidate best able to win over Democrats and new voters. With the crucial support of Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania and Thurlow Weed of New York, Harrison won the presidential nomination on

7865-455: The historical Enoch L. Johnson ), a fictional Republican Party boss and gangster who controls Atlantic City, New Jersey during the Prohibition period (1920–1933). Whig Party (United States) Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other The Whig Party

7986-418: The inner workings of the Tweed Ring to a special committee set up by the Board of Aldermen in return for his release. However, after he did so, Tilden, now governor of New York, refused to abide by the agreement, and Tweed remained incarcerated. He died in the Ludlow Street Jail on April 12, 1878, from severe pneumonia , and was buried in Brooklyn 's Green-Wood Cemetery . Mayor Smith Ely Jr. would not allow

8107-425: The issue as a means to reelection, either through the Democratic Party or through a new party. In April 1844, Secretary of State John C. Calhoun reached a treaty with Texas providing for the annexation of that country. Clay and Van Buren, the two front-runners for major-party presidential nominations in the 1844 election, both announced their opposition to annexation, and the Senate blocked the annexation treaty. To

8228-462: The issue of slavery more so than Democratic candidate Lewis Cass of Michigan. Ultimately, Taylor won the election with a majority of the electoral vote and a plurality of the popular vote. Taylor improved on Clay's 1844 performance in the South and benefited from the defection of many Democrats to Van Buren in the North. Reflecting the Taylor administration's desire to find a middle ground between traditional Whig and Democratic policies, Secretary of

8349-491: The largest owners of real estate in the city. He also started to form what became known as the "Tweed Ring", by having his friends elected to office: George G. Barnard was elected Recorder of New York City ; Peter B. Sweeny was elected New York County District Attorney ; and Richard B. Connolly was elected City Comptroller. Other judicial members of the Tweed ring included Albert Cardozo , John McCunn , and John K. Hackett . When Grand Sachem Isaac Fowler , who had produced

8470-442: The latter of whom accused Jackson of flouting the Constitution. In late 1833, Clay began to hold a series of dinners with opposition leaders to settle on a candidate to oppose Martin Van Buren , the likely Democratic nominee in the 1836 presidential election . While Jackson's opponents could not agree on a single presidential candidate, they coordinated in the Senate to oppose Jackson's initiatives. Historian Michael Holt writes that

8591-537: The legislation was unconstitutional. Congress passed a second bill based on an earlier proposal made by Treasury Secretary Ewing that was tailored to address Tyler's constitutional concerns, but Tyler vetoed that bill as well. In response, every Cabinet member but Webster resigned, and the Whig congressional caucus expelled Tyler from the party on September 13, 1841. The Whigs later began impeachment proceedings against Tyler, but they ultimately failed to impeach him because they believed his likely acquittal would devastate

8712-437: The loyalty of voters through jobs he could create and dispense on city-related projects. Boss Tweed was convicted for stealing an amount estimated by an aldermen's committee in 1877 at between $ 25 million and $ 45 million from New York City taxpayers from political corruption, but later estimates ranged as high as $ 200 million (equivalent to $ 5 billion in 2023). Unable to make bail, he escaped from jail once but

8833-481: The new Democratic Party . Despite Jackson's decisive victory in the 1828 election, National Republicans initially believed that Jackson's party would collapse once Jackson took office. Vice President Calhoun split from the administration in 1831. Still, differences over the tariff prevented Calhoun's followers from joining the National Republicans. Meanwhile, the Anti-Masonic Party formed following

8954-576: The newspapers and the Protestant elite of the city, Tammany reversed course, and the march was allowed to proceed, with protection from city policemen and state militia . The result was an even larger riot in which over 60 people were killed and more than 150 injured. Although Tammany's electoral power base was largely centered in the Irish immigrant population, it also needed both the city's general population and elite to acquiesce in its rule, and this

9075-517: The northern cities, particularly New York City , where Boss Tweed (arguably the most infamous political boss) wielded control over the powerful Democratic political machine. In Denver , Colorado, during the 1890s Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith operated as the Republican party boss and political fixer. Charles Brayton exercised great influence over the politics of turn of the 20th century Rhode Island . He exemplified rural bossism within

9196-509: The northern side of the Rio Grande, Polk called on Congress to declare war against Mexico, arguing that Mexico had invaded American territory by crossing the Rio Grande. Many Whigs argued that Polk had provoked war with Mexico by sending a force under General Zachary Taylor to the Rio Grande, but only a minority of Whigs voted against the declaration of war as they feared that opposing the war would be politically unpopular. Polk received

9317-412: The opposition to Jackson split among different leaders when the National Republicans nominated Clay for president. Hoping to make the national bank a key issue of the 1832 election, the National Republicans convinced national bank president Nicholas Biddle to request an extension of the national bank's charter, but their strategy backfired when Jackson successfully portrayed his veto of the recharter as

9438-463: The papers say about me. My constituents don't know how to read, but they can't help seeing them damned pictures!" – but their campaign had only limited success in gaining traction. They were able to force an examination of the city's books, but the blue-ribbon commission of six businessmen appointed by Mayor A. Oakey Hall , a Tammany man, which included John Jacob Astor III , banker Moses Taylor and others who benefited from Tammany's actions, found that

9559-652: The partisan divisions that had emerged after 1824, as many within the Jacksonian coalition opposed President Jackson's threats of force against South Carolina, while some opposition leaders like Daniel Webster supported them. The name "Whig" was first suggested for Jackson's opponents by James Watson Webb , editor of the Courier and Enquirer of New York City. In South Carolina and other states, those opposed to Jackson began to form small "Whig" parties. The Whig label implicitly compared "King Andrew" to King George III ,

9680-428: The party suffered an early blow when Calhoun announced that he would refuse to support any candidate opposed to the doctrine of nullification. Northern Whigs cast aside both Clay and Webster in favor of General William Henry Harrison , a former senator who had led U.S. forces in the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe . Though he had not previously been affiliated with the National Republicans, Harrison indicated that he shared

9801-514: The party's concerns over Jackson's executive power and favored federal investments in infrastructure. Southern Whigs coalesced around Senator Hugh Lawson White , a long-time Jackson ally who opposed Van Buren's candidacy. Ultimately, Van Buren won a majority of the electoral and popular vote in the 1836 election, though the Whigs improved on Clay's 1832 performance in the South and West. Shortly after Van Buren took office, an economic crisis known as

9922-542: The party's history, Clay and his allies prepared to pass ambitious domestic policies such as the restoration of the national bank, the distribution of federal land sales revenue to the states, a national bankruptcy law, and increased tariff rates. Harrison died just one month into his term, thereby elevating Vice President Tyler to the presidency. Tyler had never accepted much of the Whig economic program and he soon clashed with Clay and other congressional Whigs. In August 1841, Tyler vetoed Clay's national bank bill, holding that

10043-654: The party. Beginning in mid-1842, Tyler increasingly began to court Democrats, appointing them to his Cabinet and other positions. At the same time, many Whig state organizations repudiated the Tyler administration and endorsed Clay as the party's candidate in the 1844 presidential election . After Webster resigned from the Cabinet in May 1843 following the conclusion of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty , Tyler made

10164-716: The passage of the Kansas–Nebraska Act in 1854, with most Northern Whigs eventually joining the anti-slavery Republican Party and most Southern Whigs joining the nativist American Party and later the Constitutional Union Party . The last vestiges of the Whig Party faded away after the start of the American Civil War , but Whig ideas remained influential for decades. During the Lincoln Administration , ex-Whigs dominated

10285-634: The post of Governor of New York. The television series The Dukes of Hazzard (1979–1985) featured a character named Boss Hogg , played by Sorrell Booke . Boss Tweed was portrayed by Philip Bosco in the 1986 TV movie Liberty , and by Jim Broadbent as a major supporting character in the 2002 film Gangs of New York . Tweed is portrayed as a defender of the rights of minorities and helper of those in need in Pete Hamill 's 2003 novel Forever . The HBO television series Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014) focuses on Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (based on

10406-413: The purse strings again, allowing city departments not under Tammany control to borrow money to operate. Green and Tilden had the city's records closely examined, and discovered money that went directly from city contractors into Tweed's pocket. The following day, they had Tweed arrested. Tweed was released on $ 1 million bail, and Tammany set to work to recover its position through the ballot box. Tweed

10527-513: The purses of the Tweed Ring. Hershkowitz blames the implications of Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly and the editors of The New York Times , which both had ties to the Republican party. In part, the campaign against Tweed diverted public attention from Republican scandals such as the Whiskey Ring . Tweed himself wanted no particular recognition of his achievements, such as they were. When it

10648-539: The repercussions of his fall from power. Tweed's first trial before Judge Noah Davis , in January 1873, ended when the jury was unable to deliver a verdict . Tweed's defense counsel included David Dudley Field II and Elihu Root . His retrial, again before Judge Noah Davis in November resulted in convictions on 204 of 220 counts, a fine of $ 12,750 (the equivalent of $ 320,000 today) and a prison sentence of 12 years;

10769-576: The reputations of the underwriters were preventing a run on the city's securities. New York's financial and business community knew that if the city's credit were to collapse, it could potentially bring down every bank in the city with it. Thus, the city's elite met at Cooper Union in September to discuss political reform: but for the first time, the conversation included not only the usual reformers, but also Democratic bigwigs such as Samuel J. Tilden , who had been thrust aside by Tammany. The consensus

10890-545: The resources of the city to improve the area – for instance by installing pipes to bring in water from the Croton Aqueduct  – thus increasing the value of the land, after which they sold and took their profits. The focus on the east side also slowed down the development of the west side, the topography of which made it more expensive to improve. The ring also took their usual percentage of padded contracts, as well as raking off money from property taxes. Despite

11011-503: The ring's embezzlement to the press, and when this failed he provided the evidence he had collected to the Times . Shortly afterward, county auditor Matthew J. O'Rourke supplied additional details to the Times , which was reportedly offered $ 5 million to not publish the evidence. The Times also obtained the accounts of the recently deceased James Watson, who was the Tweed Ring's bookkeeper, and these were published daily, culminating in

11132-410: The ring's books, died a week after his head was smashed by a horse in a sleigh accident on January 24, 1871. Although Tweed guarded Watson's estate in the week prior to Watson's death, and although another ring member attempted to destroy Watson's records, a replacement auditor, Matthew O'Rourke, associated with former sheriff James O'Brien , provided city accounts to O'Brien. The Orange riot of 1871 in

11253-538: The rule of law, protections against majority rule, and vigilance against executive tyranny. They favored an economic program known as the American System , which called for a protective tariff , federal subsidies for the construction of infrastructure, and support for a national bank . The party was active in both the Northern United States and the Southern United States and did not take

11374-699: The season. Tweed was a member of the New York State Senate (4th D.) from 1868 to 1873, sitting in the 91st , 92nd , 93rd , and 94th New York State Legislatures , but not taking his seat in the 95th and 96th New York State Legislatures . While serving in the State Senate, he split his time between Albany, New York and New York City. While in Albany, he stayed in a suite of seven rooms in Delevan House. Accompanying him in his rooms were his favorite canaries. Guests are presumed to have included members of

11495-561: The spread of slavery into the territories. The Whig campaign in the North received a boost when Taylor released a public letter in which he stated that he favored Whig principles and would defer to Congress after taking office, thereby reassuring some wavering Whigs. During the campaign, Northern Whig leaders touted traditional Whig policies like support for infrastructure spending and increased tariff rates, but Southern Whigs largely eschewed economic policy, instead emphasizing that Taylor's status as an enslaver meant that he could be trusted on

11616-541: The state of New York spent more on charities than for the entire time period from 1852 to 1868 combined. During Tweed's regime, the main business thoroughfare Broadway was widened between 34th Street and 59th Street , land was secured for the Metropolitan Museum of Art , and the Upper East Side and Upper West Side were developed and provided the necessary infrastructure – all to the benefit of

11737-618: The status of slavery in the Mexican Cession remained the major issue facing Congress. To sidestep the issue of the Wilmot Proviso, the Taylor administration proposed that the lands of the Mexican Cession be admitted as states without first organizing territorial governments; thus, slavery in the area would be left to the discretion of state governments rather than the federal government. In January 1850, Senator Clay introduced

11858-504: The summer of that year did not help the ring's popularity. The riot was prompted after Tammany Hall banned a parade of Irish Protestants celebrating a historical victory against Catholicism, namely the Battle of the Boyne . The parade was banned because of a riot the previous year in which eight people died when a crowd of Irish Catholic laborers attacked the paraders. Under strong pressure from

11979-517: The surprise of Clay and other Whigs, the 1844 Democratic National Convention rejected Van Buren in favor of James K. Polk and established a platform calling for the acquisition of both Texas and Oregon Country . Having won the presidential nomination at the 1844 Whig National Convention unopposed, Clay and other Whigs were initially confident that they would defeat the divided Democrats and their relatively obscure candidate. However, Southern voters responded to Polk's calls for annexation, while in

12100-400: The time of his funeral The New York Times , quoting a family friend, reported that his parents had been Quakers and "members of the old Rose Street Meeting house". At the age of 11, he left school to learn his father's trade, and then became an apprentice to a saddler. He also studied to be a bookkeeper and worked as a brushmaker for a company he had invested in, before eventually joining in

12221-458: The two parties on territorial acquisitions, as most Democrats joined Polk in seeking to acquire vast tracts of land from Mexico, but most Whigs opposed territorial growth. In February 1848, Mexican and U.S. negotiators reached the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo , which provided for the cession of Alta California and New Mexico. Despite Whig objections to the acquisition of Mexican territory, the treaty

12342-497: Was 26. He lost that election to the Whig candidate Morgan Morgans , but ran again the next year and won, garnering his first political position. Tweed then became associated with the "Forty Thieves" , the group of aldermen and assistant aldermen who, up to that point, were known as some of the most corrupt politicians in the city's history. Tweed was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1852, but his two-year term

12463-570: Was a mid-19th century political party in the United States. Alongside the Democratic Party , it was one of two major parties between the late 1830s and the early 1850s and part of the Second Party System . As well as four Whig presidents ( William Henry Harrison , John Tyler , Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore ), other prominent members included Henry Clay , Daniel Webster , Rufus Choate , William Seward , John J. Crittenden , and John Quincy Adams . The Whig base of support

12584-555: Was a modernizer who prefigured certain elements of the Progressive Era in terms of more efficient city management. Much of the money he siphoned off from the city treasury went to needy constituents who appreciated the free food at Christmas time and remembered it at the next election, and to precinct workers who provided the muscle of his machine. As a legislator he worked to expand and strengthen welfare programs, especially those by private charities, schools, and hospitals. With

12705-563: Was amongst entrepreneurs, professionals, Protestants (particularly evangelicals ), and the urban middle class . It had much less backing from poor farmers and unskilled workers. The party was hostile toward manifest destiny , territorial expansion into Texas and the Southwest , and the Mexican–American War . It disliked presidential power, as exhibited by Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk , and preferred congressional dominance in lawmaking. Members advocated modernization, meritocracy ,

12826-452: Was appointed Secretary of State. Jackson called it a "corrupt bargain". In the years following the 1824 election, former members of the Democratic-Republican Party split into hostile factions. Supporters of President Adams and Clay joined with many former Federalists such as Daniel Webster to form a group informally known as the "Adams party". Meanwhile, supporters of Jackson, Crawford, and Vice President John C. Calhoun joined in opposing

12947-404: Was conditional on the machine's ability to control the actions of its people. The July riot showed that this capability was not nearly as strong as had been supposed. Tweed had for months been under attack from The New York Times and Thomas Nast , the cartoonist from Harper's Weekly  – regarding Nast's cartoons, Tweed reportedly said, "Stop them damned pictures. I don't care so much what

13068-683: Was determined to destroy the bank (the Second Bank of the United States), which Whigs supported. Shortly after Jackson's re-election, South Carolina passed a measure to " nullify " the Tariff of 1832 , beginning the Nullification Crisis . Jackson strongly denied the right of South Carolina to nullify federal law, but the crisis was resolved after Congress passed the Tariff of 1833 . The Nullification Crisis briefly scrambled

13189-409: Was mostly innocent is presented in a scholarly biography by history professor Leo Hershkowitz. He states: Except for Tweed's own very questionable "confession," there really was no evidence of a "Tweed Ring," no direct evidence of Tweed's thievery, no evidence, excepting the testimony of the informer contractors, of "wholesale" plunder by Tweed....[Instead there was] a conspiracy of self-justification of

13310-500: Was necessary for him to remain in power, and as a consequence he used the machinery of the city's government to provide numerous social services, including building more orphanages, almshouses and public baths. Tweed also fought for the New York State Legislature to donate to private charities of all religious denominations, and subsidize Catholic schools and hospitals. From 1869 to 1871, under Tweed's influence,

13431-457: Was one of a handful of senior leaders of Tammany Hall, as well as the state legislature and the state Democratic Party, Tweed was never the sole "boss" of New York City. He shared control of the city with numerous less famous people, such as the villains depicted in Nast's famous circle of guilt cartoon shown above. Seymour J. Mandelbaum has argued that, apart from the corruption he engaged in, Tweed

13552-537: Was proposed, in March 1871, when he was at the height of his power, that a statue be erected in his honor, he declared: "Statues are not erected to living men ... I claim to be a live man, and hope (Divine Providence permitting) to survive in all my vigor, politically and physically, some years to come." One of Tweed's unwanted legacies is that he has become "the archetype of the bloated, rapacious, corrupt city boss". Tweed never signed his middle name with anything other than

13673-444: Was ratified with the support of a majority of the Democratic and Whig senators; Whigs voted for the treaty largely because ratification brought the war to an immediate end. During the war, Whig leaders like John J. Crittenden of Kentucky began to look to General Taylor as a presidential candidate, hoping the party could run on Taylor's personal popularity rather than economic issues. Taylor's candidacy faced significant resistance in

13794-446: Was re-elected to the state senate in November 1871, due to his personal popularity and largesse in his district, but in general Tammany did not do well, and the members of the Tweed Ring began to flee the jurisdiction, many going overseas. Tweed was re-arrested, forced to resign his city positions, and was replaced as Tammany's leader. Once again, he was released on bail—$ 8 million this time—but Tweed's supporters, such as Jay Gould , felt

13915-540: Was returned to custody. He died in the Ludlow Street Jail . Tweed was born April 3, 1823, at 1 Cherry Street, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan . The son of a third-generation Scottish chair-maker, Tweed grew up on Cherry Street . His grandfather arrived in the United States from a town near the River Tweed close to Edinburgh . Tweed's religious affiliation was not widely known in his lifetime, but at

14036-515: Was signed into law by Hoffman in 1870. Mandated new elections allowed Tammany to take over the city's Common Council when they won all fifteen aldermanic contests. The new charter put control of the city's finances in the hands of a Board of Audit, which consisted of Tweed, who was Commissioner of Public Works, Mayor A. Oakey Hall and Comptroller Richard "Slippery Dick" Connolly , both Tammany men. Hall also appointed other Tweed associates to high offices – such as Peter B. Sweeny , who took over

14157-470: Was succeeded by Millard Fillmore. Fillmore, Clay, Daniel Webster, and Democrat Stephen A. Douglas led the passage of the Compromise of 1850 , which helped to defuse sectional tensions in the aftermath of the Mexican–American War for a time. Nonetheless, the Whigs suffered a decisive defeat in the 1852 presidential election partly due to sectional divisions within the party. The Whigs collapsed following

14278-531: Was that the "wisest and best citizens" should take over the governance of the city and attempt to restore investor confidence. The result was the formation of the Executive Committee of Citizens and Taxpayers for Financial Reform of the city (also known as "the Committee of Seventy "), which attacked Tammany by cutting off the city's funding. Property owners refused to pay their municipal taxes, and

14399-519: Was then chosen to be the head of Tammany's general committee in January 1863. Several months later, in April, he became "Grand Sachem", and began to be referred to as "Boss", especially after he tightened his hold on power by creating a small executive committee to run the club. Tweed then took steps to increase his income: he used his law firm to extort money, which was then disguised as legal services; he had himself appointed deputy street commissioner –

14520-607: Was to censure Jackson for the removal of the national bank deposits, thereby establishing opposition to Jackson's executive power as the organizing principle of the new party. In doing so, the Whigs were able to shed the elitist image that had persistently hindered the National Republicans. Throughout 1834 and 1835, the Whigs successfully incorporated National Republican and Anti-Masonic state-level organizations and established new state party organizations in Southern states like North Carolina and Georgia. The Anti-Masonic heritage of

14641-659: Was undistinguished. In an attempt by Republican reformers in Albany , the state capital, to control the Democratic-dominated New York City government, the power of the New York County Board of Supervisors was beefed up. The board had 12 members, six appointed by the mayor and six elected, and in 1858 Tweed was appointed to the board, which became his first vehicle for large-scale graft ; Tweed and other supervisors forced vendors to pay

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