Boss Tweed

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1869 Tobacco label featuring Boss Tweed.

William M. Tweed (April 3, 1823 – April 12, 1878), commonly known as "Boss" Tweed, was an American politician and head of Tammany Hall, the name given to the Democratic Party political machine that played a major role in New York City politics from the 1790s to the 1960s. He was convicted and eventually imprisoned for stealing millions of dollars from the city through graft.

Contents

1 Background and rise to power
2 Political career
3 Tweed's arrest and subsequent flight
4 Succession
5 Trivia
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links

Background and rise to power

William Tweed was born on Cherry Street in Manhattan in 1823, of Scotch-Irish descent. He left school at age 11 and began working a series of jobs, ultimately ending up as a partner in a brush concern.

A craftsman, he joined state assemblyman John J. Reilly in founding the Americus Engine Company No. 6, a volunteer firefigher brigade also known as the "Big Six", in 1848. He became an alderman in 1851, and served a single term in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1852 before returning to New York politics. He quickly rose to a seat on the executive committee of Tammany Hall in 1858 and became "Boss" after being named Grand Sachem of Tammany in April 1863. By 1870 he had amassed a fortune of more than $12 million by skimming large sums of money off city projects and was the third largest land owner in Manhattan.

Tweed and his top Tammany leaders became known as the Tweed Ring. Tweed's political machine gained numerous offices in New York City, and even to the state legislature and judges' seats, often through illegal means. From 1860–1870, Tweed controlled most Democratic nominations in the city.

It has been estimated that the Tweed Ring stole a total of $200 million dollars between 1865-1871 of which $876,000 was eventually recovered, and that this massive theft precipitated the Panic of 1873. (Sante, p. 266)

Political career

Tweed himself was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1852, the New York City Board of Advisors in 1856, and the New York State Senate in 1867.

Financiers Jay Gould and Big Jim Fisk made Boss Tweed a director of the Erie Railroad, and Tweed in turn arranged favorable legislation for them. Tweed and Gould became the subjects of political cartoons by Thomas Nast in 1869.

In April 1870 Tweed secured the passage of a city charter putting the control of the city into the hands of the mayor (A. Oakey Hall), the comptroller, and the commissioners of parks and public works. He then set about to plunder the city. The total amount of money stolen was never known, but was estimated to be about $200 million. Over a period of two years and eight months, New York City's debts increased by $81,000,000, from $36 million in 1868 to more than $130 million by 1870, with little to show for the debt.

His followers generally worked by presenting excessive bills for work performed. Ostensibly the bills were paid in full, but in reality only part of the amount was paid, with Tweed retaining the remainder and dividing it between his followers in proportion to their importance. For example, the city was billed $13,000,000 to build a courthouse, which was many times the actual cost of construction, estimated to be $250,000; the city was also billed $3,000,000 for city printing and stationery over a two-year period.

While he was also known for the vast corrupt empire, Tweed was also responsible for building hopsitals and orphanages, widening Broadway along the Upper West Side, and securing the land for the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Tweed's arrest and subsequent flight

The end came when one of the plunderers, dissatisfied with the amount he received, gave The New York Times evidence that conclusively proved that stealing was going on. In a subsequent interview about the fraud, Tweed's only reply was, "What are you going to do about it?" However, accounts in The New York Times and political cartoons drawn by Thomas Nast and published in Harper's Weekly resulted in the election of numerous opposition candidates in 1871. Tweed is attributed with exclaiming, "Stop them damned pictures. I don't care so much what the papers say about me. My constituents can't read, but, damn it, they can see pictures!"

Formal portrait of Tweed.

In October 1871, when Tweed was held on $1,000,000 bail, Jay Gould was the chief bondsman. The efforts of political reformers William H. Wickham (1875 New York City mayor) and Samuel J. Tilden (later the 1876 Democratic presidential nominee) resulted in Tweed's trial and conviction in 1873. He was given a 12-year prison sentence, which was reduced by a higher court and he served one year. He was then re-arrested on civil charges, sued by New York State for $6,000,000, and held in debtor's prison until he could post $3,000,000 as bail. On December 4, 1875, Tweed escaped and fled to Cuba.

His presence in Cuba was discovered by the U.S. Government and he was held by the Cuban government. Before the U.S. Government could arrange for his extradition, Tweed bribed his way onto a ship headed to Spain. Before he arrived in Spain, the U.S. Government discovered his eventual destination and made arrangements for his arrest as soon as he reached the Spanish coast. The Spanish government identified him, purportedly recognizing Tweed from one of Nast's cartoons, and extradited him to New York; he was delivered to authorities in New York City on November 23, 1876, where he died in the Ludlow Street Jail, just a few blocks from his childhood home, two years later on April 12, 1878, at the age of 55.

He was buried in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery.

Succession

Trivia

Boss Tweed was portrayed by Jim Broadbent in the 2002 film Gangs of New York.

It is a common misconception that Boss Tweed's middle name was Marcy. While his middle initial was in fact M, it more likely stood for his mother's maiden name, Magear.

Another common misconception about Boss Tweed is that he was Irish. Although he was born on Cherry Street in Manhattan, he was of Scotch-Irish descent.

References

Boss Tweed, Gotham Gazette, New York, 4 July 2005.-[Source].

Sante, Luc (2003). Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York. Farrar, Straus, & Giroux.

External links

[Tammany Hall Links]

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