Everything about Tweed Ring totally explained
William M. Tweed (
April 3,
1823 –
April 12,
1878), sometimes informally called
Boss Tweed, was an
American politician who was convicted for stealing over 100 million dollars from
New York City taxpayers through
political corruption and died in jail. Tweed was head of
Tammany Hall, the
Democratic Party political machine that played a major role in the
politics of
19th century New York.
Biography
William Marcy Tweed was born April 3, 1823, on the
Lower East Side of
Manhattan. His father was a chair-maker of
Scottish-Irish descent. Tweed became a
volunteer fireman, and made his entrance into politics when he organized the Americus Fire Company No. 6, which along with its
fire truck, became known as the "Big Six". Tweed 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 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. He also sent Thomas Nast a bribe, which was subsequently declined.
Scandal
In April
1870 Tweed secured the passage of a city charter putting the control of the city into the hands of
mayor, the
comptroller, and the commissioners of parks and public works. He then allowed contractors and others to submit invoices for inflated amounts or for work that wasn't done. The total amount of money stolen was never known, but has been estimated from $75 million to $200 million. Over a period of two years and eight months, while he'd over 1,000 workers at his command, New York City's debts increased from $36 million in 1868 to about $136 million by 1870, with few costs or expenditures to show for the debt.
Tweed was accused of defrauding the city by having contractors present excessive bills for work performed -- typically ranging from 15 to 65 percent more than the project actually cost. The extra charges were said to have been divided among Tweed, his subordinates and the contractors. The most excessive overcharging came in the form of the
Tweed Courthouse, which cost the city $13 million to construct (the actual cost for the courthouse was about $3 million), leaving about $10 million for the pockets of Tweed and others. The city was also billed $3 million for city printing and stationery over a two-year period.
Tweed's downfall came when he refused to authorize the Orange Parade, an annual Protestant celebration. City Sheriff James O'Brien, whose support for Tweed had fluctuated during Tammany's "reign", gave
The New York Times evidence of
embezzlement in light of the Protestant-Catholic riot that ensued on parade day. The newspaper was reportedly offered $5 million to not publish the evidence. In a subsequent interview, Tweed's only reply was, "Well, what are you going to do about it?" 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. Regarding Nast's cartoons, Tweed reportedly said, "Stop them damned pictures. I don't care so much what the papers say about me. My constituents don't know how to read, but they can't help seeing them damned pictures!
Tweed was head of the organization, Tammany Hall.
Imprisonment, escape and death
In October 1872, Tweed was arraigned and held on $8 million bail. 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. Tweed 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 million and held in
debtor's prison until he could post $3 million as bail. On
January 3,
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. But before the U.S. government could arrange for his
extradition, Tweed bribed his way onto a ship to
Spain. The U.S. government discovered his eventual destination of Spain and arranged for his arrest as soon as he reached the Spanish border. He was delivered to authorities in
New York City on
November 23,
1876, and was returned to prison.
Tweed died in the
Ludlow Street Jail on
April 12,
1878 from severe pneumonia. He was buried in the
Brooklyn Green-Wood Cemetery.
Legacy
In studies of Tweed and the Tammany Hall organization, historians have emphasized the Thieveryness, thefty heftyness, and conspiratorial nature of Boss Tweed along the
Upper West Side, and securing land for the
Metropolitan Museum of Art. Certain aspects of Tammany Hall's activities (aid to the sick and unemployed, advocacy for tenants and workers) foreshadowed
later developments in the U.S. labor movement and
Social Security.
Portrayals in popular culture
- Boss Tweed was portrayed by Jim Broadbent in the 2002 film Gangs of New York.
- Tweed, portrayed as villainous and vindictive, was mentioned in chapter 14 of Neal Shusterman's young adult novel Downsiders.
- In the Elseworlds miniseries Green Lantern: Evil's Might, Tweed and Tammany Hall are featured as two of the main villains. This depiction of Tweed even goes as far as to mention Thomas Nast's political cartoons.
- In the 1977 science-fiction novel "The Ophiuchi Hotline" by John Varley, a crooked politician in the human-settled Moon of the 27th century takes up the name "Boss Tweed" in deliberate emulation of the 19th Century politician, and even names his Lunar headquarters "Tammany Hall".
- The role of Boss Tweed was originated by Noah Beery, Sr. in the 1945 original Broadway production of "Up In Central Park".
- Tweed has a cameo appearance of sorts in the novel Inferno by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. In Bolgia 5 of the Malebolge, demons are seen pulling Tweed out of the lake of boiling pitch and torturing him.
- Bill Tweed appears in Pete Hamill's novel, Forever. Not as a villain, but a good man who defended the rights of minorities and helped those in need.
- Tweed doesn't appear in The Waterworks (novel) but his role in the criminal case is a very important one. His name is often mentioned.
Further Information
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