Boss Tweed And Tammany Hall Essay

During the mid-1800s, conditions in New York City were atrocious; immigrants lived in squalor in rundown tenements, and most if not all were in low paying jobs with no chance of improvement. New York did not have the infrastructure capable of handling its population, and the city was falling apart. In the 1850s, a group came into power that turned the city around. Under the leadership of William “Boss” Tweed, Tammany Hall, the branch of the Democratic Party in New York, revitalized the city. They funded the building of bridges, hospitals, and parks, and provided financial aid to immigrants, including helping them find jobs and avoid the draft. Despite the negative connotation that comes along with the names William “Boss” Tweed and Tammany Hall, the improvement in the quality of life of New York City in the late 1800s and early 1900s can be directly associated with their presence. Their promotion of massive internal improvement, as well as the essential support they provided their constituents, ultimately were what led to the amelioration of New York City life.

From the 1820s to the 1850s New York experienced a period of extreme change. The population was growing rapidly as more and more immigrants moved to America in search of a new life of religious freedom, freedom from starvation in the wake of the potato famine of the 1840s, and freedom to hold a steady job. Most of these immigrants were coming from Ireland and Germany and were heavily persecuted in the city. But in addition to the vast population change, the city experienced great economic expansion as well, with the implementation of corporate capitalism and the rising mass-market system. And around the same time a massive fire wiped out downtown New York, after...

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...s of the political machine system argue that Tammany Hall was corrupt and ultimately hindered the political system. For instance, political bosses would control who was nominated for certain positions on boards and commissions or even who would become mayoral candidates (“Urban Bosses...”). Many people at the time viewed this as extraordinarily unfair, and believed that the people that held positions of power were not the ones best qualified for the job.

In a scathing critique of Boss Tweed, one biographer argues that “Under his leadership, Tammany politicians acted corruptly, embezzling public funds, and using their positions for other forms of personal gain” (“William Marcy Tweed” World...).

Opposition to Tammany Hall gained significant support in the late 1800s and early 1900s, as the New York Times began attacking Tweed and the Democratic machine.