BOSS TWEED AND TAMMANY HALL William Marcy Tweed Here

Boss Tweed He was the leader of “Tammany Hall”, the location of the NY Democratic Party, and he used this position to control large parts of the NYC economy. For example: –They paid out of the city's coffers $10,000 for $75 worth of pencils –$171,000 for $4,000 worth of tables and chairs –$1,826,000 for the plastering of a municipal building that cost only $50,000 to plaster –Tweed also gave citizenship to over 60,000 immigrant, none of whom could read or write, but who could vote for Tweed and his cohorts on election day. –Overall it is estimated that he stole $200 million from the taxpayers of New York.

Bringing Down the Boss More than anything else, the press brought down Boss Tweed, especially a cartoonist named Thomas Nast. He drew cartoons that depicted Tweed in a negative light, and Tweed hated it. “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!“ Cartoons were a very effective way to get the message across to American immigrants.

Thomas Nast, the man who brought down Boss Tweed

Boss Tweed Escaped From Prison December 4, 1875 Tweed unsuccessfully attempted to bribe both Nast and Jones to leave him alone, but on November 19, 1873, Tweed was tried and convicted on charges of forgery and larceny. He was released in January 1875, but was immediately rearrested. The state sued him for $6 million, and he was held in a debtor's jail until he could come up with half that amount for bail. In the debtor's prison, he was allowed daily trips, accompanied by the jailer, to see his family. On one of these trips, in December 1875, he escaped and fled to Spain. He was a fugitive there for a year, working as a common seaman on a Spanish ship until he was recognized by his likeness to a Nast cartoon and captured. He died in a debtor's prison on April 12, 1878.

The Arrest of Boss Tweed (Nast)