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Rise and Fall of Political Machines: Boss Tweed Exposed

Explore the rise of 19th-century political machines, the corruption of Boss Tweed, and Thomas Nast's impactful political cartoons that led to his downfall. Uncover the power struggles, graft, and reform efforts within these notorious systems.

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Rise and Fall of Political Machines: Boss Tweed Exposed

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  1. Political Machines Boss Tweed and Thomas Nast

  2. Political Machines • A “political machine” was an organized group that controlled the activities of a political party in a city • In order to gain this control, they needed one thing • What do you think that one thing was? • Votes • They needed voter support to remain in office

  3. Political Machines • How did they get the support of individual voters and businesses? • By providing services to these groups

  4. Political Machines

  5. Political Machines • A political machine was organized like a pyramid • At the bottom was a precinct worker or captain would be in charge of a city block • Then, at election time there was a ward “boss” who made sure that the precincts would vote a certain way • In exchange for these votes, these areas of the city would receive contracts for work, city jobs, or other financial gain

  6. Political Machines • Some voters were paid small sums of money, or given food and groceries for their votes • The very top of the pyramid was the city “boss” • He controlled the activities of the political party • He was very powerful • The boss controlled thousands of jobs • He could choose who to hire and where

  7. What were some of the jobs that might be controlled by the political machine?

  8. A lot of good work was done under the political machine. . . • Parks, sewer systems and waterworks were built • Money was given to schools, hospitals and orphanages

  9. Immigrants became loyal supporters of political machines • Bosses sought out immigrants • They helped them get jobs and find places to live • Immigrants, in turn, voted for the political party • “I’ve been called a boss. All there is to it is having friends, doing things for people, and then later on they’ll do things for you.” • James Pendergast, 1900.

  10. Corruption in Political Machines • Political machines did many good things for people • But as the power of the political machine grew, so did greed and corruption • In order to gain votes, there was election fraud • Voter lists were “padded” to include the names of children and people who died, and even Dogs!

  11. Corruption in Political Machines • For example, in one election in Philadelphia, there were only 100 eligible voters in a precinct (city block), but voters returned 252 votes • Once a machine came into power, they gained more money through kickbacks or graft

  12. Examples of kickback or graft • A political machine hires a person to work on a construction project for the city • The machine asks the person to submit a higher bill than the actual cost of labor and materials • Where does the extra money go? • To the political machine • The illegal payments, or kickbacks, made many politicians very wealthy

  13. The Pendleton Act 1883 • By 1877 many Americans had become weary of the spoils system • Senator George Pendleton proposed a bill that would change the way Federal Government jobs were handed out • The Civil Service Exam • Based on merit • Rather than political affiliation

  14. The Pendleton Act 1883 • The act also made it illegal to be demoted or fired from a job for political affiliation • Prohibits soliciting campaign donations on federal government property • Caused a crucial shift in which political parties had to rely on businesses for funding rather than patronages hoping to receive graft

  15. Tammany Hall • The most famous political machine was an organization that called themselves Tammany Hall • William Tweed was the ringleader of the Tammany Hall political machine

  16. Boss Tweed • Boss Tweed and his fellow politicians pocketed as much as $200 million dollars from the city in kickbacks and payoffs • For example, when the New York City hall was built it cost taxpayers $145 million, and construction went on from 1861-1874

  17. Boss Tweed • Gradually, people began to protest about this graft and corruption • Tweed was eventually sentenced to 12 years in jail • He escaped, but was captured in Spain, by officials who recognized his picture from cartoons in the New York city Newspapers • The corruption of New York City, and other large cities caused a desire to reform or improve the political system

  18. How did Boss Tweed Get Caught? • Newspaper articles were written about Boss Tweed • Many of the people paying taxes in Tweeds precinct were illiterate • Thomas Nast began making political cartoons about Tweeds corruption • Immigrants and the illiterate were able to understand Nast’s cartoons and they asked for the removal of Tweed

  19. Now lets take a look at some of Thomas Nast’s Political Cartoons on Boss Tweed and see what Americans saw in 1872

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