America’s Corrupt Past Rooted in Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall’s front as of 2016
“I don’t care who does the electing, so long as I get to do the nominating.” – William M. Tweed
We still see the political pundits and news junkies go on and on about how corrupt the government is. Left wing, right wing, no matter what wing you fly with, you yourself probably think that Congress aren’t looking out for you, but are looking out for those big FACELE$$ MULTINATIONAL CORPORATION$. Trust me, I think the United States government is corrupt and has been for a very long time.
But what if I were to tell you that we actually have it better off than the past? *gasp* Yes! Even with the rigged ballot boxes, gerrymandering, and voter suppression we have today, it STILL wasn’t as bad as the mayhem that manifested within a building in downtown Manhattan. On east 17th street and Park Avenue, there lies a place where history’s biggest machine DOMINATED politics for 178 years!
I am talking about the Society of St. Tammany, or “Tammany Hall”!
From it’s conception in 1789 to its demise in 1967, Tammany Hall was a New York City political organization that played a big part in NYC and US politics. The name “Tammany” comes from the Native American Lenni-Lenape tribal chief Tamaned. They were greatly successful in patronizing the city’s growing immigrant community and picking out politicians for state and federal seats, in short, they knew how to work the system. To immigrants (especially the Irish), Tammany Hall was a pleasant entity in local politics as they helped the community become naturalized citizens, registering to vote, and pay their rent and food. Tammany Hall served as a kind of middleman in the relationship between immigrants and government. As such, Irish immigrants made the society admit them as members in 1817, and soon thereafter expanded membership to any propertyless white male in the 1820s. When Fernado Wood, a Tammany Hall favorite, won as mayor in 1854, Tammany Hall’s political influence skyrocketed.
Boss Tweed. Photo Credit: LIFE Magazine
Bosses at Tammany Hall were big and powerful. Probably the most infamous boss was William M. Tweed, or “Boss Tweed”. From 1858 to 1872, he helped use Republican reformers to control the Democratic city government so his friends could get jobs. Using graft to expand influence on the Upper West and East Sides of Manhattan, Tweed had his grubby hands on every single aspect of society. After the Orange Riots of 1871, Tweed was arrested when details of his ring were discovered and died in Ludlow Street Jail in 1872.
Yet after Tweed, politics were still on their side. Boss Charles’ Murphy (1902-1924) made their influence even bigger. Three New York City mayors, three New York Governors, and the impeachment of Gov. George Schuler (who distanced himself from the organization after winning) were under their belt. 1928 was an even bigger year, as they chose Al Smith as the Democratic nominee for President. Unfortunately, their VP pick, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, would be the future of the end of Tammany Hall.
Tammany Ring Political Cartoon Credit: Thomas Nast
After he won the 1933 election, FDR stripped Tammany Hall of any federal patronage and with the help of mayor Fiorello La Guardia they put in place non-partisan officials to make the city’s government look nice and clean. This was the permanent end of their dominance. Tammany Hall made a last dying breath in the 50s when Boss Carmine DeSapio dominated municipal politics, but was opposed by Democratic leaders like Eleanor Roosevelt and Herbert Lehman, and the New York Committee of Democratic Voters. It officially pooped out when John V. Lindsay became mayor in 1966.
Nowadays, the building where the society once held its meetings has since decayed and has been a tomb of the glowing power of politics years past. Shops can be seen carved out of the side on E 17 and Park Avenue, homeless New Yorkers sleep near the boarded up doors, and walkers just pass by without giving it a thought. Everyone has a phone nowadays and can read the latest Op-Ed by some pundit reiterating that politics is just as corrupt as it was all those years ago. Man, if some of these people only knew.
