_Tweed,_N.Y_-_NARA_(cropped).jpg "William M. Tweed"){kind=small}
Samuel J. Tilden
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Jan 2, 2015 · Find out more about Boss Tweed on Biography.com. Tweed is known for the cronyism of his Tammany Hall political machine, through which he bilked the city of New York of massive sums of money.
William Tweed, the “boss” of Tammany Hall, played a major role in New York City politics during the mid-1800s. By the late 1850s, Tweed had ascended through a variety of local offices, including volunteer firefighter, school commissioner, member of the county board of supervisors, and street commissioner.
- 30 min
- Gilded Age
- 9, 10, 11, 12
- Political Parties
- Boss Tweed learned politics while working as a fireman. Tweed was initially groomed to go into his father’s business as a chair-maker, before going to school for accounting (learning skills that no doubt proved helpful when he was cooking the city budget).
- He may have saved a Republican mayor's life. One of Tweed's earliest political moves was to help protect the life of a mayor from a different party. During the Draft Riots of 1863, while Tweed was deputy street commissioner, many of the city’s poor and Irish residents (Tammany’s core constituency) took to the streets in violent protest against the conscription law that required they pay $300 or serve on the battlefield for the Union during the Civil War.
- He stole big. Tweed and his cronies stole somewhere between $30 million and $200 million from the city ($614 million to more than $4 billion in 2020 dollars) while in control of New York's political machine.
- He held a lot of positions ... While he is most famous for his position as Grand Sachem (or “Boss”) of Tammany Hall, Tweed used his influence and skill with handing out political favors to land a wide range of titles.
Boss Tweed - Encyclopedia of New York City. William M (agear) "Boss" Tweed. ( b New York City, 3 April 1823; d New York City, 12 April 1878). Political leader. His middle name was almost certainly Magear (his mother's maiden name) but is often given incorrectly as Marcy.
The story of William Magear Tweed, often known as Boss Tweed, is a captivating tale of power, corruption, and downfall. Tweed was the head of the Tammany Hall political machine, which controlled New York City’s politics in the mid-19th century.
William M. "Boss" Tweed (April 3, 1823 – April12, 1878) was an American politician and head of Tammany Hall, the name given to the Democratic Party political machine that played a major role in the History of New York City politics from the 1790s to the 1960s. He was convicted and eventually imprisoned for embezzling millions of dollars from ...
May 31, 2022 · 19th Century. The Political Cartoonist Who Helped Lead to ‘Boss’ Tweed’s Downfall. Thomas Nast gleefully mocked the Tammany Hall boss in multiple cartoons, prompting newspapers and...
