After the Civil War, New York City’s population was growing at a tremendous rate. Hundreds of immigrants, mostly from Ireland and Germany, arrived in the city each month. Business was booming and nearly three-fourths of the nation’s imports passed through the New York Harbor. The city’s government was overwhelmed and could not keep pace with the changes.

Political Empire

William M. Tweed, a charming but corrupt politician, took advantage of this situation and built himself a political empire. He was a huge man who stood almost six feet tall and weighed three hundred pounds. Previously, he had been a chair maker, saddler, bookkeeper, fireman, state congressman, and a lawyer. With his commanding presence and charming ways, he soon came to the attention of the leaders of the Democratic Party. In 1863, he became the leader of the party and took control of the city’s government. With the help of three associates, he formed the Tweed Ring and people began calling him “Boss Tweed.” Tweed’s partners in crime were Peter B. Sweeney, Richard B. Connolly, and A. Oakey Hall.

Peter Sweeney

Peter Sweeney was short with black eyes, had a walrus mustache, and a full head of bushy black hair. Many observers felt Sweeney was the brains behind the ring. A cold man with few friends, Sweeney became the city’s chamberlain in the fall of 1867. This was an important appointment. The city chamberlain “controlled the depositing of the city’s funds into bank accounts

Richard Connolly

Born in Ireland, Richard Connolly was extremely popular with Irish immigrants. He was a large portly man with a round, clean-shaved face. He continually wore a stovepipe hat, even indoors, which exaggerated his height. His neat penmanship and ability to keep track of vast sums of money made him a valuable member of the ring. His friends call him “Slippery Dick,” and Tweed appointed him to the post of city controller.

A. Oakey Hall

The most colorful member of the ring was A. Oakey Hall. He was short and wiry, liked colorful clothes, and wore a different necktie and cuff links every day. His nickname was “Elegant Oakey.” He had been a successful newspaper reporter, lawyer, lobbyist, playwright, and actor. Hall married well and was a member of the New York City’s upper class. In 1868, he was elected mayor. His role “was to act as a liaison between the Ring and New York society.”

Elections

The Rings primary source of power came from awarding citizenship to immigrants by the hundreds. In 1868, the Tweed Ring ran one of the most crooked elections in New York City’s history. Their campaign to award citizenship and voting privileges to as many new immigrants as they could find netted 41,112 new voters. Many of the new voters were illegally registered in several sections of the city and proceeded to cast their votes repeatedly. The repeaters received five dollars for each vote they cast and they each voted an average of nine times. Consequently, nearly “8 percent more votes were cast then the entire voting population of the city.”

Construction Projects

The ring also made fortunes by overcharging on city construction projects. Contractors kicked back sixty-five percent of what they charged to the Tweed Ring. If a contractor could do a job for thirty-five thousand dollars, he would charge the city one hundred thousand dollars and pay the ring sixty-five thousand dollars for the privilege of doing the job. Many New Yorkers were concerned about the operations of the Tweed Ring, but there was no solid proof of the ring’s activities.

 [Excerpt from Thomas Nast:  Political Cartoonist by Lynda Pflueger]