THE TWEED RING Essays - William M. Tweed, Tammany Hall,

THE TWEED RING THE TWEED RING In the late 1840s, a man named William Tweed rose to the eyes of the public by being a volunteer fireman. From a shady beginning, Tweed worked his way up slowly and securely. Later that century, he became an elected official for the city council for New York in 1852. In 1854, Tweed was elected into the U.S House of Representatives. Even though he was a rep. in the house, his main concern was local and state concerns. He remained active in Tammany hall which was a powerful democratic organization. He was the leader so he had plenty of power to spare. Tweed gathered a multitude of men that controlled the citys finances. They gave jobs and dispensed contracts for political power and bribing power. These men he gathered depleted 30-200 million into personal accounts. No historian could say how much was actually depleted. One of Tweeds men John T. Hoffman was inaugurated into governorship of New York. Because tweed had so many ties, he controlled the police, the court houses and most of the newspapers in New York. Even though he was a democrat, he put limits on the republicans salaries. Even though Tweed was also a leader of Tammany hall, the two organizations didnt see eye to eye. Tweed won an important victory in the state legislature in 1870 when a new city charter was approved. This change vastly increased the power of Tweed's small group as they acquired billings for city work that was never performed, concocted phony legal agreements and a variety of kickback schemes. How he kept up with the times and reconstructions was a mystery. Popular support of the Ring was maintained with charity and other gifts to the voters. Tweed was prosecuted and was sent to prison for forgery and larceny.