The Boss system, prevalent in the United States' crowded cities, consisted of a political "boss" figure, often an Irishman, who took advantage of the weak city planning and disorganized political structure. He would provide or procure housing, jobs, or other commodities to poor immigrants and city dwellers in return for their political support. Politicians would allow job positions to be overfilled and the payrolls to be padded in order to accommodate the maximum number of workers; the boss would then instruct these workers exactly how to vote in order to secure the politicians' success. The system was a cycle of corruption.
One way the Boss would make money was to ask the mayor to give him advance notice before the city councils made a decision, such as building a trolley line. In this example, the Boss would buy up all the land along the planned trolley line, and then sell it back to the city at incredibly inflated prices when it announced its building plans a few weeks later. Thus the Boss would make an immense profit, which he would share with whomever gave him the intelligence in the first place. The low-class workers and immigrants who saw this going on didn't protest, because the Boss was helping them with all the tasks that the city neglected.
Those who benefited from this system, namely the Boss, the politicians, and the low class workers, thought it was great! The opposition came from middle class taxpayers, whose tax dollars were going to pay inefficient workers and to fill the Boss's pockets.
Although the Boss system has been derided as a cycle of corruption, it had a significant impact on late 19th century New York City, particularly in social and economic advancements. A prominent leader of the Boss system was William Tweed who controlled the political organization, Tammany Hall. Through Tammany Hall, which included thousands of Irish immigrants, Tweed was able to expand Upper East and West sides of Manhattan, set aside land for the Museum of Metropolitan Art, and build orphanages.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Tweed and his cronies funneled large sums of money into their own pockets, they did achieve certain basic goals that contributed to developing New York City society and topography.
Interesting note on William Tweed.
ReplyDeleteIn 1871 the "Tweed Ring" embezzled so much money while rebuilding the New York City Court House that the New York Times exposed it and many opponents like cartoonist Thomas Nast fought to put Tweed in jail. By November they had succeeded; Tweed was charged with larceny, fraud, and forgery. But in 1875 Tweed escaped prison to Cuba and Spain. One source I found says that there, local authorities recognized him from Nast's drawings and returned him to United States custody. He returned to prison and died there in 1878. Google "Boss Tweed Nast Cartoon" to see some of Nast's images of Tweed.
Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/boss-tweed-delivered-to-authorities
Boss Tweed is no doubt one of the most infamous bosses. Adding on to what Julia said above ,Boss Tweed and his "Tweed Ring" managed to steal money by faking leases, padding bills with false charges, and paying for unnecessary repairs and overpriced goods and services bought from suppliers controlled by the ring. By paying "Tweed Ring" controlled suppliers the high amounts of money Boss Tweed stole, Tweed was able launder his money in an effective way. After he was arrested in 1875, he was released, but then rearrested until he could come up with 6 million dollars for bail. During his time in debtor's jail he was allowed daily trips accompanied by the jailer to see his family. On of these trips, in December 1875, he escaped and fled to Spain. He was a fugitive there, working as a seaman for a year until he was recognized by a cartoon of him. He was captured and died in a debtor's prison on April 12, 1878.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/recon/jb_recon_boss_3.html
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