Tammany Society, New York City

Nassau Street Headquarters of "St. Tammany" in 1830.

Description

Tammany Hall was a New York City political organization that endured for nearly two centuries. Formed in 1789 in opposition to the Federalist Party, its leadership often mirrored that of the local Democratic Party’s executive committee. Although its popularity stemmed from a willingness to help the city’s poor and immigrant populations, Tammany Hall became known for charges of corruption levied against leaders such as William M. “Boss” Tweed. Its power waned during the tenure of New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia (1934-1945), and the organization was rendered extinct after John V. Lindsay took office in 1966.

Tammany Hall was a political force in New York City from its 1789 inception as a benevolent association to mayoral campaigns in the 1950s. Frequently its leadership was identical to the Executive Committee of the local Democratic party, and it was a major or controlling faction in the party in 1821-1872 and 1905-1932. Key Tammany bosses through the years included William M. Tweed, Richard F. Croker, and Charles F. Murray.

Although its name was synonymous with corruption to many, Tammany Hall’s popularity and endurance resulted from its willingness to help the city’s poor and immigrant populations. Irish immigrants forced Tammany Hall to admit them as members in 1817, and the Irish thereafter never lost their tie with it. Because in the 1820s Tammany successfully fought to extend the franchise to all propertyless white males, it was popular with the working class. A close association with the Democratic party was also forged in the Jacksonian era.

Tammany’s decentralized organization enabled ward leaders to act as advocates for individuals when they had difficulties with the law. A criminal judge, for example, appointed or kept in office by Tammany Hall would have to listen carefully to a local ward leader asking for a suspended sentence in a particular case. Later, the hundreds receiving Tammany Hall assistance with problems or baskets of food on holidays would show their gratitude at the polls.

‘Reform’ administrations periodically took power away from the Hall, but for many years it always made a comeback. Then anti-Tammany mayor Fiorello La Guardia (1934-1945), with the help of Franklin D. Roosevelt, was able to weaken the machine’s power permanently. It retained some strength, however, until John V. Lindsay’s mayoralty (1966-1973).

History

1789–1840

The Tammany Society, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was founded in New York on May 12, 1789, originally as a branch of a wider network of Tammany Societies, the first having been formed in Philadelphia in 1772.<ref>Hodge, Frederick Webb (ed.) Handbook of Indians North of Mexico (Washington: Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 30. GPO 1911), 2:683–684</ref> The society was originally developed as a club for "pure Americans".<ref name=tamboo /> The name "Tammany" comes from Tamanend, a Native American leader of the Lenape. The society adopted many Native American words and also their customs, going so far as to call their meeting hall a wigwam. The first Grand Sachem, as the leader was titled, was William Mooney, an upholsterer of Nassau Street.Template:Webarchive</ref> Although Mooney claimed the top role in the early organization, it was a wealthy merchant and philanthropist named John Pintard who created the society's constitution and declared its mission as "[a] political institution founded on a strong republican basis whose democratic principles will serve in some measure to correct the aristocracy of our city." Pintard also established the various Native American titles of the society.<ref>Allen pp. 5-6</ref> The Society had the political backing of the Clinton family in this era, whereas the Schuyler family backed the Hamiltonian Federalists, and the Livingstons eventually sided with the anti-federalists and the Society.<ref>Allen p.7, 10</ref> The Society assisted the federal government in procuring a peace treaty with the Creek Indians of Georgia and Florida at the request of George Washington in 1790 and also hosted Edmond-Charles Genêt in 1793, representative of the New French Republic after the French Revolution toppled the old regime.<ref>Allen pp.7-10</ref>

By 1798, the society's activities had grown increasingly political. High ranking Democratic-Republican Aaron Burr saw Tammany Hall as an opportunity to counter Alexander Hamilton's Society of the Cincinnati.<ref name="tamboo">"Sachems & Sinners: An Informal History of Tammany Hall" Time (August 22, 1955)</ref> Eventually Tammany emerged as the center of Democratic-Republican Party politics in the city. Burr used Tammany Hall as a campaign asset during the election of 1800, in which he acted as Democratic-Republican campaign manager. Some historians believe that without Tammany, President John Adams might have won New York State's electoral votes and won reelection.<ref>Parmet and Hecht, pp. 149–150</ref>

Early cases of political corruption involving Tammany Hall came to light during the group's feud with local politician Dewitt Clinton. The feud began in 1802 after Clinton accused Aaron Burr of being a traitor to the Democratic-Republican Party.<ref name=":1">Myers, p. 17</ref> Clinton's uncle, George Clinton, was jealous of Burr's achievements and positions. However, George was too old to compete with young Aaron Burr, and so he left it to his nephew to topple Burr.<ref name=":1" /> One of Burr's political cohorts and the author of Burr's biography was a businessman, a newspaper editor, and a sachem of the Society named Matthew L. Davis. Other Burr operatives included William P. Van Ness and John Swartwout, the latter of whom dueled with De Witt Clinton in 1802 in New Jersey.<ref name="Allen pp. 13,14,18">Allen pp. 13,14,18</ref> In 1803, Clinton left the United States Senate and became Mayor of New York City.<ref name=ta21rtv>Myers, p. 21</ref> As mayor, Clinton enforced a spoils system and appointed his family and partisans to positions in the city's local government.<ref name=ta21rtv /> Tammany Hall soon realized its influence over the local political scene was no match for that of Clinton,<ref name=ta21rtv /> in part because Burr's support among New York City's residents greatly faded after he shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel.<ref name="ta22rtv">Myers, p. 28</ref> Tammany continued to support him for a time,<ref name=ta22rtv /> but eventually pressure from the public persuaded the organization to no longer affiliate themselves with Burr.

Matthew Davis would go on to refine the Society as a political machine beginning in 1805. The Society, with Davis's guidance, received a state charter as a charitable organization, organized the General Committee of Tammany Hall, and used the General Committee to decide leadership within the Democratic-Republican party in New York City from that point forward.<ref name="Allen pp. 13,14,18"/> In December 1805, Dewitt Clinton reached out to supporters of Burr in order to gain enough support to resist the influence of the powerful Livingston family.<ref name=ta22rtv /> The Livingston family, led by former New York City mayor Edward Livingston, backed New York Governor Morgan Lewis which presented a significant challenge to Clinton.<ref name=ta23rtv>Myers, p. 23</ref> The Tammany Hall Sachems agreed to meet with him in secret, on February 20, 1806.<ref name=ta23rtv /> and agreed under the condition that the Clintons would once again acknowledge Aaron Burr as a Democratic-Republican, and stop using "Burrism" as a reason to object to their ideas.<ref name=":1" /> The Clintons readily agreed to conditions, but had no plans on honoring those conditions. When the Sachems caught wind of this, the feud between Tammany Hall and Clinton continued.

Tammany Hall became a locally organized machine dedicated to stopping Clinton and Federalists from rising to power in New York.<ref name=ta24rtv>Myers, p. 24</ref> However, local Democratic-Republicans began to turn against Tammany Hall.<ref name="ta25rtv">Myers, p. 26</ref> From 1806-1809 the local Common Council was forced to crack down on Tammany Hall due to public demand. The resulting investigations found that a number of Tammany Officials were guilty of embezzlement and illegal activity.<ref name=ta28rtv>Myers, pp. 27–30</ref> For example, one official, Benjamin Romaine was found guilty of using his power to acquire land without paying and was ultimately removed from his office of City Comptroller despite the Council being controlled by Democrat-Republicans.<ref name="ta23rtv" /> Following the disclosures, the Federalists won control of the state legislature and the Democratic-Republican Party maintained a slim majority of the local government in New York City. Matthew Davis convinced other sachems to join him in a public relations stunt that provided income for the Society. The shallow graves of some Revolutionary War soldiers who died in British prison ships were located in Wallabout Bay (near the Brooklyn Navy Yard). Davis announced that the Society was going to provide proper burials for these soldiers with a monument dedicated to their memory on nearby land owned by a fellow sachem. The remains were reburied. The Society led a flotilla, on April 13, 1808, in thirteen boats, to Brooklyn, with each boat carrying a symbolic coffin. A dedication ceremony was held at Wallabout, and the state voted to provide the Society $1,000 to build a monument. The Society pocketed the money and the monument was never built.<ref>Allen p.21</ref> However, Tammany Hall did not learn their lesson,<ref name="ta22rtv" /> and instead of fixing the problem of corruption, Wortman, one of the chief powers at the time, created a committee consisting of one member from each ward that would investigate and report in general meetings who were friends, or enemies.<ref name="ta25rtv" />

During the years between 1809-1810, the feud between Tammany Hall, and Clintonites intensified, as each party continued attacking each other.<ref name="ta25rtv"/> One of the Clintonites, James Cheetham, wrote extensively about Tammany and its corrupt activities, using his position as State Printer and publishing his work in the American Citizen newspaper. Tammany Hall did not take lightly to these activities, and managed to remove Cheetham from his position of State Printer.<ref name=":2" /> At the same time, Clinton attempted to cooperate with Tammany Hall in order to create a state dominated by Democratic-Republicans. In an attempt to successfully persuade Tammany Sachems, he pulled his support for Cheetham, who was his protégé at the time.<ref name="ta22rtv" /> Cheetham's loss of Clinton's support angered him, and he responded by releasing details of Tammany and Clinton's attempts at cooperating to control the state. On September 18, 1810, James Cheetham died after an attack that was possibly Tammany-related.<ref name="ta22rtv" />

Between the years 1809 and 1815, Tammany Hall slowly revived itself by accepting immigrants and by secretly building a new wigwam to hold meetings whenever new Sachems were named. The Democratic-Republican Committee, a new committee which consisted of the most influential local Democratic Republicans, would now name the new Sachems as well.<ref name="ta338rtv">Myers, p. 38</ref> When Dewitt Clinton decided to run for president in 1811, Tammany Hall immediately accused Clinton of treason to his party, as well as attempting to create a family aristocracy. Even though New York State went to Clinton the following year, republicans could not help but see Clinton's actions as exactly what Tammany had accused them of being. With this most republicans in New York City turned from Clinton. When Tammany Hall positioned itself to support the War in 1812 and its support for the Embargo Act, many others who supported the war joined Tammany Hall. In fact, during this time, because of its success in establishing political opinion, Tammany Hall was able to grow stronger, and even gained support from Federalists members who supported the war.<ref name=":3">Myers, p. 36</ref> The Native American titles of the Society were disused during and after the War of 1812 in response to attacks from Native Americans on White Americans. During this time we see Tammany Hall's earliest application of its most notable technique- turning support away from opposing parties, and rewarding newly joined members.<ref name=":3" /> This was the case for Federalists who joined Tammany Hall. Tammany Hall managed to gain power, as well as reduce Clinton and his followers to just a small fraction.<ref>Myers, p. 35</ref> In 1815, Tammany Hall grand sachem John Ferguson defeated Dewitt Clinton and was elected mayor. In 1817, however, Clinton with his success on the Erie Canal project gained so much popularity, that despite his weak position after the War, and Tammany's immense efforts, once again became Governor of New York and Tammany Hall again, fell.<ref name=":4">Myers, p. 46</ref> Another factor leading to Clinton's popularity, was his patronage to the immigrants. The origins of Tammany Hall were based on representing "pure" or "native" Americans. This mean that the Hall totally dismissed the immigrants, such as the Irish and Germans, although the Germans were more politically averse. In 1817, April 24, discontent for this treatment led to a huge riot during a Tammany general committee session.<ref name=":4" /> Martin Van Buren and his Albany Regency soon began controlling the policy of Tammany Hall. This included pushing for the state referendum that eventually granted the right to vote in New York State to all free white men in 1821. After voting rights were expanded, Tammany Hall could further increase its political power.<ref>Allen pp.27-50</ref> Tammany Hall soon began to accept Irish immigrants as members and eventually became dependent on them to maintain viability as a political force.<ref name="Tweedfall" /> Until his death in 1828, Clinton would remain Governor of New York, with the exception of the two-year period of 1823–1824, and Tammany Hall's influence waned.

During the 1828 U.S. presidential election, Tammany Hall leaders met with Democratic candidate Andrew Jackson and agreed to endorse him after he promised to give them control over the allocation of some federal jobs.<ref name="jacktam">Template:Cite web</ref> After he was elected president, Jackson fulfilled his promise.<ref name=jacktam /> After 1829, Tammany Hall became the city affiliate of the Democratic Party, controlling most of the New York City elections afterwards.<ref name=uoqbvoaofy /> In the 1830s the Loco-Focos, an anti-monopoly and pro-labor faction of the Democratic Party, became Tammany's main rival for votes by appealing to workingmen, however, their political opponent remained the Whigs. During the 1834 New York City mayoral governor election, the first city election whereby the mayor was elected by the popular vote, both Tammany Hall and the Whig party, from their headquarters at the Masonic Hall, battled in the streets for votes and protected polling locations in their respective regions from known opposition voters.<ref>Allen pp. 42-43</ref> During the 1838 state election for governor, the rival Whig party imported voters from Philadelphia, paying $22 a head for votes in addition to paying for votes at their polling places. Tammany Hall operatives continued their practice of paying prisoners of the alms houses for votes and also paying for votes at their polling places.<ref>Allen pp. 36,48</ref> Throughout the 1830s and 1840s, the Society expanded its political control even further by earning the loyalty of the city's ever-expanding immigrant community, which functioned as a base of political capital.

The Tammany Hall "ward boss" served as the local vote gatherer and provider of patronage.<ref>New York City used the designation "ward" for its smallest political units from 1686–1938. The 1686 Dongan Charter divided the city into six wards and created a Common Council which consisted of an alderman and an assistant alderman elected from each ward. In 1821, the Common Council's authority was expanded so it would also elect the city's mayor, which had previously been appointed by the state government. In 1834, the state constitution was amended and required the city's mayor to be elected by direct popular vote. In 1834, Cornelius Van Wyck Lawrence, a pro-Tammany Democrat, would become the first mayor ever elected by popular vote in the city's history. See "A Brief History of Election Law in New York" on the Gotham Gazette website</ref> During the 1840s, hundreds of thousands of Irish immigrants arrived in New York City to escape the Great Irish Potato Famine and Tammany saw its power grow greatly.

Immigrant support

Tammany Hall's electoral base lay predominantly with New York's burgeoning immigrant constituency, which often exchanged political support for Tammany Hall's patronage. In pre-New Deal America, the extralegal services that Tammany and other urban political machines provided often served as a rudimentary public welfare system. At first, in the latter 1810s, immigrants were not allowed membership in Tammany Hall. However, after protests by Irish militants in 1817, and the invasion of several of their offices, Tammany Hall realized the potential influence Irish immigrants would have in the city. By the 1820s, Tammany Hall was accepting Irish immigrants as members of the group.<ref name=":0" /> German immigrants were also present in large numbers in the city at this time, but did not actively seek to participate in city politics.<ref>Allen</ref>Template:Full citation needed

However, Irish immigrants became even more influential during the mid 1840s to early 1850s. With the potato famine in Ireland, by 1850, more than 130,000 immigrants from Ireland lived in New York City.<ref name=":0" /> Since the newly arrived immigrants were in deep poverty, Tammany Hall provided them with employment, shelter, and even citizenship sometimes. For example, the group gave referrals to men looking for work, and legal aid to those who needed it. Tammany Hall would also provide food and financial aid to families with sick or injured breadwinners.<ref name=":0" /> In an example of their involvement in the lives of citizens, in the course of one day, Tammany figure George Washington Plunkitt assisted the victims of a house fire; secured the release of six drunks by speaking on their behalf to a judge; paid the rent of a poor family to prevent their eviction and gave them money for food; secured employment for four individuals; attended the funerals of two of his constituents (one Italian, the other Jewish); attended a Bar Mitzvah; and attended the wedding of a Jewish couple from his ward.<ref>Riordin, pp.91–93</ref> Tammany Hall took full advantage of the surplus in Irish immigrants to create a healthy relationship to gather more votes. By 1855, 34 percent of New York City's voter population was composed of Irish immigrants, and many Irish men came to dominate Tammany Hall. With this, Tammany Hall started its career as the powerful political machine we associate it with today.

Tammany Hall also served as a social integrator for immigrants by familiarizing them with American society and its political institutions and by helping them become naturalized citizens. One example was the naturalization process organized by William M. Tweed. Under Tweed's regime, "naturalization committees" were established. These committees were made up primarily of Tammany politicians and employees, and their duties consisted of filling out paperwork, providing witnesses, and lending immigrants money for the fees required to become citizens. Judges and other city officials were bribed and otherwise compelled to go along with the workings of these committees.<ref>Connable and Silberfarb, p.154</ref> In exchange for all these benefits, immigrants assured Tammany Hall they would vote for their candidates. By 1854, the support which Tammany Hall received from immigrants would firmly establish the organization as the leader of New York City's political scene. With the election of Fernando Wood, the first person to be supported by the Tammany Hall machine,<ref name=":0" /> as mayor in 1854, Tammany Hall would proceed to dominate The New York City political arena until Fiorello La Guardia's mayoralty after the election of 1934.

https://www.nydailynews.com/tammany-hall-article-1.800546

THEN & NOW TAMMANY HALL By ANTHONY CONNORS NEW YORK DAILY NEWS | MAR 01, 1998 | 12:00 AM

Political clubs, or machines, are as old as the Republic itself. Every major city had one Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia but theirs pale next to New York, where the most notorious of them all Tammany Hall ruled for more than 150 years. The origins of Tammany date to 1788, when an Irishman named William Mooney founded the Society of St. Tammany, or Columbus Order. Mooney took the name Tammany from a famous Indian chief of the day, Tamanend, and the organization adopted numerous Indian insignia and titles; for example, their meeting hall was called the wigwam. In its first decade, Tammany grew from a benevolent society to the principal Democratic political group in New York. At that time, meetings were held in their wigwam on Spruce St. In 1812, they moved to a space on Nassau St., and in 1868, Tammany hosted the Democratic National Convention at its new home at 145 E. 14th St. Throughout its history, Tammany Hall was a hotbed of corruption. The problem reached its zenith under the administration of boss William Tweed. From 1865 to 1871, it's believed that Tweed and his gang were responsible for as much as $200 million in frauds and thefts. Tweed was eventually tried and convicted; he escaped prison and fled to Europe, where he was caught and extradited to the U.

S. After the Tweed scandals, Tammany Hall reformed itself into a centrally directed political organizationthat controlled all major elective offices and municipal agencies throughout the state. In late 1928, Tammany Hall moved from 14th St. to a new wigwam on 17th St. and Union Square East, now a film school and theater. Corruption investigations in 1932 led to the resignation of Tammany boss Mayor Jimmy Walker,followed a year later by the election of the anti-Tammany candidate Fiorello LaGuardia. By 1945, Tammany was virtually powerless, and shortly afterward ceased to exist. Today, the Wigwam on 14th St. and Irving Place, once the seat of political power in this town, generates a very different kind of power as the corporate headquarters of Con Edison.

Citation Information

• The Reader’s Companion to American History. Eric Foner and John A. Garraty, Editors. Copyright © 1991 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
• URL https://www.history.com/topics/us-politics/tammany-hall Access Date

11 December 2019