Tammany
Manhattan political machine
Tammany refers to Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party political machine that dominated New York City politics from the early 19th century into the 20th.
The name became synonymous with urban political corruption, patronage, and boss rule: Tammany-style politics.
Its most notorious figure was William "Boss" Tweed.
The term now evokes machine politics generally—trading favors for votes, rewarding loyalists with government jobs, and concentrating power in unelected hands.
Patronage-based party structure
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- ward heelerLow-level political operative
- sachemIndigenous northeastern headman
- clubhouseMembers-only gathering place
smoke-filled room · party bosses · graft · kickbacks · Democratic Party · Irish Americans · immigrants · elections
Supporter's financial backing
- cloutInformal power or punch
- powerEnergy transfer rate
- controlAuthority to direct
- dominanceSuperior influence over others
leverage · grip · pull · jobs · contracts · loyalty · favors · protection
Corrupt payment for influence
- graftIllicit political gain
- embezzlementFraudulent taking of entrusted assets
- kickbacksIllegal return payments
- extortionObtaining through threats
cronyism · nepotism · fraud · racketeering · scandal · malfeasance · profiteering · collusion
Late 1800s American prosperity
- 19th centuryThe eighteen hundreds
- immigrantsThose settling abroad
- nativismPreference for native-born citizens
- reform movementOrganized push for systemic change
muckrakers · Thomas Nast · cartoons · Progressive Era · tenements · Lower East Side · decline · machine politics
political machine
Patronage-based party structure
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- ward heelerLow-level political operative
- sachemIndigenous northeastern headman
clubhouse · smoke-filled room · party bosses · graft · kickbacks · Democratic Party · Irish Americans · immigrants · elections · voting
patronage
Supporter's financial backing
dominance · leverage · grip · pull · jobs · contracts · loyalty · favors · protection · services
bribery
Corrupt payment for influence
- graftIllicit political gain
- embezzlementFraudulent taking of entrusted assets
- kickbacksIllegal return payments
extortion · cronyism · nepotism · fraud · racketeering · scandal · malfeasance · profiteering · collusion · vote buying
Gilded Age
Late 1800s American prosperity
- 19th centuryThe eighteen hundreds
- immigrantsThose settling abroad
- nativismPreference for native-born citizens
reform movement · muckrakers · Thomas Nast · cartoons · Progressive Era · tenements · Lower East Side · decline · machine politics
Tammanyreform
Improve by correcting faults
merit system · transparency · civic virtue · anti-corruption · muckrakers
TammanyProgressivism
Anti-corruption political movement
Grover Cleveland · muckrakers · reform movement · civic reform · direct democracy
- Tammany HallInfamous Democratic political machine