Tammany Hall
Notorious political machine
Tammany Hall was the Democratic Party political machine that dominated New York City politics from the mid-19th century through the 1960s.
The name evokes urban machine politics at its most corrupt—patronage, graft, and vote-buying: The whole operation ran like Tammany Hall.
Boss Tweed became its most notorious figure.
Any entrenched political organization trading favors for loyalty may be called a Tammany Hall.
Patronage-based party structure
- ward bossLocal party organizer
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- spoils systemAwarding posts to supporters
- kickbacksIllegal return payments
party bosses · graft · heeler · precinct captain · ballot stuffing · vote buying · rigged elections · party loyalty
Corrupt payment for influence
- embezzlementFraudulent taking of entrusted assets
- extortionObtaining through threats
- cronyismFavoring friends in appointments
- nepotismPreferring kin in hiring
scandal · fraud · racketeering · malfeasance · misconduct · graft · kickbacks · payoffs
Of Gaelic ancestry, stateside
- immigrantsThose settling abroad
- tenementsOvercrowded urban dwellings
- naturalizationLegal path to belonging
- voting blocsCoordinated electoral groups
newcomers · assimilation · social services · mutual aid · loyalty · block captains · neighborhood · community
NYC's densest borough
- Democratic PartyLiberal American political organization
- municipal governmentA city's administrative body
- aldermenElected municipal legislators
- mayorElected head of municipality
city council · borough · ward · district · Gilded Age · gaslight era · urban · metropolis
political machine
Patronage-based party structure
- ward bossLocal party organizer
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- spoils systemAwarding posts to supporters
party bosses · kickbacks · graft · heeler · precinct captain · ballot stuffing · vote buying · rigged elections · party loyalty · bloc voting
bribery
Corrupt payment for influence
- embezzlementFraudulent taking of entrusted assets
- extortionObtaining through threats
- cronyismFavoring friends in appointments
nepotism · scandal · fraud · racketeering · malfeasance · misconduct · graft · kickbacks · payoffs · shakedowns
Irish-American
Of Gaelic ancestry, stateside
- immigrantsThose settling abroad
- tenementsOvercrowded urban dwellings
- naturalizationLegal path to belonging
voting blocs · newcomers · assimilation · social services · mutual aid · loyalty · block captains · neighborhood · community · German-American
Manhattan
NYC's densest borough
- Democratic PartyLiberal American political organization
- municipal governmentA city's administrative body
- aldermenElected municipal legislators
mayor · city council · borough · ward · district · Gilded Age · gaslight era · urban · metropolis · saloons