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120-517: In 1916, Harry C. Rowe sold his 30-acre estate at Eastern Point to Charles W. Morse . Charles W. Morse was president of United States Steamship Company, which was the parent company of Groton Iron Works and Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation. 4,993 shares of the 5,000 total shares of Groton Iron Works stock was owned by United States Steamship Company. Qualifying shares were owned by the following: four shares by C.W. Morse and his three sons; one by Mr. Guggenheim; one by Mr. Loft; one unknown. $ 3,500,000

240-484: A Tammany hero, New York Governor Al Smith , won the Democratic presidential nomination. However, the organization also served as an engine for graft and political corruption , most infamously under William M. "Boss" Tweed in the mid-19th century. The Tammany ward boss or ward heeler ( wards were the city's smallest political units from 1786 to 1938) served as the local vote gatherer and provider of patronage. By

360-545: A close associate of F. Augustus Heinze , who became president of Mercantile National, and E. R. Thomas , a young man of large inherited fortune. Their influence grew—Heinze and Morse served as directors together on at least six national banks, 10 state banks, five trust companies and four insurance companies. By 1907, he was a member of the Consolidated Stock Exchange of New York , one of around 13,000. Along with Augustus Heinze's brothers, Morse helped create

480-407: A complex network of independent civic reform groups; each focused its lobbying efforts on its own particular reform agenda. The membership included civic-minded, well-educated middle-class men and women, usually with expert skills in a profession or business, who deeply distrusted the corruption of the machines. The consolidation of Brooklyn, western Queens County and Staten Island with Manhattan and

600-518: A duel . Tammany continued to support him for a time, 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

720-560: A family aristocracy. Even though New York State voted for Clinton the following year, Democratic-Republicans could not help but see Clinton's actions as being exactly what Tammany had accused them of. With this, most Democratic-Republicans in New York City turned away from Clinton. When Tammany Hall positioned itself to support the War of 1812 and to support the Embargo Act, many others who supported

840-512: A general housecleaning, and former county sheriff "Honest John" Kelly was selected as the new leader. Kelly was not implicated in the Tweed scandals and was a religious Catholic related by marriage to Archbishop John McCloskey . He cleared Tammany of Tweed's people and tightened the Grand Sachem's control over the hierarchy. His success at revitalizing the machine was such that in the election of 1874,

960-465: 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. Tammany Hall took full advantage of the burgeoning numbers of Irish immigrants to gather more votes. By 1855, 34 percent of New York City's voter population

1080-461: A lesser amount for patrolmen). On election day, he gave his policemen some time off to vote, during which time his affiliated Dead Rabbits gang protected polling places. Wood won his second term. The Republicans, who made gains upstate, created a new state charter for New York City in response to this concentration of power in one man, which included more elected (instead of appointed) city department heads and officers. The Republicans also consolidated

1200-450: A major role in the state legislature in Albany. Tammany, for example, from the 1880s onward built a strong network of local clubs that attracted ambitious middle-class ethnics. In times of crisis however, especially in the severe depressions of the 1890s and the 1930s, the reformers took control of key offices, notably the mayor's office. The reformers were never unified; they operated through

1320-422: A mayor. Hewitt had also offended Irish voters by deciding not to review a St. Patrick's Day parade they requested of him. Grant allowed Croker free run of the city's contracts and offices, creating a vast patronage machine beyond anything Tweed had ever dreamed of a status which continued under Grant's successor, Thomas Francis Gilroy . With such resources of money and manpower – the entire city workforce of 1,200

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1440-560: A monopoly in New York's ice business, before buying several shipping companies and moving into high finance. His attempt to manipulate the price of copper-shares set off a wave of selling that developed into the Panic of 1907 . Jailed for violating federal banking laws, he faked serious illness and was released. Later he was indicted for war profiteering and fraud. Morse was born in Bath, Maine , in 1856,

1560-541: A panel of Army doctors declared that he suffered from Bright's disease and other maladies and would soon die if he remained in prison. Taft signed his pardon, and Morse departed for medical treatment at Wiesbaden . However, it soon became known to the Justice Department that he had feigned illness by drinking a combination of soapsuds and chemicals. Taft later said that the case "shakes one's faith in expert examination." On his return from Europe , Morse returned to

1680-460: A political force. 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. After he was elected president, Jackson fulfilled his promise. After 1829, Tammany Hall became the city affiliate of the Democratic Party, controlling most of

1800-476: A pool of money to drive up and corner the stock of United Copper . On October 15, 1907 this corner failed so spectacularly that depositors with Morse's banks began to pull out their deposits. On October 20, the New York Clearing House, which had a critical role clearing checks between banks, forced Morse to resign from his banking interests. This did not stop the panic, however, which went on to topple

1920-465: A protégé of Murphy who became the boss in the Bronx, said Murphy always advised that politicians should have nothing to do with gambling or prostitution and should steer clear of involvement with the police department or the school system. A new challenge to Tammany came from William Randolph Hearst , a powerful newspaper publisher who wanted to be president. Hearst was elected to Congress with Tammany support,

2040-511: A purchase of a pauper's burial ground on Ward's Island and the sale of city property occupying Gansevoort Market near the western end of 14th Street to Reuben Lovejoy, an associate of James B. Taylor, a friend of many of the Aldermen. Other deals included expensive fireworks displays and bribes for ferry and railroad operations (Jacob Sharp for the Wall Street Ferry and various applicants for

2160-576: A separate police force, the Metropolitan Police, from the police forces of Kings, Richmond, and Westchester counties. The Republicans in the state legislature also moved the city mayoral elections to odd years, making the next election for mayor in December 1857. A power struggle followed between Wood's Municipal Police and the newly created Metropolitan Police, as well as between the Dead Rabbits and

2280-578: A setback when, fueled by the public hearings on police corruption held by the Lexow Committee based on the evidence uncovered by the Rev. Charles Parkhurst when he explored the city's demi monde undercover, a Committee of Seventy was organized by Council of Good Government Clubs to break the stranglehold that Tammany had on the city. Full of some of the city's richest men – J.P. Morgan , Cornelius Vanderbilt II , Abram Hewitt and Elihu Root , among others –

2400-445: A springboard to other appointments, and to have his friends placed in various offices. From this position of strength, he was elected "Grand Sachem" of Tammany, which he then used to take functional control of the city government. With his protégés elected governor of the state and mayor of the city, Tweed was able to expand the corruption and kickbacks of his "Ring" into practically every aspect of city and state governance. Although Tweed

2520-630: A steamship. During World War I he was president of the United States Steamship Company, which was the parent company of Groton Iron Works and Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation. The Virginia Shipbuilding Company won contracts to build 36 vessels for the war effort. The freighters were ordered by the United States Shipping Board , and Morse borrowed from the Emergency Fleet Corporation funds to carry out

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2640-446: A summer home in Bath, Maine. Their marriage was annulled, however, in 1904 when it was determined that Clemence's divorce from her first husband, Charles F. Dodge, was not legal and she was therefore still married to him. Undeterred, she was represented by Samuel Untermyer , who restored her marital rights; she remained devotedly at the side of Morse until her death in 1926. Morse returned to

2760-471: A target of prohibitionists and reformers. At the start of the 1850s, the city economy began to pick up and Tammany members would profit. The City Council of New York during these years would be known as the most corrupt up to this time. The new City Council of 1852 swept in Tammany politicians to replace the outgoing Whig ones, who did little with their power. The new council was made up of two sets of 20 members,

2880-480: A third of the vote. After the war, Mozart Hall aligned itself more closely with Tammany, and gradually lost influence. It disbanded in 1867. Tammany's control over the politics of New York City tightened considerably under Tweed. In 1858, Tweed capitalized on the efforts of Republican reformers to rein in the Democratic city government to obtain a position on the County Board of Supervisors, which he then used as

3000-526: A traitor to the Democratic-Republican Party. 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. 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,

3120-656: A twenty-member Board of Aldermen and a twenty-member Board of Assistant Aldermen. This new council would be known as the Forty Thieves. Each Alderman had the power to appoint police (including precinct officers) and license saloons within his district. Together, the Aldermen possessed the power to grant franchises for streetcar lines and ferries. Each Alderman also sat as judge in criminal courts, determining who sat for juries and choosing which cases came to trial. On paper, these aldermen received no pay. A number of real estate deals followed with suspicious transaction amounts, including

3240-549: The Brooklyn Bridge was begun, land was set aside for the Metropolitan Museum of Art , orphanages and almshouses were constructed, and social services – both directly provided by the state and indirectly funded by state appropriations to private charities – expanded to unprecedented levels. All of this activity, of course, also brought great wealth to Tweed and his friends. It also brought them into contact and alliance with

3360-472: 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, in fact, 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 Bay and

3480-641: The French First Republic after the French Revolution toppled the Ancien Régime ("old rule"), in 1793. 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 . Eventually Tammany emerged as the center of Democratic-Republican Party politics in

3600-714: The Knickerbocker Trust Company , New York's third largest trust, and led to financial turmoil across the country through November. The Morse-controlled steamship lines went into receivership, for varying periods, in February 1908. Indicted by United States District Attorney Henry L. Stimson , Morse was convicted of misappropriating funds from a bank. He was sentenced to 15 years in the Atlanta federal penitentiary in November 1908 but remained free on appeal. On October 8, 1909,

3720-776: The Metropolitan Steamship Company from the Whitney interests in 1906. He organized the Consolidated Steamship Company in January 1907 as a holding company for the Eastern Steamship Company, Metropolitan Steamship Company, Clyde Steamship Company and Mallory Steamship Company. Despite an initial announcement of such a sale, Morse failed in an attempt to purchase the Long Island Sound steamers of

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3840-673: The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad . He did, however, acquire control of the New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company and the New York and Porto Rico Steamship Company in 1907. He parlayed this success into a prominent role in high finance in New York City. Morse controlled the National Bank of North America and the New Amsterdam National Bank and was a large owner of the Mercantile National Bank . He became

3960-669: The Tammany Society . It became the main local political machine of the Democratic Party and played a major role in controlling New York City and New York state politics. It helped immigrants, most notably the Irish , rise in American politics from the 1850s into the 1960s. Tammany usually controlled Democratic nominations and political patronage in Manhattan for over 100 years following

4080-480: The War Assets Administration . Purchase price was $ 911,999. Charles W. Morse Charles Wyman Morse (October 21, 1856 – January 12, 1933) was an American businessman and speculator who committed frauds and engaged in corrupt business practices. At one time he controlled 13 banks. Known as the " Ice King " early in his career out of New York City , through Tammany Hall corruption he established

4200-485: The "boss". Charles Murphy was the highly effective but quiet boss of Tammany Hall from 1902 until his death in 1924. "Big Tim" Sullivan was the Tammany leader in the Bowery and the machine's spokesman in the state legislature. Republican local organizations were much weaker, but they played key roles in forming reform coalitions. Most of the time they looked to Albany and Washington for their sphere of influence. Seth Low ,

4320-603: 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. During the 1840s, hundreds of thousands of Irish immigrants arrived in New York City to escape the Great Famine and Tammany saw its power grow greatly. 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,

4440-884: The 1840s for Tammany Hall, which became preoccupied with fights between political gangs fighting over turf. These gangs included the Dead Rabbits , the Bowery Boys , Mike Walsh's Spartan Association, the Roach Guards , the Plug Uglies, the Wide-Awakes, and Captain Isaiah Rynders ' Empire Club. Rynders was the leader of Tammany's Sixth Ward and a member of the General Committee who was also said to have been responsible for coordinating all political-related gang activity. Many of these leaders coordinated their activities from saloons, which became

4560-519: The 1880s, Tammany was building local clubs that appealed to social activists from the ethnic middle class. At its peak the machine had the advantage of a core of solid supporters, and usually exercised control of politics and policymaking in Manhattan; it also played a major role in the state legislature in Albany . Charles Murphy acted as boss from 1902 to 1924. "Big Tim" Sullivan was the Tammany leader in

4680-413: The Bowery , and the machine's spokesman in the state legislature. In the early 20th century, the two men promoted Tammany as a reformed agency dedicated to the interests of the working class. The new image deflected attacks and secured a following among the emerging ethnic middle class. In the process Robert F. Wagner became a powerful United States Senator , and Al Smith served four terms as governor and

4800-410: The Bronx in 1898 multiplied the power of these reform groups, so long as they could agree on a common agenda, such as consolidation itself. There was no citywide machine. Instead, Democratic machines flourished in each of the boroughs, with Tammany Hall in Manhattan the most prominent. They typically had strong local organizations, known as "political clubs", as well as one prominent leader often called

4920-474: The Common Council's authority was expanded so it would also elect the city's mayor, who had previously been appointed by the state government. In 1834, the state constitution was amended to require the city's mayor to be elected by direct popular vote. Also 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. Throughout

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5040-634: The Consolidated Ice Company in 1897 and went into the ice business . In 1899 he merged it with several other companies to form the American Ice Company which, grossly overcapitalized at $ 60 million, held a virtual monopoly for ice in New York. Morse quickly became known as "The Ice King". At that time commercial ice was cut from frozen rivers, much of it in Morse's native state of Maine. On May 1, 1900, Morse attempted to use his monopoly to raise

5160-613: The General Committee to decide leadership within the Democratic-Republican party in New York City from that point forward. In December 1805, Dewitt Clinton reached out to Burr's supporters to gain enough support to resist the influence of the powerful Livingston family. The Livingstons, led by former New York City mayor Edward Livingston , backed New York Governor Morgan Lewis, who presented a significant challenge to Clinton. The Tammany Hall sachems agreed to meet with Clinton in secret, on February 20, 1806, and agreed to back him, on

5280-606: The Loco-Focos and the conservatives of the Hall. At the age of 28, in 1840, Wood was put up by Tammany Hall for a U.S. congressional seat, which he won. After Wood's service in Congress, he became a successful businessman through real estate dealings and was elected mayor of New York City in 1854. William Tweed said of Wood, "I never yet went to get a corner lot that I didn't find Wood had got in ahead of me." In his first term as mayor, Wood ensured

5400-507: The New York City elections afterwards. 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, Tammany's political opponent remained the Whigs. During the 1834 New York City mayoral governor election, the first city election in which the popular vote elected the mayor, both Tammany Hall and

5520-772: The People's Line, established in 1835, and the Citizens' Line, established in 1872 - and organized the Hudson Navigation Company to operate them. They were collectively known as the Hudson River Night Line. The People's Line named its new 411-foot steamer C.W. Morse in his honor in 1904. (Morse's uncle James Thomas Morse, his father's brother, was the namesake of the Rockland- Bar Harbor, Maine , steamer J.T. Morse , also built in 1904. ) Morse acquired control of

5640-401: The Tammany candidate, William H. Wickham , succeeded the unpopular outgoing reformist incumbent, William F. Havemeyer (who died shortly thereafter), and Democrats generally won their races, delivering control of the city back to Tammany Hall. A noted statue of John Kelly is located in the hall, the work of Irish sculptor Robert Cushing . The mayoral election of 1886 was a seminal one for

5760-585: The Third Avenue railroad). Aldermen would also resort to creating strike legislation to obtain quick cash: a spurious bill would be introduced that would obviously financially harm someone, who would then complain to legislators. These legislators would then kill the bill in committee for a fee. As the press became aware of the Forty Thieves tactics, a reform movement instigated for a change in the city charter in June 1853 so that city work and supply contracts were awarded to

5880-544: 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. 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

6000-485: The aftermath of the riot, and disgruntled insiders began to leak the details of the extent and scope of the Tweed Ring's avarice to the newspapers. Specifically, O'Brien forwarded the city's financial accounts to The New York Times . The New York Times , at that time the only Republican associated paper in the city, was then able to reinforce stories they had previously published against the ring. The Committee of Seventy

6120-441: The almshouses for votes and also paying for votes at their polling places. The Tammany Hall " ward boss " served as the local vote gatherer and provider of patronage. New York City used the designation "ward" for its smallest political units from 1686 to 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,

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6240-685: The assets of the Metropolitan Steamship Company were sold at foreclosure sale to John W. McKinnon of Chicago. The company was reincorporated three days later in Maine with Morse as president. The Metropolitan Steamship Company and Maine Steamship Company were consolidated with the Eastern Steamship Company in 1911 to form Eastern Steamship Corporation. This concern went into receivership in 1914 and emerged in 1917 as Eastern Steamship Lines . Having exhausted his legal appeals, Morse departed for Atlanta penitentiary on January 2, 1910. In Atlanta he

6360-469: The backing of James Gordon Bennett 's New York Tribune , as the champion of workingclass Irish and German immigrants against the "kid glove, scented, silk stocking, poodle-headed, degenerate aristocracy." The Republicans attempted to combine their efforts with Tammany, but the deal could not be consummated, making it a three-candidate race, which Wood won with 38.3% of the vote. It was Wood's second and last term as mayor, serving until 1862. Mozart Hall

6480-557: The boss of Tammany Hall. Having formed a holding company called the Ice Securities Company, Morse manipulated its stock and left the ice business with a profit of some $ 12 million. On June 18, 1901 he married Clemence Dodge, a divorcee from Atlanta, at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. The Morses lived at 724 Fifth Avenue , before moving to Lakewood Township, New Jersey . They maintained

6600-487: 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. 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

6720-488: The committee supported William L. Strong , a millionaire dry-goods merchant, for mayor, and forced Tammany's initial candidate, merchant Nathan Straus , co-owner of Macy's and Abraham & Straus , from the election by threatening to ostracize him from New York society. Tammany then put-up Hugh Grant again, despite his being publicly dirtied by the police scandals. Backed by the committee's money, influence and their energetic campaign, and helped by Grant's apathy, Strong won

6840-682: 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. The Clintons readily agreed to these conditions, but did not intend to honor them. When the Sachems caught wind of this, the feud between Tammany Hall and Clinton resumed. Tammany Hall became a locally organized machine dedicated to stopping Clinton and Federalists from rising to power in New York. However, local Democratic-Republicans began to turn against Tammany Hall. From 1806 to 1809 public opinion forced

6960-503: The contracts. Ultimately, 22 of the ships were completed; the other 14 were cancelled. Morse controlled the Hudson Navigation Company until its bankruptcy in 1921. The receivers quickly changed the name of the C.W. Morse to Fort Orange . In 1922 Morse was accused of misrepresentation of his facilities for ship construction; misapplication of funds intended for the building of ships to the building of shipyards; misappropriation of equipment for his own purposes; and failure to turn over to

7080-575: 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

7200-515: The early 1870s. Platt was the key organizer of most of these committees, the first of which was the Fassett Committee of 1890. This first committee featured testimony from Croker's brother-in-law, revealing gifts of cash surrounding his hotel business. The recorded testimonies resulted in no indictments and the Democrats would not suffer in the elections of 1890 or 1892. In 1894, Tammany suffered

7320-411: The effects of the organisation, Tammany was frequently criticised in the 19th century for being directly responsible for the nativism , anti-Catholic sentiment , and the rise of the Know Nothing Party in the preceding century due to fears about Tammany's influence and tactics. The Tammany Society was founded in New York on May 12, 1789, originally as a branch of a wider network of Tammany Societies ,

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7440-425: The election handily, and spent the next three years running the city on the basis of "business principles", pledging an efficient government and the return of morality to city life. The election was a Republican sweep statewide: Levi Morton , a millionaire banker from Manhattan, won the governorship, and the party also ended up in control of the legislature. Croker was absent from the city for three years starting at

7560-430: The election of Fernando Wood , the first person to be supported by the Tammany Hall machine, 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 1933. After Fernando Wood's losing reelection run for U.S. Congress in 1842, he left politics for a while to work on his shipping business. A power vacuum of sorts existed through

7680-433: The end of the war. On 23 July 1922, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad leased the property for use as a locomotive repair facility. On 30 January 1926, Hickman Sea Sled announced the lease of the jointer shop building. On 25 January 1927, Atlantic Coast Fisheries purchased the northern section of the property from Boston Iron and Metal Company, to fillet, freeze and package haddock. In 1929 they purchased

7800-539: The exception of the two-year period of 1823–1824, and Tammany Hall's influence waned. 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. Tammany Hall soon began to accept Irish immigrants as members and eventually became dependent on them to maintain viability as

7920-485: The extralegal services that Tammany and other urban political machines provided often served as a rudimentary public welfare system . Irish immigrants became even more influential during the mid-1840s to early 1850s. With the Great Famine in Ireland, by 1850, more than 130,000 immigrants from Ireland lived in New York City. Since the newly arrived immigrants were in deep poverty, Tammany Hall provided them with employment, shelter, and even citizenship sometimes. For example,

8040-419: 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. In exchange for all these benefits, immigrants assured Tammany Hall they would vote for their candidates. By 1854, the support Tammany Hall received from immigrants would firmly establish the organization as the leader of New York City's political scene. With

8160-434: The feud between Tammany Hall and the Clintonites intensified, as each party continued attacking each other. 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 as State Printer. At

8280-472: The first of which had been formed in Philadelphia in 1772. The society was originally developed as a club for "pure Americans". 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 . Although Mooney claimed

8400-513: The fold those elements outraged by the reformers' attempt to outlaw Sunday drinking and otherwise enforce their own authoritarian moral concepts on immigrant populations with different cultural outlooks. Tammany's candidate, Robert A. Van Wyck , easily outpolled Seth Low , the reform candidate backed by the Citizens Union, and Tammany was back in control. Its supporters marched through the city's streets chanting, "Well, well, well, Reform has gone to Hell!" A final state investigation began in 1899 at

8520-666: The future of the labor political movement, but the ULP was not to last, and was never able to bring about a new paradigm in the city's politics. Tammany had once again succeeded and survived. More than that, Croker realized that he could use the techniques of the well-organized election campaign that the ULP had run. Because Tammany's ward-heelers controlled the saloons, the new party had used "neighborhood meetings, streetcorner rallies, campaign clubs, Assembly District organizations, and trade legions – an entire political counterculture" to run their campaign. Croker now took these innovations for Tammany's use, creating political clubhouses to take

8640-626: The government the profits of ships it had leased to him. Indicted for war profiteering and fraud, soon after he was confronted with charges of mail fraud involving sales solicitations for stock of the United States Shipping Company. The trial on the war profiteering charges resulted in an acquittal, but a civil suit in 1925 against the Virginia Shipbuilding Company resulted in a judgment for the government of over $ 11.5 million. The mail fraud case against Morse ended when he

8760-426: 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. 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

8880-401: The hours needed to support it. Hewitt turned out to be a terrible mayor for Croker, due to his nativist views, and in 1888 Tammany ran Croker's hand-picked choice, Hugh J. Grant , who became the first New York-born Irish American mayor. Although Hewitt ran an efficient government, Croker viewed Hewitt as being too self-righteous and did not grant Croker the patronage jobs he was expecting from

9000-628: The latter of whom dueled with De Witt Clinton in 1802 in New Jersey. In 1803, Clinton left the United States Senate and became Mayor of New York City. As mayor, Clinton enforced a spoils system and appointed his family and partisans to positions in the city's local government. Tammany Hall soon realized its influence over the local political scene was no match for that of Clinton, in part because Burr's support among New York City's residents greatly faded after he shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in

9120-529: The local Common Council to crack down on Tammany Hall. The resulting investigations found that a number of Tammany officials were guilty of embezzlement and illegal activity. For example, one official, Benjamin Romaine was found guilty of using his power to acquire land without payment and was ultimately removed from his office as City Comptroller despite the Council being controlled by Democratic-Republicans. Following

9240-410: The lowest bidder, franchises were awarded to the highest bidder, and bribery was punished harshly. Fernando Wood attempted several small business ventures in the city during the 1830s while simultaneously increasing his involvement with Tammany Hall. These early business attempts failed, but by 1836, at the age of 24, he became a member of the Society and became known for resolving the dispute between

9360-747: The mayoral victory of Fernando Wood in 1854, and used its patronage resources to build a loyal, well-rewarded core of district and precinct leaders; after 1850, the vast majority were Irish Catholics due to mass immigration from Ireland during and after the Irish Famine of the late 1840s. After 1854, it expanded its political control even further by earning the loyalty of the city's rapidly expanding immigrant community, which functioned as its base of political capital. The business community appreciated its readiness, at moderate cost, to cut through regulatory and legislative mazes to facilitate rapid economic growth. By 1872, Tammany had an Irish Catholic "boss". In 1928,

9480-558: The nativist Bowery Boys . Tammany Hall did not put Wood up for reelection in December 1857 in light of the Panic of 1857 and a scandal involving him and his brother, Benjamin Wood . As a result of the scandal, Fernando Wood left or was expelled from Tammany in 1858 to form a third party, the Mozart Hall Democracy, or Mozart Hall , named after their building at the corner of Broadway and Bleecker Street. Wood ran for mayor in 1859, with

9600-570: The new party were a direct threat to their own status as the putative champions of the working man. Having inadvertently provoked George into running, Tammany now needed to field a strong candidate against him, which required the cooperation of the Catholic Church in New York, which was the key to getting the support of middle-class Irish American voters. Richard Croker , Kelly's right-hand man, had succeeded Kelly as Grand Sachem of Tammany, and he understood that he would also need to make peace with

9720-449: The non-Tammany "Swallowtail" faction of the Democratic Party to avoid the threat that George and the ULP posed, which was the potential re-structuring of the city's politics along class lines and away from the ethnic-based politics which had been Tammany's underpinning all along. To bring together these disparate groups, Croker nominated Abram Hewitt as the Democratic candidate for mayor. Not only

9840-519: The onset of the Lexow Committee, residing in his homes in Europe. Still, Tammany could not be kept down for long, and in 1898 Croker, aided by the death of Henry George – which took the wind out of the sails of the potential re-invigoration of the political labor movement – and returned from his stay in Europe, shifted the Democratic Party enough to the left to pick up labor's support, and pulled back into

9960-516: The organization. Union activists had founded the United Labor Party (ULP), which nominated political economist Henry George , the author of Progress and Poverty , as its standard-bearer. George was initially hesitant about running for office but was convinced to do so after Tammany secretly offered him a seat in Congress if he would stay out of the mayoral race. Tammany had no expectation of George being elected but knew that his candidacy and

10080-417: The place of the saloons and involving women and children by sponsoring family excursions and picnics. The New Tammany appeared to be more respectable, and less obviously connected to saloonkeepers and gang leaders, and the clubhouses, one in every Assembly District, were also a more efficient way of providing patronage work to those who came looking for it; one simply had to join the club, and volunteer to put in

10200-468: The police force was responsive to his needs and convinced commissioners to allow him to fire officers not performing their duties. He was then accused of only hiring Democrats to replace those fired officers. Wood defied tradition and ran for a second term as mayor in 1856, which irked some of his Tammany associates. During the campaign, his police force acted as his henchmen and Wood took a portion of their salary for his war chest ($ 15 to $ 25 for captains and

10320-707: 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. 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. It also hosted Edmond-Charles Genêt , representative of

10440-420: The president of Columbia University, was elected the reform mayor in 1901. He lacked the common touch and lost much of his working-class support when he listened to dry Protestants eager to crack down on the liquor business. Murphy wanted to clean up Tammany's image and sponsored progressive era reforms benefiting the working class through his two protégés, Governor Al Smith and Robert F. Wagner . Ed Flynn ,

10560-471: The price of ice. The plan backfired, however, and it was revealed by the New York Journal and Advertiser that Morse had obtained special privileges from Tammany Hall to run his business, and in exchange Robert Van Wyck ( New York City 's first mayor over the five united boroughs) had been given a substantial ownership share in the ice companies (by then known as the "Ice Trust") as had Richard Croker ,

10680-511: The prompting of newly elected Theodore Roosevelt. This Mazet Investigation was chaired by Republican assemblyman Robert Mazet and led by chief counsel Frank Moss , who had also participated in the Lexow Committee. The investigation revealed further detail about Croker's corporate alliances and also yielded memorable quotes from police chief William Stephen Devery and Croker. This was also the committee that began probing Croker about his holdings in ice companies. Despite occasional defeats, Tammany

10800-650: The realm of shipping in 1901 when he established the Eastern Steamship Company as a consolidation of three existing lines. These were the Boston and Bangor Steamship Company, dating from 1834; the Portland Steam Packet Company, organized in 1843; and the International Steamship Company, established in 1859. In 1902 Morse acquired control of both overnight steamboat lines on the Hudson River -

10920-498: The remaining property, then sold some to Shell Oil Company for the construction of a distributing center with seven tanks. In January, 1941, a syndicate headed by Alfred Holter purchased most of the property, intending to build freighters for Britain. Purchase price was $ 550,000 cash. On 5 February 1942, the US Navy purchased the property from Alfred Holter and Shell Oil Company for $ 222,000 using condemnation proceedings. $ 9.5 million

11040-591: The restoration of the Union as it existed before the war with slavery in place, or, alternately, peace without reunion (espoused by an extreme faction). William M. Tweed , most of Tammany's politicians, and many prominent businessmen were in the "War" faction, while Mozart Hall was the center of the "Peace" Democrats in New York. While the division between Tammany and Mozart had worked in Wood's favor in 1859, in 1861 it caused Republican George Opdyke to be elected, over Wood and Tammany's C. Godfrey Gunther , with barely more than

11160-545: The rich elite of the city, who either fell in with the graft and corruption, or else tolerated it because of Tammany's ability to control the immigrant population, of whom the " uppertens " of the city were wary. James Watson, who was a county auditor in Comptroller Dick Connolly 's office and who also held and recorded the ring's books, died a week after his head was smashed by a horse in a sleigh accident on January 21, 1871. Although Tweed guarded Watson's estate in

11280-464: The same time, Clinton attempted to cooperate with Tammany Hall in order to create a state dominated by Democratic-Republicans. In an attempt to persuade Tammany sachems, he pulled his support for Cheetham, who was his protégé at the time. 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

11400-401: The shipping business. He still controlled the Hudson Navigation Company, which had not been involved in the crash of the Consolidated Steamship Company in 1907. Morse announced on January 11, 1916, plans for a new transoceanic steamship line, which he organized as the United States Shipping Company. This holding company exchanged its stock for that of 16 subsidiary companies, each organized around

11520-502: The skill behind Tweed's system ... The Tweed ring at its height was an engineering marvel, strong and solid, strategically deployed to control key power points: the courts, the legislature, the treasury and the ballot box. Its frauds had a grandeur of scale and an elegance of structure: money-laundering, profit sharing and organization. Under "Boss" Tweed's dominance, the city expanded into the Upper East and Upper West Sides of Manhattan,

11640-737: The son of Benjamin Wyman and Anna Eliza Jane (Rodbird) Morse. His father had a large role in the towing business on the Kennebec River . Charles was already involved in the shipping business while a student at Bowdoin College , and at his graduation in 1877 he had accumulated a sizable capital. After college he went into business with his father and a cousin, Harry F. Morse, forming C.W. Morse & Company and engaging in an extensive business shipping ice and lumber. As his business interests grew, Morse moved to Boston and, in 1897, New York City . He organized

11760-444: The state voted to provide the Society $ 1,000 to build a monument. The Society pocketed the money and the monument was never built. However, Tammany Hall did not learn their lesson, 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. During 1809–1810,

11880-421: 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 it to be "[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. The Society had

12000-556: 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 Federalist members who supported the war. 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. This

12120-523: The week prior to Watson's death, and although another ring member attempted to destroy Watson's records, a replacement auditor, Matthew O'Rourke, associated with former sheriff James O'Brien provided city accounts to O'Brien. Further, Tammany demonstrated inability to control Irish laborers in the Orange riot of 1871 that also began Tweed's downfall. Campaigns to topple Tweed by The New York Times and Thomas Nast of Harper's Weekly began to gain traction in

12240-572: Was Hewitt the leader of the Swallowtails, but he was noted philanthropist Peter Cooper 's son-in-law and had an impeccable reputation. To counter both George and Hewitt, the Republicans put up Theodore Roosevelt , the former state assemblyman. In the end, Hewitt won the election, with George out-polling Roosevelt, whose total was some 2,000 votes less than the Republicans had normally received. Despite their second-place finish, things seemed bright for

12360-467: Was a major player in city politics through the 1860s and was successful in getting additional school wards for German communities. During the Civil War , Democrats were divided between " War Democrats " – who wanted victory on the battlefield but objected to what they considered radical Republican legislation and the erosion of civil rights by Abraham Lincoln – and " Peace Democrats ", who favored

12480-474: Was a prisoner alongside Charles Ponzi , who would go on to create an eponymous fraudulent financial scheme, the Ponzi scheme , and earn a legacy as one of the most famous swindlers in American history. Because of Morse's wealth and connections, he launched a campaign of lawyers, lobbyists and famous journalists like Clarence W. Barron who urged President William Howard Taft for leniency. In 1912 Morse became ill, and

12600-474: Was adjudged too ill to stand trial, and his sons were acquitted. On April 14, 1884, he married Hattie Bishop Hussey of Brooklyn, New York (granddaughter of Maine shipbuilder T. J. Southard ). They had three sons (Benjamin W., Harry F., and Irwin A.) a daughter (Anna, who married Dr. John W. Geiger), and died in 1897. His second wife, Clemence Dodge, née Cowles, died in July 1926. Suffering from paralysis, Morse

12720-455: Was also extended once again to the state legislature, where a similar patronage system to the city's was established after Tammany took control in 1892. With the Republican boss, Thomas Platt , adopting the same methods, the two men between them essentially controlled the state. The 1890s began with a series of what would be three political investigations into Tammany operations, reminiscent of

12840-602: Was composed of Irish immigrants, and many Irish men came to dominate Tammany Hall. 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

12960-476: Was consistently able to survive and prosper. Under leaders such as Charles Francis Murphy and Timothy Sullivan , it maintained control of Democratic politics in the city and the state. The politics of the consolidated city from 1898 to 1945 revolved around conflicts between the political machines and the reformers. In quiet times the machines had the advantage of the core of solid supporters and usually exercised control of city and borough affairs; they also played

13080-501: Was elected mayor on a Fusion ticket and became the first anti-Tammany mayor to be re-elected. A brief resurgence in Tammany power in the 1950s, under the leadership of Carmine DeSapio , was met with Democratic opposition, led by Eleanor Roosevelt , Herbert Lehman , and the New York Committee for Democratic Voters. By the mid-1960s, Tammany Hall had ceased to exist. Although not common in modern interpretations and evaluations of

13200-547: Was elected to the State Senate, his true sources of power were his appointed positions to various branches of the city government. These positions gave him access to city funds and contractors, thereby controlling public works programs. This benefitted his pocketbook and those of his friends, but also provided jobs for the immigrants, especially Irish laborers, who were the electoral base of Tammany's power. According to Tweed biographer Kenneth D. Ackerman: It's hard not to admire

13320-410: Was essentially available to him when needed – Croker was able to neutralize the Swallowtails permanently. He also developed a new stream of income from the business community, which was provided with "one stop shopping": instead of bribing individual officeholders, businesses, especially the utilities, could go directly to Tammany to make their payments, which were then directed downward as necessary; such

13440-586: Was formed in September 1871 by prominent reformers to examine the misdeeds of the Tweed ring. Tweed was arrested and tried in 1872. After he died in Ludlow Street Jail in 1878, political reformers took over the city and state governments. Following Tweed's arrest, Tammany survived, but was no longer controlled by Protestants and was now dependent on leadership from bosses of Irish descent. Tammany did not take long to rebound from Tweed's fall. Reforms demanded

13560-533: Was his patronage of immigrants. The origins of Tammany Hall were based on representing "pure" or "native" Americans. This meant that the Hall dismissed immigrants such as the Irish and Germans, although the Germans were more politically averse. On April 24, 1817, discontent with this treatment led to a huge riot during a Tammany general committee session. Until his death in 1828, Clinton would remain Governor of New York, with

13680-607: Was placed under the guardianship of the probate court of Bath on September 7, 1926, adjudged incompetent to handle his affairs. Having suffered several strokes, he died of pneumonia at Bath, Maine, on January 12, 1933. Tammany Hall Tammany Hall , also known as the Society of St. Tammany , the Sons of St. Tammany , or the Columbian Order , was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as

13800-533: Was possibly Tammany-related. 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. 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

13920-420: Was spent to construct Groton Iron Works , which employed 3,600 men. E.A. Morse, President H.F. Morse, Vice President B.W. Morse, Secretary Emergency Fleet Corporation contract #57 S.C. for six 8,800 dead-weight ton steamers was signed 11 August 1917. Emergency Fleet Corporation contract #225 S.C. for six 9,400 dead-weight ton steamers was signed 20 April 1918. Three were eventually canceled due to

14040-533: Was spent to construct the Victory Yard , where the Electric Boat Company began building submarines on 22 July 1942. On 3 November 1943 a Federal Court Committee awarded an additional $ 203,000 to the former owners. On 13 January 1945, Electric Boat announced that $ 3,000,000 will be spent to convert the Victory Yard to manufacture 105mm shells. On 18 December 1946, Pfizer Inc purchased the property from

14160-426: Was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1928. Tammany's influence waned during the 1930s and early 1940s, when it engaged in a losing battle with Franklin D. Roosevelt , the state's governor (1929–1932) and later U.S. President (1933–1945). In 1932, after Mayor Jimmy Walker was forced from office when his bribery was exposed, Roosevelt stripped Tammany of federal patronage. Republican Fiorello La Guardia

14280-606: Was the case for Federalists who joined the Society. Tammany Hall managed to gain power, as well as reduce Clinton and his followers to just a small fraction. In 1815, Tammany Hall grand sachem John Ferguson defeated Dewitt Clinton and was elected mayor. However, in 1817, 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, he once again became Governor of New York and Tammany Hall fell again. Another factor leading to Clinton's popularity

14400-492: Was the control Tammany had come to have over the governmental apparatus of the city. Croker mended fences with labor as well, pushing through legislation which addressed some of the inequities which had fueled the labor political movement, making Tammany once again appear to be the "Friend of the Working Man" – although he was careful always to maintain a pro-business climate of laissez-faire and low taxes. Tammany's influence

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