Boss Tweed
Overview
 
William Magear Tweed – often erroneously referred to as William Marcy Tweed (see below), and widely known as "Boss" Tweed – was an American politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 most notable for being the "boss" of Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...

, the Democratic Party
History of the United States Democratic Party
The history of the Democratic Party of the United States is an account of the oldest political party in the United States and arguably the oldest democratic party in the world....

 political machine
Political machine
A political machine is a political organization in which an authoritative boss or small group commands the support of a corps of supporters and businesses , who receive rewards for their efforts...

 that played a major role in the politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...

 of 19th century New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and State
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. At the height of his influence, Tweed was the third-largest landowner in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, a director of the Erie Railroad
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...

, the Tenth National Bank
Tenth National Bank
The Tenth National Bank was an American bank that existed in the 19th Century. At one time, financier Jay Gould acquired a controlling interest in the bank, and New York's William M. Tweed was one of its directors...

, and the New-York Printing Company, as well as proprietor of the Metropolitan Hotel
Metropolitan Hotel (New York City)
The Metropolitan Hotel in New York City was a Manhattan hotel opened September 1, 1852 and demolished in 1895.It occupied a three-hundred-foot brownstone-faced frontage of four floors above fashionable shopfronts occupying a full city block on Broadway and two hundred feet on Prince Street...

.

Tweed was elected to the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 in 1852, and the New York County Board of Supervisors in 1858, the year he became the "Grand Sachem
Sachem
A sachem[p] or sagamore is a paramount chief among the Algonquians or other northeast American tribes. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms from different Eastern Algonquian languages...

" of Tammany Hall.
Quotations

I don't care who does the electing, so long as I get to do the nominating.

I don't care a straw for your newspaper articles, my constituents don't know how to read, but they can't help seeing them damned pictures.

On political cartoons

The way to have power is to take it.

As long as I count the votes, what are you going to do about it?

 
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