Boss Tweed's New York

by Seymour Mandelbaum

At the height of his power in New York City, around 1870, William Marcy (Boss) Tweed's hands were everywhere in city government and party politics. His success in looting the city treasury and using the payoff to achieve his objectives earned him a reputation as the classic example of the corrupt municipal boss. Amidst the turbulent political and social conditions of a metropolis in the making, Boss Tweed was, according to Mr. Mandelbaum, the right man at the right time―“a master communicator” who “united the elements in a divided society.” In effect he replaced the good communications which the author argues are essential to democratic decision-making. Mr. Mandelbaum's analysis of the historical situation is a cogent case study in the democratization of American society.

Genres: History, New York

220 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

Reviews

[John Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting argument that Tweed, through pay offs, was able to efficiently organize information and move processes along that would not have otherwise occurred such as the extension of Broadway, development of city wide sewer system, and mass transit expansion.

[Elaine Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

i should get a college credits for this book. it was informative. I enjoy that time and place but it was an uphill climb.a

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting more of a social history but what I got was a thesis re packaged with a good title. Mandlebaum basically makes a point that poltics in the new york city area was limited by the lack of good communication. As such, he falls within the school of american historian who sees the advent of communications technologies being key to the transformation of american society.

[Dewey Norton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this in Professor Mandelbaum's class in urban politics at Penn. An analysis of the political machine and political economy in the latter half of the 19th century. If you are into this, I would start with Riordan's Plunkitt of Tamany Hall.

[Rick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. Lots of dry statistics about corruption in 1800s New York City