Corruption and Greed of William M. Tweed

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the activities of William M. Tweed, a major political boss in New York during the 19th century. In particular, the paper examines how Tweed used criminal devices along with strategic relationships with gang members in order to rule over the city. In order to illustrate his case, the paper draws upon a number of sources, including Martin Scorsese's 2002 film "Gangs of New York". The paper then describes the "Five Points" neighborhood of New York and the exceptionally hard life new immigrants and residents of this neighborhood faced and how this influenced the formation of rival street gangs. The paper examines how Tweed exploited these gangs in order to further his own interests.

From the Paper:

"At the same time this corrupt system was ruling over the streets of New York, the impoverished Irish immigrants finally began standing up against the xenophobic American system which kept them poor. The riots which broke out at the end of the film represent the extreme unrest which had resonated within the minds of both native Americans as well as foreign born newcomers who were forced into a service which they did not truly understand. As violence erupted on the streets of New York, a new age of New England politics was beginning to take shape. The riots depicted in the film "Gangs of New York" represent the dissent of the poor Irish class with both the larger American government as well as the corrupt political system of New York City at the time. This swayed much of the political weight away from corrupt agents such as the infamous Tweed, who was later convicted by the state of New York for embezzlement of city funds and various other crimes which typified his position in office. He later died in jail, separated far away from the millions of dollars he and his criminal thugs helped to cipher away from the city of New York and all of its necessities."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Adbinder, Tyler. Five Points: The Nineteenth-Century New York City Neighborhood That Invented Tap Dance, Stole Elections, and Became the World's Most Notorious Slum. Plume. September 2002.
• National Public Radio. Gangs of New York. December 2002. Retrieved 3 July. 2008. http://hnn.us/comments/6212.html
• Potter, George W. To the Golden Door: The Story of the Irish in Ireland and America. Little Brown. Boston. 1960.
• Scorsese, Martin. Gangs of New York. 2002.

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