Boss Tweed Political Cartoon Meaning

Thomas nast brings down boss tweed and tammany hall the power of the political cartoon.
Boss tweed political cartoon meaning. Political cartoon by thomas nast depicting boss tweed with a money bag for a head entitled the brains that achieved the tammany victory at the rochester democratic convention credit. And if effectiveness is a gauge of political cartooning. The tammany ring run by a man named william boss tweed bribed officials rigged elections and stole money from city coffers. That someone had stolen the public s money but no one could tell who that was.
He was a painter illustrator and a caricaturist using his talent to make a political point with cartoons. In a famous duo of cartoons published on august 19 1871 nast made a mockery of tweed s probably defense. The building often goes by another name the tweed courthouse and this stands as a monument of a different sort to scandal greed and a reminder that there s nothing new about audacious. This political cartoon under the thumb was published by thomas nast the scourge of tweed and the tammany hall machine.
Cartoon appeared in 1871 tweed s imperium was dissolving and the cartoonists had done a great deal to propel the boss toward destruction. Say the cartoon depicts boss tweed william magear tweed leaning against a plinth marked in counting there is strength on which stands a ballot. In one cartoon a reader who resembled new york tribune publisher greeley is reading the new york times. Tweed s downfall began in april 1870 when he refused to authorize the orange parade.
William marcy tweed known as boss tweed 1823 1878. Boss tweed was an american politician who with his tweed ring cronies systematically plundered new york city of sums estimated at between 30 million and 200 million. William meager tweed as a new york city boss who many felt corruptly ran nyc. He was a critic of democratic representative boss tweed and the tammany hall democratic party political machine.
The first american master of the political cartoon an illustrator named thomas nast used his work to shed light on the corruption that ran rampant in tammany hall in new york city. This cartoon depicts new york under the thumb of tweed who is the boss there. In the cartoon we see the tweed has the city under his thumb meaning he is in complete control.