Use the link below to answer the questions that follow.
Corruption Runs Wild (summary)
1. Why were local government officials more important than ever during the Gilded Age?
2. What was the “political machine”? What was its purpose?
3. Give three examples of the corruption of city government during this era.
4. Click on the second link down (on the left, starting with “how much”?). How did William Tweed begin in city government?
5. Between 1865 and 1871, it is estimated that the “Tweed Ring” stole how much from the city? In what ways did the “Tweed Ring” go about stealing this much money from the city?
6. What ultimately happened to “Boss Tweed”?
Attention was brought to Tweed’s corruption by political cartoonist THOMAS NAST. Nast’s pictures were worth more than words as many illiterate and semi-literate New Yorkers were exposed to Tweed’s graft. The link below will take you to one of Nast’s cartoons. Answer the questions that accompany the cartoon.
Tammany Tiger Political Cartoon