Thomas Nast And Boss Tweed

Harper s weekly september 30 1871.

Thomas nast and boss tweed. Thomas nast s campaign against boss tweed in the years following the civil war a former street brawler and lower east side political fixer named william m. Thomas nast was a german immigrant who began his career illustrating newspapers and magazines but eventually began creating political cartoons. Tweed never served as mayor. Tweed was a new york city politician who led a group of corrupt politicians who gained power in the democratic party in 1863 when tweed was elected.

William magear tweed 1823 1878 more commonly known in american history as boss tweed was an object of scathing criticism by thomas nast. Just like tweed school wasn t for him and he dropped out at an early age. One of his most vocal critics was thomas nast who featured tweed and his cronies in many of his cartoons particularly in 1870 and 1871. Thomas nast thomas nast would rise to fame in the late 1860s when his innovative satirical comics led directly to the arrest of boss tweed.

Tweed became notorious as boss tweed in new york city. Boss tweed american politician who with his tweed ring cronies systematically plundered new york city of sums estimated at between 30 million and 200 million. The public offices he held at times were always minor. While confined to new york s blackwell s island penitentiary in 1874 the man known as the boss had used his.

Tweed was a walking caricature and that fired up the imagination of artist thomas nast a german immigrant who used squiggles and crosshatches to expose the soul of a swindler. Nast was a german immigrant who came to the united states with his family when he was six years old. The old new york. Even from behind bars william magear tweed had found ways to game the system.