 |
| Boss Tweed and the Tweed Ring by Thomas Nast. 1871. |
Before
Thomas Nast used political cartoons to direct America’s attention to social and
political injustices between 1869 and 1871, William “Boss” Tweed, leader of
Tammany Hall, was extorting millions from the city of New York for a decade.
New York City experienced an influx of two million
immigrants from southern and eastern Europe, so slums were built to provide
them homes. Ideally, the slums were built as temporary homes and the immigrants
would move out of the city and the state, but New York continued to grow and
remain crowded. Originally, Tammany Hall was an organization created with
intentions of helping these immigrants with food, clothing, and jobs.
When Tweed joined the organization, Tammany Hall
changed and became a political machine, an organization that gave social and
services in exchange for votes. Political machines main goals were to get their
own members into official spots in city government and then use corruption to
make leaders of the organization wealthy. Tweed had already established himself
by doing charity work as fireman, so it was easy for him to rise into power in
Tammany Hall. Immigrants were sent out on election day and Tweed was voted as
city alderman in 1851. The following year he was elected into the U.S. House of
Reps.
Elected into office, Tweed constantly bribed officials
and bought votes to bring his men into office. Soon New York City (NYC) was run
by a corruption ring who exploited immigrants, businesses, and workers. The
mayor of NYC was simply a puppet while Tweed and his men pulled the strings.
Laws and legislation was passed to prevent anyone else outside of Tweed and his
“Tweed Ring” from opposing how much money was spent on the city. With an
increase of inhabitants and more damaged or worn out public goods, NYC had a
lot of repair. Tweed decided to create his own companies and forced the city to
hire them. As a result, the amount of money being spent was all sent to Tweed
and his ring. Police, judges and journalists couldn’t confront Tweed because
they were either bribed or intimidated to speak up. Votes were still pouring in
to keep him in office since Irish, Dutch, and Scottish gangs were loyal to
Tweed threatened anyone who voted otherwise.
The amount Tweed stole from the city is unclear as it
ranges from $25 million to $45 million to even a hefty sum of $200 million.
After being praised by President Lincoln for his Civil
War drawings, Nast created symbols such as the Republican elephant and the
Democratic Donkey to illustrate his messages more clearly and directly to his
audience. Harper’s Weekly was widely read as
publication of the journal increased and prices decreased, making it attainable
for the middle-class.
Using his influence, Nast broke out of the silence and
brought attention to Tweed by portraying him as a “thief, a convict or an
enormous glutton.” Tweed tried to silence Harper’s Weekly and Nast with money, but
they both refused and continued to run the political cartoons. As a member of
the Democratic Party, Tweed was bringing in unnecessary press and damaging the
party’s reputation; members wanted him and the Tweed Ring out of office. After
his arrest, Tweed managed to escape prison and fled to Cuba then Spain. How was
he recaptured? Someone recognized Tweed from one of Nast’s cartoons.
As Tweed said, voters didn't bother to read but it
doesn't take a long time to read a cartoon. Tweed feared the power and
influence of the political cartoon and it ultimately brought him to his arrest.
Political cartoons and the symbols created by Nast still continue to be
relevant in print and online. Art and entertainment, which has previously been
reserved for the rich, has throughout the years to reach everyone. But how much
of influence does art and entertainment still has over politics to this day?
| Left: Fey Right: Palin |
During the 2012 presidential elections, Tina Fey
of SNL did multiple impersonations of Sarah Palin.
While SNL is based on satire, many people
don't spend their time watching actual interviews of the presidential and vice
president nominees and choose
to get their intake of politics from entertainment. A political science
professor of University
of Missouri agrees, "The perception is that there’s an audience that cites
its primary news source as predominantly entertainment shows and, if valid, this
certainly would have an impact on the presidential election." Tina Fey's
most memorable line while impersonating Palin was, "I could see Russia
from my house!" and many people thought it was actually Palin making the
statement. My economics and government teacher from high school is baffled how
many people actually mistakened the comedienne
as the politician and has repeatedly tried to correct his friends
and colleagues. Though many people do or don't believe my teacher, it was
already clear: entertainment has damaged the reputations of Palin and a long list
of politicians who are portrayed as "uncool", "lame",
"clumsy" (Chevy Chase, anyone?), or just downright unintelligent.
While the entertainment industry continued to mock her, a study revealed
that younger viewers thought Palin wasn't suitable to be V.P.
Now politics have to
keep up a good image on screen for the press and for late night comedy shows
like the Daily Show with Jon
Stewart for the sake of making a
good impression on young adults and everyone else who is easily swayed by the
media. From the past to the present, art and entertainment proves to be a
double ended sword for the world of politics and remains to be influential
in society.
Sources:
http://www.fasttrackteaching.com/burns/Unit_4_Cities/U4_Tammany_Hall_NYC.html
http://agilewriter.com/Biography/BossTweed.htm
http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/government/2878-boss-tweed
http://www.psmag.com/navigation/politics-and-law/was-sarah-palins-image-hurt-by-tina-fey-you-betcha-40288/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/21/saturday-night-live-political-skits_n_1901761.html
0 comments:
Post a Comment