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William Magear Tweed (April 3, 1823 – April 12, 1878) – often erroneously referred to as ''William Marcy Tweed'' (see below),〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=William Magear Tweed (American politician) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia )〕 and widely known as "Boss" Tweed – was an American politician most notable for being the "boss" of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party political machine that played a major role in the politics of 19th century New York City and State. At the height of his influence, Tweed was the third-largest landowner in New York City, a director of the Erie Railroad, the Tenth National Bank, and the New-York Printing Company, as well as proprietor of the Metropolitan Hotel.〔Ackerman, p. 2〕 Tweed was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1852 and the New York County Board of Supervisors in 1858, the year he became the head of the Tammany Hall political machine. He was also elected to the New York State Senate in 1867, but Tweed's greatest influence came from being an appointed member of a number of boards and commissions, his control over political patronage in New York City through Tammany, and his ability to ensure the loyalty of voters through jobs he could create and dispense on city-related projects. According to Tweed biographer Kenneth D. Ackerman: It's hard not to admire the skill behind Tweed's system ... The Tweed ring at its height was an engineering marvel, strong and solid, strategically deployed to control key power points: the courts, the legislature, the treasury and the ballot box. Its frauds had a grandeur of scale and an elegance of structure: money-laundering, profit sharing and organization.〔''Boss Tweed: The Rise and Fall of the Corrupt Pol Who Conceived the Soul of Modern New York'' New York: Carroll & Graf, 2005; quoted in Hammill, Pete, ("'Boss Tweed': The Fellowship of the Ring" ) ''New York Times'' (March 27, 2005)〕 Tweed was convicted for stealing an amount estimated by an aldermen's committee in 1877 at between $25 million and $45 million from New York City taxpayers through political corruption, although later estimates ranged as high as $200 million.〔("Boss Tweed" ), ''Gotham Gazette'', New York, 4 July 2005.〕 Unable to make bail, he escaped from jail once, but was returned to custody. He died in the Ludlow Street Jail. ==Early life== Tweed was born April 3, 1823 at 1 Cherry Street,〔Share, Allen J. "Tweed, William M(agear) 'Boss'" in , p.1205-1206〕 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Son of a third-generation Scottish-Irish chair-maker, Tweed grew up on Cherry Street. Tweed's religious affiliation was not widely known in his lifetime, but at the time of his funeral the ''New York Times'', quoting a family friend, reported that his parents had been Quakers and "members of the old Rose Street Meeting house."〔("The Death of William M. Tweed.; Crowds Of People Around Mr. Douglass' House No One Admitted Except Relatives Tweed's Religious Faith Politicians Who Feel Relieved A Letter Written By John D. Townsend A Month Ago Asking For Tweed's Release" ) ''New York Times''. (April 14, 1878)〕 At the age of 11, he left school to learn his father's trade, and then became an apprentice to a saddler.〔 He also studied to be a bookkeeper and worked as a brushmaker for a company he had invested in, before eventually joining in the family business in 1852.〔 On September 29, 1844, he married Mary Jane C. Skaden and lived with her family on Madison Street for two years. Tweed became a member of the Odd Fellows and the Masons,〔Lynch, Denis Tilden, (''"Boss" Tweed: The Story of a Grim Generation'' ), Transaction Publishers, 1931. Cf. (p.418 ). Tweed was a member of Palestine Lodge #204, New York City, Grand Lodge of Masons New York State.〕 and joined a volunteer fire company, Engine No. 12.〔 In 1848, at the invitation of state assemblyman John J. Reilly, he and some friends organized the Americus Fire Company No. 6, also known as the "Big Six", as a volunteer fire company, which took as its symbol a snarling red Bengal tiger, a symbol which remained associated with Tweed and Tammany Hall for many years.〔 At the time, volunteer fire companies competed vigorously with each other; some were connected with street gangs and had strong ethnic ties to various immigrant communities. The competition could be so fierce that buildings would sometimes burn down while the fire companies fought each other.〔Burrows & Wallace, pp.654, 724, 823〕 Tweed became known for his ax-wielding violence, and was soon elected the Big Six foreman. Pressure from Alfred Carlson, the chief engineer, got him thrown out of the crew, but fire companies were also recruiting grounds for political parties at the time, and Tweed's exploits came to the attention of the Democratic politicians who ran the Seventh Ward, who put him up for Alderman in 1850, when Tweed was 26. He lost that election to the Whig candidate Morgan Morgans, but ran again the next year and won, garnering his first political position.〔Burrows & Wallace, p.823〕 Tweed was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1852, but his two-year term was undistinguished.〔Burrows & Wallace, p.837〕 In an attempt by Republican reformers in Albany, the state capital, to control the Democratic-dominated New York City government, the power of the New York County Board of Supervisors was beefed up. The board had 12 members, six appointed by the mayor and six elected, and in 1858 Tweed was appointed to the board, which became his first vehicle for large-scale graft; Tweed and other supervisors forced vendors to pay a 15% overcharge to their "ring" in order to do business with the city.〔 By 1853, Tweed was running the seventh ward for Tammany.〔 Although he was not trained as a lawyer, Tweed's friend, Judge George G. Barnard, certified him as an attorney, and Tweed opened a law office on Duane Street. He ran for sheriff in 1861 and was defeated, but became the chairman of the Democratic General Committee shortly after the election, and was then chosen to be the head of Tammany's general committee in January 1863. Several months later, in April, he became "Grand Sachem", and began to be referred to as "Boss", especially after he tightened his hold on power by creating a small executive committee to run the club.〔 Tweed then took steps to increase his income: he used his law firm to extort money, which was then disguised as legal services; he had himself appointed deputy street commissioner – a position with considerable access to city contractors and funding; he bought the New-York Printing Company, which became the city's official printer, and the city's stationery supplier, the Manufacturing Stationers' Company, and had both companies begin to overcharge for their goods and services.〔 He also started to form what became known as the "Tweed Ring", by having his friends elected to office: George G. Barnard was elected Recorder of New York City; Peter B. Sweeny was elected New York County District Attorney; and Richard B. Connolly was elected City Comptroller.〔 With his new position and wealth came a change in style: Tweed began to favor wearing a large diamond in his shirtfront – a habit that Thomas Nast used to great effect in his attacks on Tweed in Harper's Weekly beginning in 1869 – and he bought a brownstone to live in at 41 West 36th Street, then a very fashionable area. He invested his now considerable illegal income in real estate, so that by the late 1860s he ranked among the biggest landowners in New York City.〔 Tweed was a member of the New York State Senate (4th D.) from 1868 to 1873, sitting in the 91st, 92nd, 93rd and 94th New York State Legislatures, but not taking his seat in the 95th and 96th New York State Legislatures. In the Senate he helped financiers Jay Gould and Big Jim Fisk to take control of the Erie Railroad from Cornelius Vanderbilt by arranging for legislation that legitimized fake Erie stock certificates that Gould and Fisk had issued. In return, Tweed received a large block of stock and was made a director of the company.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「William M. Tweed」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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