Description
Book SynopsisNo political scandal in American history has had a greater impact on America''s political consciousness than the rise and fall of the Tweed Ring in New York City between 1866 and 1871. In an age ripe with scandal both public and private, the spectacular corruption charged to Boss Tweed and his associates-estimates of their extortion range from $20 million to $200 million-became an enduring symbol of the dark side of democratic politics.The Tweed Ring contributed much more than cartoonist impressions; it helped to shape a powerful theory of political reform. It was in truth one of the formative events of progressivism, that multifaceted doctrine that has evolved into the modern American creed. In this sense, the Tweed Ring was to produce not only deep misgivings about the existing regime, but an insight into how it should be reformed.Denis Tilden Lynch''s biography of Boss Tweed was first published in 1927, in a time filled, like Tweed''s, with sudden prosperity, daunting problems, and
