The Tweed Ring
William Magear Tweed was born in 1823 in New York, where he worked as a bookkeeper. He was interested in politics and was elected as an alderman when he vied for the second time in 1851 (Britannica, 2020). He then got elected for a term in Congress, where he was able to establish his spot in Tammany Hall. By 1856, he had been elected to the city board of supervisors, paving the way for him to have other positions within the city government; thus, making him more powerful (Britannica, 2020). By 1867, William Tweed (Boss Tweed) had been elected to the New York State Senate, where he was able to come up with the Tweed Ring.
It was during his rise that Boss Tweed developed relations with a ring of New York City bigwigs (Britannica, 2020). The tweed ring consisted of George G. Barnard, Albert Cardozo, Peter B. Sweeny, John K. Hackett, Richard B. Connolly, and John McCunn. The Tweed Ring dealt with the finances in New York City, while others also consisting of judicial members (Britannica, 2020). Tweed pushed legislation that made him and his cronies in charge of auditing the city’s treasury. The tweed ring was responsible for bribery, kickbacks, and embezzlements that occurred in New York City up until 1871 (Britannica, 2020). These were all geared towards siphoning most of the New York City's budget to the ring members' pockets.
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The tweed ring bought votes that aided in judicial corruption and cemented the member's position in power. These acts led to the delay in the construction of New York City's subway system. The tweed ring systematically plundered New York City of a sum estimated at about $200 million (Britannica, 2020). Boss Tweed was arrested, charged for larceny, and forgery, where he was convicted in 1873. In 1875, he was released and convicted once more on a civil charge and died in prison (Britannica, 2020). The acts of these cronies showcased government corruption and brought to light the millions of dollars that had been stolen.
The Credit Mobilier scandal
The Credit Mobilier scandal showcased the illegal manipulation of contracts by a finance and construction firm. The scandal was exposed on the 4 th of September 1872 (PBS, 2020). Where the firm was linked with the Union Pacific Railroad, which led the Credit Mobilier of America to be seen as a representation of post-Civil war exploitation. Thomas Durant was the Union Pacific executive who discovered a money-making machine that had been previously kept a secret to the Americans (History, Art & Archives, n.d). Although his chartered company was conducting shady business and gaining profits and fortunes from railroad constructions, their acts were not illegal at their time (PBS, 2020). This allowed Durant and his insiders to gain fortunes without having the high-state risks.
Durant bought a fiscal agency and named it Credit Mobilier that was able to limit the liability of its investors to their investments’ scope. Durant bribed Herbert Hoxie tender to the Union Pacific, which was selected as no one else got the call to bid (History, Art & Archives, n.d). Hoxie won the bid and signed it to Durant ‘s Credit Mobilier. Durant then subcontracted real constructors after hiring himself and paying his company with the money given by Union Pacific. He inflated estimates to maximize the profit and was not liable for forfeiture (History, Art & Archives, n.d). Three years later, there ensued a power struggle that led to the ousting of Durant, and four years after, he was reinstated with the promise of sending profits to the Ames brothers.
Those involved in the scandal included the Ames brothers, James Brooks, and Schuyler Colfax, who were all respected members of the government (History, Art & Archives, n.d). The incident came out to the light, and Speaker James Blaine chose Luke Poland as the chair of the committee to unearth the scandal. The house censured Ames and Brooks on the 27 th of February 1873 for using their political standing for monetary gain (PBS, 2020).
Black Friday
The first Black Friday event was quite different from what is seen in these contemporary times. It occurred on September 24 th , 1869, where the scandal damaged the then American president's reputation (PBS, 2020). The black Friday scandal was plagued with the fall of the American gold market. The sandal had been the attempts of two financiers at getting rich through duping the government and the investors in wall street (PBS, 2020). These two investors were Jim Fisk and Jay Gould, who was scarcely affected by the Black Friday scandal.
The two financiers were against President Grant’s monetary policy that was aimed at reducing the supply of paper dollars. Grant had intended on buying the paper money from the Americans them with gold at a discount. The financiers got closer to the president by recruiting his brother-in-law, who was also a financier (PBS, 2020). Although the president was ambivalent about their ideas against the monetary policy he wanted to instill, he was hospitable to them. His in-law Abel Corbin persuaded Grant to name General Daniel Butterfield as the assistant treasurer of the US (PBS, 2020). Butterfield found the plan simple and an easy way to get rich. He would notify the financiers if the government sale of the gold was going to happen.
The financers had bought gold, which had gained tremendous value. When Grant felt that he was being duped by his brother in law, he released $4,000,000 in government gold and panic ensued (PBS, 2020). The gold price plummeted as investors sold their stocks and were unable to repay their loan that they had taken to buy gold. Jay Gould was able to sell his gold before the price plummeted (PBS, 2020). The scandal ended up resulting in a poor American economy while the Grant administration reputation was shattered.
The Dawes Acts
The federal Indian policy during the last three decades of the 1800s was quite different from the previous policies that had been drafted in regards to Native Americans. The policy was different in that instead of focusing on their removal, war, or treaties, it tried to grant these individuals land and break up the reservations (Dawes Act (1887), n.d). The Native Americans were expected to disavow their beliefs, traditions, and culture and adopt an American way of life. These were the basic requirements for them to get land allotments. The Dawes Act was written by Henry Dawes, Senator of Massachusetts, was ratified on 8 th February 1887 (Dawes Act (1887), n.d). The law gave president Grover the right to break the reservations that were owned communally by the Natives into small allotments.
The land was divided into different portions depending on one’s status and age. The land would be given 25 years "trust" period, after which the deed would be given to them (Dawes Act (1887), n.d). Those who did not meet the requirements were left landless as the remaining parcels were sold off to white settlers. The government thought they would help them assimilate and end poverty by selling land to settlers who would show them a new way of life. The Curtis Act of 1898 revised the bill to accommodate the Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, and Seminole tribes who had adopted various aspects of the European culture (Dawes Act (1887), n.d).
The destruction of the tribal governments and courts ensued, and the massive sale of tribal land amounted to about 90 million acres. In 1934, Congress ratified into law an end to the allotment process. Unfortunately, the effect was already evident (Dawes Act (1887), n.d). The proponents of the policy had believed that the bill would bring an end to poverty for the natives once they adopted an American way of life. The Dawes Act had only served to worsen the Natives' condition as the land allotted to them was not suitable for small-scale agriculture, and they had no money to pursue farming.
References
Britannica. (2020). Boss Tweed. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Boss-Tweed
Dawes Act (1887). (n.d) https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=50
History, Art & Archives (n.d). The Crédit Mobilier Scandal. https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1851-1900/The-Cr%C3%A9dit-Mobilier-scandal/
PBS. (2020). Black Friday, September 24, 1869. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/grant-black-friday/
PBS. (2020). The Crédit Mobilier Scandal. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/tcrr-credit-mobilier-scandal/
