Boss Tweed Political Cartoon Thomas Nast
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His cartoons were probably one of the chief factors in the machine s downfall.
Boss tweed political cartoon thomas nast. Political cartoon by thomas nast depicting boss tweed with a money bag for a head entitled the brains that achieved the tammany victory at the rochester. Thomas nast s cartoon appeared in 1871 tweed s imperium was dissolving and the cartoonists had done a great deal to propel the boss toward destruction. Thomas nast 1840 1902 american cartoonist best known for his attack on the political machine of william m. All told boss tweed and his associates stole roughly 3 5 billion in today s dollars.
The tammany ring run by a man named william boss tweed bribed officials rigged elections and stole money from city coffers. Thomas nast american cartoonist best known for his attack on the political machine of william m. Tweed in new york city in the 1870s. He was a critic of democratic representative boss tweed and the tammany hall democratic party political machine among his notable works were the creation of the modern version of santa claus.
The story of boss tweed and his stunning fall from power can t be told without appreciating how thomas nast depicted his rampant thievery in ways anyone could understand. How a series of political cartoons by artist thomas nast helped send william boss tweed to prison. Many of nast s most effective cartoons were virulent attacks on tammany hall led by boss tweed. Thomas nast is considered the father of modern political cartoons and his satirical drawings are often credited with bringing down boss tweed the notoriously corrupt leader of the new york city political machine in the 1870s.
But a prominent political cartoonist thomas nast of harper s weekly also played a vital role in keeping the public focused on the misdeeds of tweed and the ring. He also popularized the democratic party s donkey. Even today when most political cartoons from a century ago seem bland and quaint nast s still have plenty of sting to them. Thomas nast n æ s t.
September 27 1840 december 7 1902 was a german born american caricaturist and editorial cartoonist often considered to be the father of the american cartoon. Boss tweed s flight from justice. From nast s pen came the republican party s elephant tammany hall s tiger and one of the most popular images of santa claus.