William Magear Boss Tweed: The Tiger of Tammany

[@Biographics]

Thanks to Dollar Shave Club for sponsoring. Go to DollarShaveClub.com/biographics to get your first starter set for $5

[@ravenlord3605]

Biographics you fine fellows should do a episode on Huey Long

[@KaiserDasbender]

You should do one on August von Mackensen

[@generaldissaray4109]

while i was listening to you describe shaving your head i was thinking 'why is he describing this when he can show us'. if a picture is worth a thosuand words then a video of you shaving your head is bound to satisfy dollar shave club's talking points.

[@sweetnsourchick1761]

@@ravenlord3605 Definitely!!!!

[@derrickstorm6976]

Sweet touch of irony to still send him to jail

[@MC-gj8fg]

I've heard that this was the guy about whom Mark Twain wrote "I did not attend his funeral, but I did send a nice letter saying I approved of it."

[@gordonlawrence4749]

That certainly sounds like Mark Twain.

[@DavidSmith-ss1cg]

@Timothy McCaskey - Nast was famous for his editorial cartoons; he didn't criticize only Tweed. He also almost single-handedly invented the image of Santa Claus as we know it.

[@shyguy4no1]

I am at work right now. It is 1:30 a.m. and I am trying to keep my laughter down for the guests who are here so they can sleep. It is very difficult as Mark Twain is funnier than I have given him credit for. And I have given him a lot of credit.

[@robertafierro5592]

​@@shyguy4no1yes Yes Mark Twain was an Awesime writer..read Nicholas Nickleby and Oliver Twist..those movies are nothing like the books. There's a certain grittiness, back then that would definitely not have been a center by the Publisher back then. Thd history about those homeless orphans was brutal. You really have to be thoughtful.and aware when you read them.

[@thomasrussell4674]

​@@DavidSmith-ss1cgis conde nast named after him?

[@ronque23]

I’ve been living in NYC for 7 years now and locals here are always talking about my hometown Chicago’s political corruption. I always say we learned from the best: Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall!

[@theredhunter4997]

the fbi has an online site you can report corruption too if you are serious about stopping it

[@chrismancini5645]

Seems like everywhere is corrupt!!

[@Cmoth040]

One of my heroes is Thomas Nast. In High School I had wanted to be a cartoonist. My study of the art led me to the work of Thomas Nast. Not only was he the father of the modern cartoon but he was a master for crafting editorial cartoons that communicated the problem in a short single frame sound-bite. The Tammany Hall corruption, and Boss Tweed specifically, was one of his primary targets.

[@emmettbattle5728]

woah, cool!

[@cameronhamilton7439]

Great point . Although Thomas Nast didn't invent the political cartoons, he definitely took it to another level with his talent for art , humor and satire. Even by today's standards I believe he would be the best political cartoonist. He was ahead of his time ⏲

[@SStupendous]

@@cameronhamilton7439 Also, he didn't invent the word "Nast"y as people sometimes think, of course it exists looong before him.

[@cameronhamilton7439]

@@SStupendous good one 😃

[@InappropriateShorts]

1823 Republican meme lord😂

[@ethanramos4441]

“I don’t care a straw for your newspaper articles, my constituents don’t know how to read, but They can’t help seeing them damned pictures” William ‘Boss’ Tweed on Thomas Nast’s cartoons

[@ingriddubbel8468]

The Mast cartoons are scathing.

[@ethanramos4441]

Ingrid Dubbel you misspelled Nast and yeah his cartoons were critical in taking down Tweed

[@GreatMewtwo]

This is a Thomas Nast, mind you, whose cartoons were so savage that the Democratic Party continues to use the donkey as their mascot centuries later.

[@anonymousjoker946]

I want to watch "gangs of New york" now

[@ingriddubbel8468]

Nobody is stopping you.

[@ZOOMPZ00mp]

I am. No please watch

[@SK-qu4wo]

Can I watch it with you?

[@christianmccann7884]

Iv a feeling he'd fit right back in to politics if he was alive today ..

[@MegaShrut]

@Noah Vale nah, Donald doesn't to be as smart as Tweed.

[@bigcpop74]

H end

[@Sobeit86]

Goes by the name Obama,killary,and bush and every other politician ever in history. Don't be niaeve.

[@Sobeit86]

It's why they all leave millionaires.

[@celter.45acp98]

Like a fish to water

[@dsnodgrass4843]

One quibble: Many contemporary accounts of Tweed that I've read seemed to agree that "charismatic" was the last term the writers would use to describe him. Instead, they described him most often as a very cold, taciturn man; whose silence intimidated more than his imposing size and reputation would. He had a coterie of friendlier, more gregarious underlings around him everywhere he went, though; and they did all the socializing his presence required outside of his Hall crowd. He was always more feared than admired, and his oft-cited prodigious memory was most effective at storing political grudges he could carry for decades, which he coldly exercised whenever it was possible to do. His memory for political favors was slightly less sharp, unless it was for ones that were owed him.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:50 - Chapter 1 - Street fighting firemen 4:20 - Chapter 2 - Taking over at tammany hall 6:40 - Chapter 3 - Tweed, immigration & voter fraud 9:15 - Mid roll ads 10:30 - Chapter 4 - The tweed courthouse 13:00 - Chapter 5 - The power of editorial cartoons 16:05 - Chapter 6 - The fall

[@urmorph]

"...them damned pictures." Thanks for including one of my all-time favorite historic quotes.

[@deniseroe5891]

We "learned" about Tammany hall in school. Don't remember any of it. Learned more in 20 minutes than years in school. Also, can't imagine you with hair.

[@fvckyoutubescensorshipandt2718]

It's probably mostly bald anyway. He just shaves what's left off to keep it from looking like a cat with the mange. Probably what Trump should do.

[@derrickstorm6976]

Well, you just didn't CARE about it in school

[@jbo4547]

@@derrickstorm6976 exactly

[@emckethern]

They don't mention a lot about it in the textbook but it's on the test my students are taking tomorrow.

[@jamellfoster6029]

Same here. But I graduated high school 24 years ago so I can't remember all we learned...

[@paraboo8994]

I read about Tammany Hall in a book about the rise and fall of Prohibition, but never really looked into it after, so this was very interesting. Thank you for always putting out such high quality content ❤

[@Imeraldgyrl]

“Vote early and often.”

[@josephgoforth9722]

Jay Gould and Jim Fisk along with the Eerie railway wars/Black Friday of 1869 are another fascinating aspect of that same period.

[@Akula114]

Another fine Biography. Well done, as always! May I suggest another notable man whose name is all but forgotten... Thomas Francis Meager. Meager was a leader of Irish Revolutionaries during the great famine. Seized by the British, he was tried for treason - which could have left him drawn, beheaded and quartered. Instead he was transported to what is now New Zealand. Drama, drama, drama... then he escaped New Zealand making his way to New York City. He was well received, yet dissolute in his inability to make a real impact. Despite the fact that Southern slaves generally looked down on the Irish and had great pity for the bias against the lowly Irish, many Irish decided to fight on the Union side, raising companies of soldiers and Meager was no exception. He raised a company of Zouaves, and as the Civil War progressed he gained more notice as a great leader. That's just a whetting of the appetite, I hope, as Meager was a fantastic character... the movie would be a blockbuster. I do hope you'll give this suggestion a thought, as I think it would fit into your lineup of biographies very nicely. By the way, my personal interest is in medical history, and two individuals who are sadly forgotten are a huge part of what has made medicine so much safer today are the first head of The Department of Surgery at the then-new Johns Hopkins University and Medical Centre, William Halstead. Halstead was a stunningly excellent surgeon who saved countless lives with he development of the radical mastectomy, popularized the use of rubber gloves by surgeons, and saved his own mother's life with an emergency operation on the kitchen table(!!!) Halstead had a lifelong addiction to cocaine., just to keep things interesting. He even had a second home not far from me in Highlands, North Carolina called "High Hampton" which has been in use as a bed & breakfast type resort since the earlier part of the 1900's. Great character with lot's of fun twists and turns. The other physician is Dr.Thomas Dent Mutter. Mutter is the physician and surgeon who donated the collection now known as The Mutter Museum of Medical Oddities at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Philadelphia, PA. While best known for the museum, Mutter himself was an astoundingly important part of the growth of medicine as we now know it. He was the first to use ether in a surgical operation, developed the Mutter Flap still used in the treatment of burns and so much more. He was really an outstanding surgeon unafraid to do what he felt best for the patient even if it went against current medical practice. We owe so much to this orphan who grew up to ease human suffering. I hope you will consider Thomas Meager, William Halstead, and Thomas Mutter as future subjects for your superb series of biographies.

[@rob832]

Never commented on your stuff before Simon, but l just love it. Thanks for doing this, it's just wonderful.

[@jemnhershberger5910]

The background of the real “Gangs of New York”.

[@i.b.i.c.s7778]

Great topic, he was perfectly depicted in Martin Scorsese's gangs of new York. Love your channel men. 👍🏽🇳🇬🇬🇧😎

[@williamevans9426]

Thomas Nast also drew an image of Santa Claus that became well-known as the prototype of our modern Father Christmas ('though he seems to have based his drawings, in turn, on traditional northern-European impressions of Sintaklass and Wuotan [Odin]).

[@jeanninecathcart627]

Its uncanny how history is repeating itself in so many ways.

[@warriorwhacko]

One day it would be great to see a biography on Thomas Nast.

[@melissajackson79]

This IS the BEST channel on KZbin.

[@neopagan1976]

I just love those editorial carrtoons. Those cartoons can show any situation in a way that words alone can't.

[@TheLepke2011]

Simon: "Newspapers were still a way that people got information." Me: "So you're saying the internet hadn't fully caught on yet? "

[@anderspedersen7488]

Jim Broadbent did a very good job of playing Tweed in Scorseses Gangs of New York (2002).

[@StevenPine-s8t]

Tammany Hall is live and well!!!

[@kennobags6904]

Omfg I have a test on this tomorrow. This is like the biggest matrix moment of my life

[@mr_JackSchwarze]

That’s great dude

[@DutchBane]

Follow the white rabbit

[@grmpEqweer]

Best of luck on your exam!

[@NiuhiNui]

Were you looking at the woman in the red dress?

[@patsysadowski1546]

Drago Round 1 G are you stupid or just uncomfortable with your masculinity?

[@HistoryExplained]

More bios from ancient history please!

[@ingriddubbel8468]

This isn't ancient history. It isn't remotely ancient history. The War of the Roses isn't considered to be ancient history.

[@HistoryExplained]

I meant in general. I wasn’t referring to this specific video.

[@SStupendous]

@@ingriddubbel8468 Learn to read.

[@codewriter3000]

Wow it's almost like New York hasn't changed at all in the last 200 years.

[@Mrgunsngear]

great info

[@registeelix]

Can you please do a biography of yourself at one million subscribers?

[@johnbellhood5861]

Please god

[@JagmasterGeneral12374]

He had already said he doesn't feel comfortable doing so

[@hazevthewolf178]

Yes, this is Biographics, History One Life At A Time and in some sense, Simon's life as a raconteur has an impact on history, but I think that I'm on safe ground when I assert that Simon doesn't want to insert himself into the process. This channel isn't about him. Simon's bio may be reserved for someone in the future, 50 or 100 years from now, who continues the mission of this channel.

[@ronque23]

Rex Fulgur I’m shocked he doesn’t already have 1M!

[@ronque23]

Rex Fulgur But what if Simon was a whistleblower in disguise and just decided it’d be cool to start a successful KZbin channel

[@FallingSloths]

Please do a video for Alexander von Humboldt! The Prussian polymath has over 400 species of plants and animals named after him, was the first person to identify man-made climate change (in the early 1800s!), and invented biogeography. He is known as the "Second Discoverer of Cuba" despite spending just 8 months there in the 19th century and is said to be the last person to ever possess all knowledge then-known to human society. He is a crazy cool character that has had a finger in the history, or at least naming, of what seems to be a tremendous amount of planet earth.

[@claytonbenignus4688]

Very Good! Do the Pendergast Machine next.

[@nobodysman143]

Clayton Benignus I would like that as well, given that he deeply affected the history of Kansas City, MO

[@cupcake4177]

Aaron Burr would be a great follow up to this video. He is essentially a founding father of tammany hall.

[@UCSPanther20]

"Big Tim" Sullivan is the second most infamous Tammany Hall figure after "Boss" Tweed. Where Tweed was mostly a grifter, Sullivan was a full-on crime boss in politician's clothing, with direct involvement in gambling, prostitution and extortion rings. He was known for getting the Sullivan act of 1911 put into law, which required anyone who wished to carry a handgun in New York City to get an expensive license. Sullivan was known to use this law against his political opponents, by having an agent plant a gun on his target's belongings, and then denouncing them for possession of an illegal firearm. That scumbag would be another good historical figure to do a biography on.

[@mitchellneu]

So this is what Lincoln(2012 Spielberg movie) meant when his staff would "grousle and heckle and dodge about like pettifogging Tammany Hall hucksters!"...

[@johnmassoud930]

Fascinating. Your best documentary yet

[@hazevthewolf178]

Wow. I really enjoyed this! Another famous 19th century New Yorker was Robert Green Ingersoll, the Great Agnostic, who could pack a large hall with people willing to pay $1 per head to listen to him. In today's dollarettes, that borders on rock star status. Curiously, Ingersoll died in the summer of 1899 at age 66. That strikes me as a bookend to what many people perceive as The Golden Age of Freethought.

[@tylercross8877]

This channel always does such a great job at segways. I shockingly enjoyed the advertisement, and I hate ads

[@devinjohnson9000]

So basically everything that is New York, we have this guy to thank.

[@emckethern]

He's on my test tomorrow for U.S. History. I might show my students this video afterwards.

[@blucifer4865]

No joke, allegedly my brother-in-law is descended directly from Boss Tweed. Also, he shares the same last name as well. AND! GET THIS: His father's name is also William Tweed! 😳

[@johnmathues4231]

My great great great grandfather was Judge Noah Davis who presided over the trial of & sentenced Boss Tweed!

[@DarkSpace1105]

Thank you I wanted this video after the Fredericka one!

[@juliadagnall5816]

You should do a video on Robert Moses. He was brilliant, ambitious, and a total monomaniac

[@ivalemfana]

Please do Shaka Zulu.

[@losthart5577]

Pretty sure he already has

[@johnqpublic2718]

I binge-listened to this channel and Simon's other one all day at work today. Love it.

[@savagejoey50]

Excellent episode, This should be a must watch before viewing the film, "Gangs of New York." Thank you Simon!

[@yourfabuloushappymann5154]

Mr. Tweed was a real go-getter

[@natedorney7032]

Lincoln once called Nast "our best recruiting sergeant".

[@isaacschmitt4803]

The first I learned of Boss Tweed and Tamany Hall was when I watched The Gangs of New York. While I'm not entirely sure just how accurate that movie is, it was interesting to see just how the rackets he ran and helped with worked.

[@ingriddubbel8468]

Didn't you study him in a High School history class?

[@texan-american200]

@@ingriddubbel8468 It was in school where I learned that he was the epitome of corruption... That is, until now.

[@shayd1984triton]

That ridiculous light sentence was like Jussie.

[@AveontheGrizzly]

Jussie got off

[@r.speirs]

Perfect follow up to Fredericka Mandelbaum.

[@emmettbattle5728]

love that woman, what a legend

[@dylandrake5352]

Fun fact: Thomas Nast is where the term nasty comes from

[@Kid_illithid]

Just wanted to let you know that your videos have been keeping me sane at work. I do boring factory work but I can wear headphones

[@galeno928]

Please do a bio on Sir David Attenborough 😁

[@kevjtnbtmglr]

Yes, I'd personally like iteration and dept to when sir David says something like this, voice over on old video: ..of course i would not behave like that today..", when handling animals rough decades ago. It shows insight to the changing attitudes.

[@1jimmarch]

You skipped over big Tim Sullivan. He needs his own episode.

[@gipsydanger7379]

Could you cover Bram Stoker? The Irish writer. Who created one of horror genres most famous characters.

[@bobgarr6246]

Just so you know, it is Greenwood Cemetery, not Green - Wood. It is in Brooklyn, not just NYC. It has two main gate entrances, one on Fort Hamilton Parkway just off McDonald Ave, the other on 5th Ave around 28th - 31st street. Yes, he is in there as are many, many other famous and notable people. Had many an adventure romping, fishing and exploring there back in the 60's. Very, very cool place. Lots of history, tons!!! People should look it up.

[@jackcoleman5955]

What an excellent and informative video!!! I truly learned something: the ‘volunteer fire departments’. I didn’t know the history of these clubs. A friend of mine from New York served in one, ad it was a bit like a frat... Also amazing that they actually prosecuted him and caught him based on a cartoon!! His rise n fall mirrors the Mexican drug lord of today...great ride at the top, until your peers decide you are better as the fall guy...

[@thetedmang]

I get to watch three commercials from KZbin and one from you right in the middle of your video. Lucky me.

[@shadowking1380]

I remember seeing an illustration of this guy back in middle school of all places and then I heard the reference in gangs of New York

[@darkchocolate1083]

What about a video on Panama dictator Manuel Noriega?

[@Marjenk77]

I pass by the courthouse alot, never knew it's story. Thanks!

[@indigoray2256]

Just put your sponsored ad before or after the video so we don't have to always have the video interrupted. I've seen others say something too so I don't think I'm the only one who'd rather get it over with at the start.

[@adamfrazer5150]

Looking at the photo of Tweed, damn did Gangs of New York nail the casting !

[@cassandraralph5906]

Mightily interesting, now I understand part of why, and how New York City came to be what it is today! Thank you so much, Simon and your team!

[@losthart5577]

Do you think that you guys could do Marcus Garvey? Or Harriet Tubman?

[@dr.lyleevans6915]

The truth about Garvey isn’t very flattering

[@paxshmitz2665]

9:28 you got me sold.

[@darthdonkulous1810]

Excellent video guys! Boss Tweed must have been a huge influence for Gangs of New York!

[@anderswibbidy449]

Also do Graham Chapman next

[@andybird3956]

Simon you get better and better

[@melissajackson79]

Tweed was out there shaking babies and holding hands...

[@Raz.C]

You guys might like to know that your Dollar Shave Club link doesn't work. The link timed out. I'm in Australia, and they DO work within Australia, so it _should_ work. Shoulda, coulda, woulda, huh?

[@losthart5577]

This was great.. Thank you again

[@mikedroz2301]

That music during the paid endorsement was nice

[@leguy42]

This guy really needs a big Hollywood biopic! Who should play Tweed?

[@jthepanda]

Great show! I've always wanted to ask what your source's are for each episode and where you get them from?

[@Wordmama]

Good timing!

[@hookiebookie1]

1:42 YOU THINK DARK SOULS IS EASY?

[@samueltildenbio1876]

Excellent piece... I'm trying to locate the court transcripts from the 2 trials NY Supreme Court with Justice Noah Davis and NY Governor Samuel Tilden testifying. Would any of you know where I can locate the actual transcripts?

[@LordHoth_90]

Ah yes, good ole Professor Horace Slughorn. The Pre-Hogwarts years

[@lynthornealder6735]

"The volunteer fire fighting companies of the mid-19th century were nothing like the ones of today. As a fairly new idea, volunteer companies and they were half-gang, half fraternity," ... clearly you have never dated a rural volunteer firefighter.

[@mitchellneu]

Anyone remember this guy in the movie Gangs Of New York(2002)? He was the guy making corrupt deals with William “Bill The Butcher” Cutting, played by the absolute legend Daniel Day-Lewis.

[@HebdebaV]

I watched like three seasons of drunk history and each episode was about one of these people in almost the same order lol

[@quid435]

Beef face is a delicacy which I'm sure varies in quality so imma have to fact check you at 9:50.

[@d.2605]

really good episode.

[@WesternMdBushcraft]

Do you have a Patreon or something where the videos are cut without the ad in the middle. I'd rather pay directly to support your videos than see adds. Very informative with an entertaining method.

[@thomasverdon2578]

Simon, you have to do a mystery bio with a question mark & silhouette of yourself & do a bio on your life, family & upbringing

[@mcwildstyle9106]

Me: Came for the history Also me: Stayed for the history and any Gangs of New York references

[@jemnhershberger5910]

Taught this topic today: Editorial Cartoons influence Society.

[@T_bone]

You should have taught, "don't get your "news" from a cartoon or comedy show". Taaaheeeeheee😂😂🤣🤣😂😧😩😥

[@bobbybobberson9349]

Lmao! duped the guy into spilling his guts then sends him back to prison. Pure gold!

[@E.A-zz5mt]

Music at 6:35? Would really appreciate the help!

[@billolsen4360]

This is golden!

[@eingram141]

Great vid thanks

[@andrewclark4501]

Please cover the Canadian Legend Terry Fox. I tried to nominate online, but I couldn't find the link.

[@justincovert6943]

you just explained how most volunteer firefighters and FDNY still work minus the open brawling.

[@Argos-xb8ek]

Gangs of New York got me ready for this

[@Maadhawk]

The lesson of William Magear is: Crime pays, until it does not.

[@wreckingopossum]

Dollar Shave Club vs Gillette is just another example of Unilever vs Procter & Gamble

[@akanbioluyomi8826]

Tweed was a perfect portait of Nigerian Politician today.