Boss Tweed found guilty

Historical Context Note

Lucas Paul Richert (University of Saskatchewan)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.2: American (US) Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth Century, 1783-1900.
Vol. editors: J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose State University)

Domains

Politics

Dates

Date of occurrence 1873-11-19

Places

United States (Location)

Resources

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On 19 November, the infamous æBossÆ William Tweed of New York City was found guilty of stealing public funds. It is believed that Tweed and his cronies plundered the public purse of over $30, 000, 000. The reform movement made removing Tweed power one of its key goals. Tweed used fake leases, padded bills, false vouchers, and overpriced goods to steal money from New Yorkers. Through the hard work of Democrat Samuel Tilden, Tweed was brought up on charges of forgery and larceny. He was sentenced to two years. After his release, Tweed was rearrested and convicted on another set of charges. He died in jail in 1878.

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103 words

Citation: Richert, Lucas Paul. "Boss Tweed found guilty". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 February 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=5975, accessed 20 April 2024.]

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