Plunkitt Of Tammany Hall Chapter 6 Analysis

Plunkitt of Tammany Hall
APUSH
Emily Cassata
2/26/13

Chapter 5:

1. What was the chapter about?
Chapter five was essentially about the lack of freedom that the government gives the citizens of New York City. Author William Riordon describes the fact that the people of Ireland and the Russian peasants have more freedom than the people of New York City because they are allowed some self-government in England. However, in New York City the Republicans run the whole show. Riordan proceeds to talk about the strict life they must live under the government by stating that you have to eat and drink on their time because you essentially regulate your lives to suit them. In addition to the government controlling your life, Riordan notes that
they also raise expenses and milk the city in the typical Republican way. The Republicans placed taxes on companies, banks, and anything you could think of in order to get money for the State Treasury. In all, when the Republicans were running New York City, nobody could keep up with it. The government of New York City thought they knew better than the people, and thus took everything into their hands. Riordan did not believe this was the best thing to do because it was selfish and did not take into account the needs of the city.

2. What was the most interesting quote from the chapter?
The most interesting quote from the chapter was, “New York City is a nice big fat Goose.
Come along with your carvin’ knives and have a slice”. I found this quote to be interesting because it basically said that the city’s Republican government sacrifices parts of the city, but they do not really ask the people for consent. This caught my eye because normally when we think of the government today, we think of democracy, people that are supposed to help us out, and protection of our rights. However, this quote makes it seem as if the government owns every aspect of its citizen’s lives. Especially when Riordon notes that they basically built their eating and drinking times around the convenience of the government. This is the farthest thing from democratic, and ultimately does not describe the way we view New York City today. In history, New York City has always been a place of promise, and a fresh start, so the fact that a greedy government tarnishes this image really surprises me. Author William Riordon really frowned upon the government’s treatment of its citizens; therefore I have concluded that politics in the early 19th Century were nothing like today. This quote really depicted the contrast between politics then and now, hence why I found it to be the most interesting in the
chapter.

Chapter 23: 1. How does G.W. Plunkitt spend a typical day?
At around 2 AM he will furnish a bail and return to bed at around three o’clock.
At 6 AM he will be awakened by fire engines and rush to the scene in order to fulfill the duty of Tammany district leaders, which is to help the victims of the fire if needed. These horrific events are considered great vote getters because it looks good for a politician to help a person in need. Next, at 8:30 AM he goes to the police station to look after his voters. At this point he will attempt to free them or at least secure their release by the judge. This again is another political move to secure votes for his self. Around 9 AM he will make an appearance at the District Court and essentially do more nice deeds such as pay the rent of a poor family. When 11 AM comes around Plunkitt will be at home once again, and will find men waiting for him with complaints and concerns that he will need to listen to. At 3 PM he will attend funerals for the different ethnic groups in town in order to make sure he recognizes the needs of all his people. Between the hours of 7 and 8 PM Plunkitt will presided over a meeting of election of district captains and will attend a church fair in which he will do kind deeds for the people there, such as purchase ice cream for children. When 9 PM rolls around he will be at the clubhouse and will pay money for church excursions, make promises for church reparations, buy tickets for a sporting event, and listen to complaints of local peddlers and promise to help them in
some way. At 10:30 PM he will attend yet another ethnic group celebration before heading to bed at midnight. Overall it seems as though Plunkitt spends a typical day running around trying to please all of his citizens. He does this in order to secure votes for himself at future elections, and keep the people happy with his performance as a politician. Plunkitt would often race to certain events or tragedies in order to beat his political opponents. All of his kind acts were strictly for political purposes, thus he probably would not be doing them if they did not benefit his political outcome.

2. What does this chapter say about ethnic groups in New York City? How does Plunkitt deal with them?
This chapter basically refers to the ethnic groups in New York City as people who are often looked over in society, but highly targeted by politicians. It seems as though in this chapter that the politicians made an extra effort to appeal to the different ethnic groups such as the Italians and the Hebrews. This was done by attending their funerals, wedding ceremonies, and christenings. At the time the Hebrew vote and the Italian voter were huge for politicians, so securing them was crucial. Specifically, Plunkitt appealed to their needs and beliefs quite frequently. This is demonstrated in his daily schedule in which he makes a conscious effort to attend every possible funeral, religious event, and birthday party of both ethnic groups This is a good political move for him because it looks like he truly cares about them and their traditions, hence they will be more likely to give him their vote. Overall, all of the ethnic groups in New York City got paid much attention by the politicians, and were essentially treated as equals in the political game.