In the introduction of "Mightier than the Sword: How the News Media Have Shaped American History" by Rodger Streitmatter, he states that "the Fourth Estate shapes, not causes events to occur". I never knew the extent in which the media had so much power until I read the fourth chapter, Attacking Municipal Corruption: The Tweed Ring. The Tweed Ring consisted of a group of city officials who indulged in corruption and fraud, taking millions of money from city taxpayers.
The Tweed Ring started out with the ring-leader, William Marcy Tweed. He was very well known in politics and because he was a member of the Tammany Hall, he became even more noticed by people. Tammany Hall was an "urban political organization of the nineteenth century" and Tweed eventually grew to being the highest official there. He was able to take over and persuade many people in ways that would make him and his ring very wealthy. He acquired an immense amount of money to where he was able to silence newspapers and journalists from writing stories about his involvement regarding the frauds and corruption he participated in. He paid them off with approximately $7 million dollars so that he nor his ring would be exposed, in fact, the newspapers began to support them if ever something negative would come up against them. Because of peoples' desire to have more, the officials, and many of the newspapers remained corrupt for many years; this is what we call the Gilded Age.
Thomas Nast, was a very influential political cartoonist. Before reading this, I never really thought of a cartoonist being able to change the perspective of others. If I sit down and actually give it some thought, that is exactly what artists do. Although artists tend to give off an expression or a certain emotion when they draw, Nast put his talent toward one main purpose: getting rid of corruption and fraud. Everything that he had published in
Harper's Weekly had something to do with the negative actions of Tweed and his ring. His circulation grew to be 100,000 and he was recognized by both Ulysses S. Grant and Abraham Lincoln for his remarkable work. Starting in September of 1869, he delved into his mission of bringing down Tweed and his ring. With his help, the citizens were informed on the truths about Tweed's activities. Because of the growing animosity toward Tweed from the people, he sent his "thugs" over to Nast to put a stop to his constant pictorials. He even went as far as bribing Nast with up to $500,000, to travel to Europe and study art. Nast turned down his offer and continued with his mission of exposing him. Tweed continued to try to prevent Nast from publishing his work but it didn't stop his determination. The
New York Times then joined Nast in his purpose of informing the citizens and the government in the negative behavior and actions that Tweed displayed. They were able to expose him quicker when, James O' Brien, "a former supporter of the Tweed Ring" decided to give them hundreds of documents which spoke about the activities of the Tweed Ring. The Times had so much information on the Tweed Ring that for a whole month, they would present another piece of information regarding the corruption and fraud. Many newspapers were very proud at what they were doing. However, the New York newspapers weren't as happy about what the Times were doing. They knew if the Tweed Ring were brought down that they wouldn't be receiving any more money from them, and that, they didn't like.
They were able to print 200,000 copies of all the outstanding charges, in both English and German, and distribute them to as many people as they could. One of the best things that they did in my opinion was when Nast would draw pictures explaining what the Times would say. Because the Times used words that not everyone can fully understand, Nast would simplify through his pictures so that everyone knew exactly what was going on.
The day right before election day in 1871, Nast decided to take the tiger which was an indication of Tammany Hall, and draw it causing nothing but destruction amongst everything. At the bottom of the picture you can also see where Nast put "The Tammany Tiger Loose - "What are you going to do about it?" They printed many copies of this and posted it in many different areas making sure that even the poorest neighborhoods were well informed. Eventually, in the year of 1873 he was sentenced to 12 years in prison. He stayed in prison for 3 years until he found a way to bribe hisself out of jail, leaving for Cuba and then Spain. Because of this picture below by Thomas Nast, the authorites were able to find him easily and have him brought back to jail. William Marcy Tweed died in 1878. Meanwhile,
Harper's Weekly's circulation leaped from 100,000 to 300,000. The Times circulation also increased.
Because of the Fourth Estate's determination in bringing the truth to light, Tweed and his accomplices were able to be thrown out of office and put in prison where they belong. With the teamwork of both art and reports,
Harper's Weekly and
The New York Times, they were able to inform the public about the corruption and fraud that were taking place. I chose this chapter because it isn't every day that you see news media working in the favor of the people. There are those journalists who are only concerned with the amount of money they take home with them instead of informing the people on important news events. I chose this one because I appreciate the truth being brought forth without hidden agendas. This chapter shows that there are good people who actually want to make a positive difference in the world and are willing to do just about any and everything that they can in order to bring a positive change. What Nast started was very influential and beneficial for the people and he is greatly appreciated and recognized for it. Ulysses S. Grant said it himself, he recognized Nast "as being most responsible for saving the country".
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