Machine Made: Tammany Hall and the Creation of Modern American Politics
Rooted in Jeffersonian democracy and transformed by the massive Irish immigration of the mid-nineteenth century, Tammany Hall, New York City’s Democratic organization, became synonymous with machine politics. Golway joins the revisionists in emphasizing Tammany’s constructive contributions and its consequent impact on modern politics. An expert in Irish-American history, Golway unsurprisingly sees the origins of this form of political organization in Irish anti-institutional activism. In overcoming and battling nativism in America, reaching out, albeit not selflessly, to new immigrant groups and, after the Triangle Shirtwaist tragedy of 1911, supporting progressive social programs both at the local level and legislatively, Tammany thrived well into the 1900s. After the strong leadership by “Silent Charlie” Murphy came the ascendancy of governor and presidential candidate Al Smith. The organization became, through Senator Robert F. Wagner, a major factor in the New Deal and, later, American liberalism. Not ignoring instances of corruption large and small, from Boss Tweed to Jimmy Walker (Tammany coined the concept of “honest graft”), Golway makes his case for Tammany’s impact eloquently. In doing so, he has provided an essential addition to the historical literature of New York and urban America. --Mark Levine