page_title: Charles Francis Murphy
section_title: Political career
hierarchical_section_title: Charles Francis Murphy / Political career
caption_attribution_description: English: Bain News Service,, publisher. Charles Francis Murphy and William H. Fitzpatrick [between 1910 and 1915] 1 negative&#160;: glass&#160;; 5 x 7 in. or smaller. Notes: Title from unverified data provided by the Bain News Service on the negatives or caption cards. Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress). Format: Glass negatives. Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication. Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print General information about the Bain Collection is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.ggbain Persistent URL: hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.10913 Call Number: LC-B2- 2453-4
context_page_description: Charles Francis "Silent Charlie" Murphy, also known as Boss Murphy, was an American political figure and the longest-serving head of New York City's Tammany Hall from 1902 to 1924. Murphy was responsible for transforming Tammany Hall's image from one of corruption to respectability as well as extending Tammany Hall's political influence to the national level. Known as a reticent politician and a first rate political chess master, Murphy would be responsible for the election of three mayors of New York City, three governors of New York State, and two US senators even though he was never listed as a leader of Tammany Hall.
context_section_description: Murphy's friend and benefactor, Edward Hagan, failed to achieve the Tammany Hall nomination for district assemblyman in 1883, which led Hagan to attempt an independent campaign. Murphy managed Hagan's independent campaign, leading to Hagan's victory. Murphy was also prominent in Francis Spinola's successful campaign for US Congress in 1885. The same year, one of Murphy's saloons became the headquarters for the Anawanda Club, which was the local Tammany Hall club; eventually, Murphy joined Tammany Hall's Executive Committee. Murphy was appointed to be the Commissioner of Docks in 1897. During this period, he organized the New York Contracting and Trucking Company, which leased dock space. That became a successful business, mostly because of "honest graft" in business with the city, and Murphy gained further prominence in Tammany Hall. In 1902, Murphy married widower Margaret J. Graham; also that year, the Tammany Hall boss, Richard Croker, was forced out of office because of public accusations of corruption. The accusations of corruption included stealing from the municipal treasury, which never occurred. Murphy quickly replaced Croker as Boss of Tammany Hall. Murphy owned shares of the American Ice Company during the Ice Trust Scandal, but his reputation was not tarnished.
  In contrast to Croker, the taciturn and teetotaling Murphy brought an air of respectability to Tammany Hall. He furthered that end by promoting a new crop of Tammany politicians, such as Senator James J. Walker, Rockland County Chairman James Farley, and Alderman Alfred E. Smith, who would move the political machine away from the methods of Boss Tweed and toward a Progressive Era-style that rewarded the loyalty of the poor with reforms like factory safety and child labor laws. Although initially opposed to progressive legislation, Murphy realized that he could support reforms that pleased his constituency but which did not undermine Tammany's power. Because of his stance, he is credited with transforming Tammany into a political organization capable of drawing the votes of the ever-growing numbers of new immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe, which kept Tammany in power until the early 1930s.
caption: Murphy with William H. Fitzpatrick, the Erie County Democratic leader
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