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 | | Plunkitt of Tammany Hall: A Series of Very Plain Talks on Very Practical Politics (The Bedford Series in History and Culture) by William L. Riordon, Terrence J. McDonald (Editor) ISBN-10: 9780312084448 ISBN-10: 0-312-08444-7 ISBN-13: 9780312084448 ISBN-13: 978-0-312-08444-8 Paperback 1993-11-15 Bedford/St. Martin's Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Product Description Since its publication in 1905, Plunkitt of Tammany Hall has given generations of students a passport into the world of controversy, conflict, corruption, and color that surrounded urban political machines at their zenith. The full text of William Riordon's book is supported here by nine primary documents that place both the book and its subject into context. | ||
Reviews | ||
The old is new again Plunkitt was a 19th century New York politician who spoke with unabashed joy about the merits of big city political machines. He believed that the "merit" system of government employment was the root of great evil. The local leaders knew best who needed and could do the various jobs of government. He argues for simply wsiting out one issue politicians (do gooders) as they would either suceed or fail but either way they would go away. Plunkett is not a man of our times but he was a pashionate character of another era and you have to love him. The book is funny and poinant, always a good combination. | ||
Explaining Practical Politics George Washington Plunkitt (1842-1924) was one of the powers of Tammany Hall in the late 19th century. Plunkitt was born in a shantytown called Nanny Goat Hill and died wealthy and renowned. Newspaperman William L. Riordan recorded his conversations and preserved them. Most other leaders were cold reticent men who had little to say (p.ix). Tammany Hall, the name of a civic society, controlled the Democratic Party in New York city. They knew how to get power and hold on to it by getting people to vote for their candidates. Political power leads to personal wealth. Tammany governed NY from 1854 to 1934. The New Deal reforms of welfare and public housing socialized the benefits that had come from the patrons of Tammany Hall. The `Introduction' by Arthur Mann is faulty. Mann claims "no room for machines" (p.xi) any good history book will tell how churches or other organizations controlled or influenced local municipal elections earlier. Ruling classes reflect the reality that the many can be influenced be the few through advertising or other propaganda. Most people in a church are influenced by their preacher, and those in a tavern can be influenced by an orator who tells them what they want to hear. The alternative is rule by an aristocracy or corporation through attorneys who act against the people to benefit the rulers. Professional politicians exist on state and federal level since Washington's time. Do they control the educational system to teach students to accept this and distrust challengers? The bias against Tammany Hall came from the wealthy gentry who were defeated by upstarts who best served popular opinion (p.xiv). Tammany Hall educated millions of immigrants about representative government (p.xix). The `Preface' by William L. Riordan provides a short biography of G. W. Plunkitt. Plunkitt the politician introduced bills to create parks, the Washington Bridge, additions to the Museum of Natural History, and many important public improvements. Did Plunkitt's business benefit from this? Every public improvement benefits some business, directly or indirectly. Else we would have dirt roads and no sewers as in many rural areas today. The problem comes from unneeded inprovements ("graft jobs") where tax money is spent to benefit the few. Plunkitt explains what is usually censored in the press, or distorted for special interests. These 22 chapters vary in quality. One chapter explains why reformers don't last. Politics is a regular business that needs experienced people. Plunkitt seldom discusses political issues but only the benefits of government. He is not an idealist (a type of emotion). Plunkitt complains that New York is taxed to provide benefits to the rest of the state. [Has that changed?] Each political party cooperates with the other. Civil Service was created to undermine the political parties and their organizations. [It makes them dependent on corporate support to this day.] Municipal ownership of utilities would benefit a city [lower rates]. Plunkitt compares a political organization to churches; both need money to exist. A candidate for office needs money for campaign expenses. [That still goes on even if a candidate gets the money from others.] A successful politician, like a saloon owner, does not drink. Political bosses prevent turmoil and squabbles. [They are opposed by those who wish to gain their power.] High taxes on saloon keepers creates lower-cost competition from "bucket-shops" that sell bootleg whiskey. [Prohibition, which was supposed to reduce crime and increase prosperity, did just the reverse.] Tammany Hall built a huge building just before it went out of business. This recalls C. Northcote Parkinson's comment that a grandiose building usually marks the end of an entity. | ||
Did these reviewers actually OPEN the book? It's a MISPRINT!! Garbage in, Garbage out. I ordered this for my cousin, who's going into politics, and was astounded, when I looked past the first page, to find that, rather than reading Plunkitt talking about a little "honest graft," I was instead reading GOBSECK, by de Balzac! Oh, the cover says Plunkitt... but it's completely misprinted on the inside. How Amazon and the other reviewers missed this is beyond me. | ||
A 19th century political philosophy whose influence is, unfortunately, still felt William L. Riordon's Plunkitt of Tammany Hall is the published political philosophy of George Washington Plunkitt, a well known "ward boss" of the Tammany Hall political machine for twenty-five years. From 1880 Plunkitt rode high in New York City politics until his defeat in the state Senatorial race in 1905, the same year of Riordon's publication. During his time in office Plunkitt grew in wealth and power by introducing bills, some good and some awful, but all beneficial to his bank account. Plunkitt came to represent for political reformers everything that was corrupt about the governmental structure; including the spoils system which they felt gave too much power to the parties. Likewise, Plunkitt lashed out at these reformers and often called Civil Service reform laws his worst enemy. The Bedford Series in History and Culture edition of this work, however, adds many more voices to the discussion other than Plunkitt. The Introduction, by Terrence J. McDonald, establishes the historical context in which to read Riordon's book. McDonald explains the power of the Tammany machine and gives us insight into Plunkitt's beliefs, as how he came to political fruition during the infamous William "Boss" Tweed scandals in which party power was abused and grafting was widespread. This environment seems to have influenced the business ethic and personal gratification that would dominate Plunkitt's political outlook. The end of the book gives us further insight with primary document excerpts that include critics of the ward bosses, newspaper articles about Plunkitt after the book's publication, and biographies written by Tammany itself. McDonald also points us to another voice prevalent though not easily apparent in Plunkitt of Tammany Hall, that of the author, William L. Riordon. Though the book claims to be a record of speeches and diary excerpts given by Plunkitt during a six-year period, McDonald asserts the belief that Riordon probably added many things himself, including the famous speech on honest and dishonest graft and even the diary entry at the end. Indeed, Plunkitt often references previous speeches as though they were made in a single night, rather than years before. Additionally, before the book was completed Plunkitt had suffered major political defeat, which Riordon curiously omits. Riordon, who was close to Tammany Hall and its leaders (though never a member), appears to have sympathized with Plunkitt. He credits Tammany's intimate knowledge of its voting base (likes and dislikes, etc.) and its use to benefit both voters and themselves as the overriding fuel of their longevity. The book opens with a preface listing Plunkitt's positive accomplishments, followed by a tribute to him by Charles F. Murphy, boss of the Tammany Democracy. Next is Plunkitt's first speech (its position chosen by Riordon, of course) in which Plunkitt admits he is a grafter, yes, but an honest one. It is arguments such as this that make Plunkitt, a man who sees the Irish as a master race fit to rule, such a colorful, often ridiculous character. Not surprisingly, George Washington Plunkitt is a politician who thinks that one who serves the community is one who should benefit greatly in wealth. In fact, this seems to be the only reason he finds to go into politics. He so cannot separate money from public service that he regularly confuses greed with patriotism. For him, the only reason one would vote is to be rewarded materially by elected officials or to gain seats themselves through the spoils system. He feels that Civil Service reform, which fought to take the power to appoint jobs from parties, would so destroy the patriotism of the nation and that it would lead to treachery and rebellion, as though there were no other reason for citizens to vote. He tells of one story in which a young man was "chokful of patriotism" who was turned down for a government job when he failed the Civil Service examination and in turn "went to Cuba, enlisted in the Spanish army at the breakin' out of the war, and died fighting his country" on San Juan Hill (Riordon 57). This is not the only instance in which Plunkitt uses sensationalism and fear to drive his point, not to mention a little rewriting of history. He does the latter several times, such as when he states "Of course you won't deny that the government was built up by great parties... that's history" (Riordon 56) although McDonald asserts "parties are not called for in the Constitution and did not even exist in anything like their contemporary form for the first thirty years or so after the Constitution was ratified in 1789. Parties were irrelevant to the Founding Fathers" (Riordon 4). Nevertheless, Plunkitt imagines Thomas Jefferson looking down from a cloud cheering him on as he beats the life out of the reform movement that is trying to weaken Tammany Democracy's power (Riordon 97). Hopefully, the writer of the Declaration of Independence would have been against the consolidation of power and privilege into as few hands as possible and be rather for the greater distribution of a democratic system. Such revisionism is understandable from someone like Plunkitt as he is a promoter of what most can recognize today. Anti-Intellectualism is prevalent in his outlook. Tammany leaders, he says, are not bookworms (Riordon 73). He outright rejects the role of colleges and academically trained men in politics, that men "can cram their heads with all sorts of college rot. They couldn't make a bigger mistake" for their "chances are 100 to 1 against" them (Riordon 52). He doesn't give a clear explanation for this belief other than one must study human nature and not books to succeed. Perhaps the real reason is that the college graduates may carry with them idealism or more thorough knowledge of what the Founding Fathers intended, or even a more worldly outlook and understanding not just of international affairs but of how those outside the city operate. Plunkitt demonstrates none of these traits and seemed to care little and even have contempt for anything outside the city limits. It could be that such knowledge would have impeded a young man in his ability to operate in the hustling and power-hungry politics in which Plunkitt and Tammany operated. These are the only politics Plunkett knew, and though undemocratic, he accepted it, and felt that it was the only way it should be. For the more liberal minded of today's American citizens, Plunkitt of Tammany Hall offers insight into the recent state of national politics. Indeed, the more critical among us can find many parallels to Plunkett's philosophy and that presented by President George W. Bush (which I will not detail here, as this is covered in my book, Looking Deeper, from Yggdrasil Press). The lessons from Tammany and Plunkitt have yet to be fully appreciated, it seems. Of course, unlike Plunkitt, no one could accuse George W. Bush of temperance. | ||
Good Book, Bad Edition. I read this for my Political Parties Class. I found the book very interesting, however there were more typos in this book, than in any book I have ever read. I would buy a different edition of this book. This is a reprint from a company that only does reprints of rare books. Find another one to go with, you have to decipher this one. For example, some "I" are replaced with "!", and so on. Very annoying. | ||