Boss Tweed Feared Nast Cartoons

In the 1870s, American political boss William “Boss” Tweed controlled New York City’s Tammany Hall machine while corruption scandals surrounded his allies and city contracts. German-born American cartoonist Thomas Nast attacked Tweed in Harper’s Weekly, drawing him as the public face of political corruption. Tweed reportedly told aides to stop the pictures because many of his constituents could not read, but they could see the cartoons. The visual campaign helped turn public opinion against Tweed, who was arrested in 1871, later escaped prison, and was recaptured after someone recognized him from Nast’s cartoons.

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