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William "Boss" Tweed began his rise to influence in the late 1840s as a volunteer fireman in New York City. From this inauspicious beginning, Tweed managed to build a power base in his ward. He served as an alderman in 1852-53 and then was elected to a term in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1853-55. State and local affairs were his prime concern and he remained active in Tammany Hall, the organizational force of the Democratic Party in New York. Tweed emerged as the focal point of patronage decisions, giving him immense power. Boss Tweed gathered a small group of men who controlled New York City's finances. They dispensed jobs and contracts in return for political support and bribes. Historians have never been able to tabulate the full extent to which the city's resources were drained.
