George Washington Plunkitt

Plunkitt of Tammany Hall George Washington Plunkitt

Tammany Hall was one of the most colorful political machines in U S history and George Washington Plunkitt was in the thick of it. George Plunkitt was an early 20th century New York politician. Plunkitt was a powerful State Senator. He was a wealthy man earning his wealth from what he termed "honest graft". He was a member of Tammany Hall and believed in the patronage system and using power for personal gain. Plunkitt described honest graft as buying land that he knew would be needed someday for a pubic use and then selling it at an inflated price. Dishonest graft would be buying land and then using his influence to have a project built on it. This series of talks by an extremely interesting politician is a wonderful glimpse into the famous Tammany Hall.