It was not merely among these newcomers that the boss found his
opportunities for carrying elections. The dense city blocks were
convenient lodging places for "floaters." Just before elections,
the population of the downtown wards in the larger cities
increased surprisingly. The boss fully availed himself of the
psychological and social reactions of the city upon the
individual, knowing instinctively how much more easily men are
corrupted when they are merged in the crowd and have lost their
sense of personal responsibility.

It was in the city, then, that industrial politics found their
natural habitat. We shall now scrutinize more closely some of the
developments which arose out of such an environment.



CHAPTER V. TAMMANY HALL

Before the Revolutionary War numerous societies were organized to
aid the cause of Independence. These were sometimes called "Sons
of Liberty" and not infrequently "Sons of St. Tammany," after an
Indian brave whom tradition had shrouded in virtue. The name was
probably adopted to burlesque the royalist societies named after
St. George, St. David, or St. Andrew. After the war these
societies vanished. But, in New York City, William Mooney, an
upholsterer, reorganized the local society as "Tammany Society or
Columbian Order," devoted ostensibly to goodfellowship and
charity. Its officers bore Indian titles and its ceremonies were
more or less borrowed from the red man, not merely because of
their unique and picturesque character, but to emphasize the