st. tammany chapter 1

A Timeline: 1682-1965Jeffrey B. Evans

AmericaThrough the Eyes

of St. Tammany

New York City’s Tammany Hall and its Impact on the Nation

© 2016 Jeffrey B. Evans

Cover Illustration:Interior of the 1868 Democratic National Convention at Tammany Hall.

From Manual of the Corporation of New York, 1868By Joseph Shannon, Clerk of the Common Council.

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My interest in Tammany Hall was sparked by my previous book, a history of Carl Schurz Park, located on the East River in Manhattan’s Yorkville neighborhood, between 84th and 90th Street. I was asked to write this book by the board of the Carl Schurz Park Conservancy. The result, published by the Conservancy, is The Little Park on the River, An Illustrated Timeline of Carl Schurz Park. The fundamental thesis of this book is that the history of this amazing little park on the East River, home of Gracie Mansion, is a microcosm of the history of New York City. An example of this is that in 1887 the Common Council of New York City earmarked one million dollars for acquiring property for small parks in all of Manhattan. In 1890, in a classic case of political malfeasance, Charity Commissioner Edward Sheehy, a Tammany Hall politician, arranged for over five hundred thousand dollars from the “Small Park Fund” to be paid for several small parcels of land between East 86th Street and East 88th Street, Avenue B and the East River, thus to extend what was then called East River Park. Sheehy was the originator of the Small Park Fund and owned several of the parcels. He likely tipped off others to buy the parcels cheap, and sell them back to the city dear. Another one of the owners of the parcels is Patrick Sheehy. That Edward and Patrick had the same last name, and owned adjoining property is no coincidence. A New York Times editorial of February 27, 1892 complains that a blacksmith shop owned by Edward Sheehy in East River Park has yet to be vacated, and that it:

“…has become the rendezvous of a gang of young toughs, who had insulted women and assailed men, and so terrorized the neighborhood that people were moving away.” It further states “that anyone without a vigorous Tammany ‘pull’ would not be permitted to maintain such a nuisance in defiance of the law.”

The link between The Little Park on the River, and America Through the Eyes of St. Tammany, is that the history of Carl Schurz Park mirrors the history of New York City, and the history of Tammany Hall is entwined with the history of the United States. The story of Tammany Hall is epic. It begins in 1682. When most folks think of Tammany Hall, they likely think of the 19th century racist caricatures of the Irish in Harper’s Weekly by Thomas Nast and others, but the history of the Society of St. Tammany stretches all the way back to late 17th century Philadelphia. The Delaware Lenape Indian chief Tamanend, known as the Affable, seeking peace with the Quakers, cedes all his lands to William Penn. After his death the people of Philadelphia immortalize his legacy. Reacting to England’s rule from afar, they seek a symbol opposed to England’s Saint George, Scotland’s Saint Andrew and Ireland’s Saint Patrick. Consequently, the people of Philadelphia canonize Tamanend to become Saint Tammany. He is the New World’s first tutelar saint, defining the new American identity. A patriotic society named the Sons of St. Tammany is formed in Philadelphia, where in 1776 the founding fathers are trying to form a government as an alternative to a monarchy. The concepts of the indigenous people, mainly the Iroquois Great Law of Peace, will directly influence America’s Articles of Confederation, which precedes the Constitution. After the Revolutionary War, a much more powerful political Society is formed in New York City named the Society of St. Tammany. It will finally come to an end in 1965, with the last Tammany Boss, Carmine De Sapio, being defeated by future mayor Ed Koch. The influence of this political organization in New York City, New York State, and the United States cannot be overstated. It embraces the formation of the First Party System. It influences who will run for president. It has a hand in determining the national banking policies. It supports states rights over the federal government. It believes that America’s destiny is manifest. It supports and depends on the rights of immigrants. Pro and anti-abolition factions in Tammany Hall mirror the national debate on slavery leading up to the Civil War. The leaders of the Society of St. Tammany associate with the likes of Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Houston, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy. They challenge such political figures as Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. Many books on Tammany Hall have been written, but they all approach the history of this political organization from a local, New York, perspective. What I try to convey is that from the beginning the Society of St. Tammany will have a major impact on national matters. An article in the New-York Evening Post confirms this thesis.

INTRODUCTION

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IntroductionOn July 6, 1852, the Post reports of a meeting at Tammany Hall, the headquarters of the Society of St. Tammany, located across from City Hall Park in lower Manhattan. The article states that at the meeting: “Nearly every state in the Union was represented by at least one of her citizens; and all seemed highly gratified by the zeal and union manifested by the New York democracy.” One of the things I discover in writing this book is that early in the 19th century, a stalwart of Tammany Hall will define a concept that will serve the Hall well. It is known as the Spoils System. In January of 1832, Tammany’s man in Washington, New York Senator William Marcy, who will go on to become governor of New York, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State, rises on the floor of the Senate to defend his mentor, Martin Van Buren. His political opponents, Henry Clay, and Daniel Webster are seeking to block Van Buren’s appointment as Minister to the Court of St. James by President Andrew Jackson. Marcy, the head of the Albany Regency—one of the Untied States’ first political machines, states:

“It may be, sir, that the politicians of the United States are not so fastidious as some gentlemen are, as to disclosing the principles on which they act. They boldly preach what they practice. When they are contending for victory, they avow their intention of enjoying the fruits of it. If they are defeated, they expect to retire from office. If they are successful, they claim, as a matter of right, the advantages of success. They see nothing wrong in the rule, that to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy.”

With this speech, Marcy gives a name to a practice that will cross party lines on a national level, and become a driving force in government in the 19th century: political patronage. Party loyalty will trump merit time and again, with the winners of elections being able to dole out key appointments and jobs to their supporters. The remarkable thing about Marcy supposedly coining “the spoils” is that he is actually quoting the Qur’an. This is pointed out by a supporter of Marcy in a letter to the editor of the New-York Spectator in 1842. In it he chides the editor, stating:

“Messrs. Editors—With this note you will receive ‘Sale’s Koran,’ which I ask you to accept; besides I wish you to read it. You have frequently abused my friend Wm. L. Marcy for having said in the Senate of the U.S. that ‘to the Victor belong the Spoils.’ This observation did not originate with the Senator, but was a quotation from ‘Al Koran,’ revealed to Mohammed at Medina, sixteen hundred years ago.”

The link between William Marcy, and the Qur’an is Thomas Jefferson, who has a tremendous influence on Tammany Hall. Jefferson comes to know the Quran, when he is a student at the College of William and Mary where he purchases a copy of The Koran translated by George Sale. What follows is a quote from Sale’s translation that influences Marcy:

“Now God was well pleased with the true believers, when they sware fidelity to thee under the tree; and he knew what was in their hearts; wherefore he sent down on them tranquility of mind, and rewarded them with a speedy victory, and many spoils which they took: for God is mighty and wise.”

Another aspect of Tammany Hall that my research revealed is that early on, the Society of St. Tammany begins to consider the rights of women. On March 21, 1822, the National Advocate reports:

“Forum.—We perceive that the following question is to be discussed at the Forum at Tammany-Hall: ‘Are husbands justifiable in correcting their wives?’ Gentlemen, gentlemen, which of you will take the affirmative of this question? As my friend Dr. Coleman frequently and correctly says. ‘The man that lays his hand upon a woman Save in the way of kindness, is a wretch Whom it were gross flattery to call a coward.’ ”

I find that one of the early leaders of the women’s rights movement is the remarkable Frances Wright. Her groundbreaking doctrines include sexual equality and freedom for women, as well as rights for the common workingman. In 1829 she gives a series of lectures in New York City that shock the conservative upper class. She is essentially run out of town, but she leaves behind a core group of supporters that will be allowed to meet on Sunday’s at Tammany Hall. She dies on December 13, 1852, and on December 17 the New-York Evening Post prints her obituary that includes the following paragraph:

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America Through the Eyes of St. Tammany “We well remember the first appearance of Miss Wright at the Park Theatre in this city, where she was about to deliver a series of discourses ‘on knowledge’ we believe the subject was. A fierce storm of obloquy broke upon the heads of all who proposed to listen to her words, to see what good or ill there might be in them. The newspapers raved, the pulpits thundered, the parlors shrieked; while on the other hand, Tammany Hall, then a defender of free discussion, and a host of admirers gathered from the Mechanic and other societies, insisted that she was an angel of light come to emancipate and redeem mankind.”

I come across another Frances as Tammany Hall enters the 20th century. In 1911, shaken by Manhattan’s Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, in which 123 women, and 23 men die, Tammany Boss Charlie Murphy meets with a young woman named Frances Perkins. Perkins, highly educated, is the head of the New York Consumers League, and will go on to become the first female cabinet member as Secretary of Labor under Franklin Roosevelt. At the meeting with Murphy, she lobbies him to support passage of legislation reforming factory safety laws. Murphy agrees. Murphy is instrumental in the state’s passage of legislation reforming work-place sanitary regulations, requiring factories to have fire alarms, limiting working hours for women, toughening up insurance requirements, creating widow’s pensions and scholarships for poor children. In addition, the legislature ratifies the Federal Income Tax amendment and an amendment authorizing the direct election of U. S. Senators. It sponsors a statewide referendum on woman’s suffrage. The New York Stock Exchange is incorporated, and with it the adoption of new regulations limiting stock speculation. It is a remarkable year for New York State, and again shows Tammany’s influence on the nation. These reforms, backed by Murphy and Tammany Hall, are said to be a template for Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, and Frances Perkins will go on to state: “The extent to which this legislation in New York marked a change in American political attitudes and policies can scarcely be overrated. It was, I am convinced, a turning point.” Tammany Hall supports white male suffrage that becomes law in New York State in 1822. And in 1920, it supports the 19th amendment, allowing women the right to vote. Tammany’s support of suffrage is a practical matter. It enables them to attract votes. Tammany Hall’s otherwise magnanimous treatment of women has a downside. After the Civil War, many members of the Society of St. Tammany become rich operating brothels. This dichotomy demonstrates what is spelled out in the third article of Society’s constitution of 1789: “The constitution of this society shall consist of two Parts, viz., The external or public, and the internal or private.” The Society, defining its public and private aspect, obscures the lines between its public patriotic and social functions, and its private political machine. Its public face will be patriotic, one that helps the poor with turkeys and coal on Christmas, and its private face will be one concerned with politics, power, and money. I don’t have a degree in history, but my father did. The late Emory G. Evans was the chairman of the history department at the University of Maryland. He wrote two books. The first was a biography of Virginian Thomas Nelson. The second was a study of Virginia’s elite families prior to the Revolutionary War. He worked on A Topping People for at least a dozen years while teaching and managing the history department. I remember him traveling all day to a remote rural library and poring over an old manuscript just to find a single citation. He would be shocked at how research has changed in the digital age of the 21st century. The phrase “a new paradigm” could not be more apt. Nowadays, using Internet Archive or Google Books, I can download a PDF of a thousand page history of Philadelphia from 1883 that is imbedded with optical character recognition, and search for every single citation of “Tammany” within minutes from the comfort of my easy chair. Living in New York City, I can easily travel to the New York Public Library on 42nd Street, access NewsBank’s amazing digital archive of historical newspapers, and transfer a PDF of every single article with the word “Tammany” from the newspapers of 19th century New York City onto my flash drive. As the late 19th century district leader, and Tammany bard George Washington Plunkitt said: “I seen my opportunities and I took em’.” Using a pencil, my father wrote the first draft of his manuscript in longhand on a legal pad. Nowadays, it goes without saying how easily one can revise and rewrite a manuscript using word-processing software, but there was a time when “cut and paste” meant literally cutting and pasting. E.B. White, in his revision of William Strunk Jr.’s’ classic The Elements of Style, states, charmingly and quaintly:

“Quite often the writer will discover, on examining the completed work, that there are serious flaws in the arrangement of the material, calling for transpositions. When this is the case, he can save himself much labor and time by using scissors on his manuscript, cutting it to pieces and fitting the pieces together in a better order.”

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Introduction Among the hundreds of books that I was able to download as references for this work, two dueling histories of Tammany Hall from the early 20th century stand out: Saint Tammany and the Origin of the Society of Tammany or Columbian Order in the City of New York by Edwin P. Kilroe and The History of Tammany Hall by Gustavus Myers. Kilroe’s history lauds the greatness of Tammany Hall. He came from a long line of pro-Tammany supporters, was a member of the Society of St. Tammany, and an assistant prosecutor for the District Attorney of New York County. Myers was a classic muckraker and virulently anti-Tammany. He was the author of over a dozen books and received a Guggenheim fellowship in 1941. He was the first to write an anti-Tammany history. Kilroe went so far as to accuse Myers of libel. All histories are shades of gray, but in this book I try to let the facts speak for themselves as best I can. Yes, Tammany Hall evolved in to a bloated corrupt organization, but it also supported many forward thinking policies, such as lien laws that protected manufacturers and the abolition of laws that put people in prison for debt. Sure, William M. Tweed would steal tens of millions of dollars from New York City, but he also prevailed on the City to provide more alms-houses and orphanages. He was a founder of the Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital, and secured the site in Central Park for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the early 20th century, Tammany Hall would oppose prohibition and censorship. In 1808, commencing one of its first patriotic acts, the Society of St. Tammany built a crypt for the bones of the 11,500 American prisoners of war who died on British prison ships moored off Brooklyn during the American Revolutionary War. The glue of this work is how well Tammany Hall is documented in the press. Newspapers are generally politically based, and from the start pro-Tammany and anti-Tammany journalists emerged. One anti-Tammany newspaper, the New-York Evening Post was formed in 1801, and exists today as the New York Post. A pro-Tammany newspaper, the National Advocate was edited by Mordecai M. Noah—one of the most influential Jews in 19th century America. The New-York Evening Post came to support and then deride Tammany Hall throughout the 19th century. A search for “Tammany Hall” in the on-line archives of the New York Times comes up with over sixty thousand results. One of the aspects of the numerous newspaper quotes I cite is that I try to preserve the wonderful, arcane language of the late 18th and early 19th century. This book contains numerous paintings, etchings, illustrations, and photographs. The cliché “a picture is worth a thousand words” is well suited for this history. Again, the New York Public Library and its on-line Digital Gallery is key. With over eight hundred thousand digitized images of paintings, maps, posters, etchings, prints, and photographs, it is a resource that has few equals. Other institutions, such as the American Antiquarian Society and the Library of Congress play an important role in the visual research of this book. Finally, it would be a disservice not to acknowledge Wikipedia. It is a jumping off point. It allows you to easily connect the dots. You start with the War of 1812. You jump to the Battle of Baltimore. That leads you to the Battle of North Point. You learn that at this battle, British Major General Robert Ross was killed by an American sniper, as cited on page 200 of How America Fought Its Wars by Victor Brooks and Robert Hohwald. What started as, by its own admission, a flawed website, has evolved into an astounding resource. The aim of this book is to provide a comprehensive accounting of the history of Tammany Hall and its impact on the nation. It is written in a unique format, an illustrated timeline that describes events in chronological order. It relies on direct quotes from articles in newspapers from the 18th to the 20th century that relate to the Society, Tammany Hall, and the individuals and events that play a part in its history. It is heavily illustrated. Most histories are written in the past tense. The following chapters are written in the present tense. This is a conscious intention on my part, because this timeline describes events as they are happening, not as they happened. Of all the histories of Tammany Hall that have been written, none seem to do justice to its sweeping, monumental arc. Some concentrate on its beginnings, while others discount it. Several publications are pure political propaganda on Tammany’s behalf. Still others depict only the negative aspect of the Society. With this history I hope to capture the good and the bad, the humorous and the tragic, the heroic and the mundane—the history of this amazing institution in all its glory.

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A stylized portrait of Tamanend from the collection of Edwin P. Kilroe.

CHAPTER 1The Lenape, The Iroquois, The Founding Fathers

We start at the very beginning. One can only imagine what this world would be like if the Bering Land Bridge had not formed. The human migration from Asia that ended twelve thousand years ago provides a long time for the indigenous people of the Americas to develop. This development will eventually lead to the fateful meeting between Chief Tamanend and William Penn. Like his Lenape brethren in Manhattan, he agrees to sell the lands he presided over for a trifle. In thanks, the people of Philadelphia glorify him as Saint Tammany and they set aside May Day as his Saints Day, which coincides with the beginning of the fishing season on the Schuylkill River. A society in his honor was formed. They adopt Indian customs such as smoking a calumet (a peace pipe), dancing and whooping in the Indian style, and referring to members as braves, sachems and chiefs.

America’s first Saint set the stage for the colonists to rise up against their English masters, and rise up they do. Mindful of Tamanend’s legacy, the Second Continental Congress meeting in 1776 in Philadelphia looks to the Iroquois Gayanashagowa or Great Law of Peace as a template for their new government. The new nation embraces St. Tammany, with May Day celebrated in his honor. George Washington stages a Tammany celebration at Valley Forge in May of 1778. Up until 1786 Philadelphia’s Sons of St. Tammany hold lavish celebrations on May 1st that consist of eating, drinking, and smoking—mainly drinking. It also host the indigenous people during these celebrations. In 1786, Philadelphia’s society fêtes Chief Cornplanter of the Seneca Tribe on his way to address Congress in New York City.

Tamanend is also represented in the popular culture of the time. As early as 1776 he is the subject of patriotic plays with anti-British themes. Poet Philip Freneau wrote the poem “The Prophesy of King Tammany” in 1782. A highly fictionalized version of Tamanend is part of the conclusion of James Fenimore Coopers’ “The Last of the Mohicans,” published in 1826.

After 1786, the Quakers, claiming that the celebrations of Tammany center on getting drunk begin to openly oppose the grand feasts, and the celebrations come to an end. This sets the stage for New York’s Society of St. Tammany.

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The Lenape, The Iroquois, The Founding Fathers

Pre-History

1682

Falling sea levels caused by quaternary glaciation, known as the Ice Age create the Bering Land Bridge between Eurasia and America as late as 25,000 years ago joining Siberia and Alaska.At what point the first humans migrate to America is unclear. The last migration takes place 12,000 years ago, 1 presumably stopped by de-glaciation causing sea levels to rise, flooding the land bridge. Based on genetic research, the migration takes place in three waves. 2 The early inhabitants include the Clovis Culture, the Folsom Complex and the Na-Dené speaking people.With the domestication of Maize in Mesoamerica, the Eastern Woodland tribes develop their own agriculture, and by the 15th Century are able to accumulate a surplus of crops that leads to higher population density and by turn the development of a complex culture. The two main groups are the Iroquois and the Algonquian, of which the Lenape are a part.

A map of the Bering Land Bridge from NOAA.

In the early 17th century, Tamanend, referred to as the Affable, the legendary sachem of the Lenape clan of the Delaware Indians, is born. The name affable, according to several accounts, is coined by John Heckewelder, a missionary to the American Indians in the late 18th and early 19th century. In 1682, Tamanend is instrumental in forging a peace between the indigenous people of the area and William Penn, founder of the Province of Pennsylvania. The peace treaty, according to legend, takes place under a grand elm in the village of Shackamaxon, now part of Philadelphia. William Penn, speaking of Tamanend remarks: “We found him an old man, but yet vigorous in mind and body, with high notions of liberty...” 3 As part of the mythical status that surrounds Tamanend after his death, the Affable was quoted to have said that the Lenape and the English will “...live in peace as long as the waters run in the rivers and creeks and as long as the stars and moon endure.” 4 The peace will last 96 years, with the Lenape signing the Treaty of Fort Pitt with the Americans in 1778. 5 The meeting is immortalized with the painting Penn’s Treaty with the Indians by Benjamin West.

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America Through the Eyes of St. Tammany

1683

1692

1694

Penn’s Treaty with the Indians, by Benjamin West, 1772.

From the collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

On June 23, the first of two documents signed by Tamanend appears. It is a deed, granting to William Penn “all my Lands Lying betwixt Pemmapecka and Nessaminehs Creeks, and all along Nesheminehs Creeks . . . for ye Consideration of so much Wampum, so many Guns, Shoes, Stockings, Looking-glasses, Blanketts and other goods as he, ye Sd William Penn shall please to give unto me.” 6

On June 15, a second deed is signed by Tamanend, stating: “Full satisfaction for all that Tract of Land formerly belonging to Taminent and others, which wee parted with unto William Penn, Proprietor. . . Therefore wee Doo hereby acquitt. release & discharg the said Proprietor his Heirs & Successrs from any further claims, dues & demands whatsoever, Concerning the said Lands or any other Tract of Land claimed by us from the beginning of the World to the day of the date hereof.” 7 Thereby ceding all of the Lenape lands in Pennsylvania to Penn, making way for the incorporation of Philadelphia in 1701.

The Mark of Tamanend, from the History of Philadelphia by J. Thomas Scharf and Thompson Westcott.

On July 6, a council is held between the British and the Delaware. One of the Delaware chiefs, Hithquoquean, acknowledges the Delaware being subservient to the Iroquois: “We have always been a peaceable people, and resolving to live so, and being but week and verie few in numbers, cannot assist you.” 8

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circa 1698

William Penn, from the History of Philadelphia by J. Thomas Scharf and Thompson Westcott.

Tamanend dies and the legend begins. There is no direct record of his death, but the Maryland Council of Records cite Owechela as the new chief of the Delawares in 1698. 9 Accounts of his death vary, with some stating that he died on the banks of the Neshaminy Creek near present day Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The circumstances of his death are the subject of folk lore as well:

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America Through the Eyes of St. Tammany“...an aged chief, with his followers, was proceeding to attend a conference with the Pennsylvania Proprietaries at Philadelphia. The chief, too infirm to walk, was carried by younger members of the party. They halted near a spring, where the young Indians built a hut for the old man; for they either became tired of their burden or wished to hasten to the conference at an appointed time. When night came on they decamped, leaving the old man under the care of an Indian girl. On awakening the following morning, he became so distressed and enraged at finding himself deserted that he sought death by stabbing himself; but his weakness frustrated this attempt. Persevering in his endeavor to take his own life, be set fire to his bed of leaves and threw himself upon it.” 10

This story is recounted later in this chapter in a letter by John Adams in 1777 and a letter by the Society of Friends in 1786. By the early 18th century the people of Philadelphia start to refer to him as “Saint Tammany” and “King Tammany.” As the colonists start to chafe under England’s thumb, Tamanend serves as a symbol for the new American identity.

Delaware Indian Family, from the History of Philadelphia by J. Thomas Scharf and Thompson Westcott.

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1732

1747

The Schuylkill Fishing Company is established by Quakers in present day Philadelphia. Claiming that Tamanend had given them exclusive rights to fish the Schuylkill River, they ordain him as their patron saint, with his Saints Day designated as May 1st, the beginning of the fishing season. As early as 1625 there are accounts of the “Americanization” of the ancient spring festival of May Day, with Indians and colonists gathering around tall pine May Poles. By the mid 18th century the festival takes on Indian customs with people whooping and dancing in the Indian style. 11

The Maypole of Merry Mount, 1625, from the collection of The New York Public Library.

The Schuylkill Fishing Company continues the legend surrounding Tamanend by attributing the Indian phrase “Kwanio Che Keeteru”—”This is my right, I will defend it”—to him. The Fishing Company presents a 32 pound cannon to the Association Battery in Philadelphia with the motto stamped on it, demonstrating an increasingly restless colony. 12 According a 1904 article in The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, titled The Society of the Sons of Saint Tammany of Philadelphia by Francis Von A. Cabeen, the Indian phrase is actually of Iroquois origin translating as “I am master wherever I am.” This is based on research from 1888 by a Dr. Brinton, of the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of American Archeology and Linguistics.

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1765

1772

Map of Philadelphia, 1750, from the History of Philadelphia by J. Thomas Scharf and Thompson Westcott.

England’s Stamp Act is enacted. It requires that printed matter in the colonies be printed on paper produced in England embossed with a revenue stamp. Since no member of the American colony is allowed to serve in British Parliament, the colonists have no say in how the taxes they paid are used. In response to this the Sons of Liberty is formed by disgruntled colonists. “No taxation without representation” is the famous motto attributed to them. They adopt the tradition of the Tammany Day celebrations using Indian symbols and concepts. The secret society, through petition, protests and acts of violence such as tar and feathering of tax collectors effectively prevents the British from actually collecting many taxes. The Act is repealed on March 17, 1766. This is the beginning of organized resistance to England that culminates with the American Revolutionary War.

The May Day celebrations of Saint Tammany are the basis of the Sons of King Tammany being formed in Philadelphia, parallel to the Sons of Liberty. The society is formed on May 1, at the home of one James Byrn, presumably a member of Philadelphia’s merchant elite. 21 toasts are drunk, the first one being to King George III. By the ninth toast the tone shifts and is made to the “Speedy repeal of oppression and unconstitutional acts.” The tenth toast continues in this vein: “May the Americans surely understand and faithfully defend their constitutional rights.” The final toast states: “May the Sons of King Tammany, St. George, St. Andrew, St. Patrick and St. David love each other as brethren of one common ancestor and unite in their hearty endeavors to preserve constitutional American liberties.” 13

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1773 Growing increasingly disenchanted with King George III, the Philadelphia society holds a “canonization” of Tamanend. A handbill from April 28, by the politician John Dickinson states:

“SIR.—As all nations have for seven centuries past adopted some great personage remarkable for his virtues and loved for civil and religious liberty as their tutelar saint, and annually assembled at a fixed day to commemorate him, the natives of this nourishing Province, determined to follow so laudable example, for some years past have adopted a great warrior sachem and chief named Tammany, a fast friend to our fore fathers, to be the tutelar Saint of this Province, and have hitherto on the 1st. of May done the accustomed honors to the memory of so great and celebrated a personage. And for this purpose you are requested to meet the children and associate Sons of Saint Tammany at the house of Mr. James Byrn’s to dine together and form such useful charitable plans for the relief of all in distress as shall then be agreed upon.” 14

The Society’s name is changed to the Sons of Saint Tammany.

Printed by Robert Aitken, Philadelphia, 1773, from the collection of The Library Company of Philadelphia.

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1773

1773

1775

1776

An article in the Pennsylvania Chronicle of May 8, states:

“...a considerable number of the most indigent of the confined debtors, deeply impressed with the warmest sense of gratitude, beg leave in this manner, to return their sincere and hearty thanks to the very respectable society of the Sons of St. Tammany, who were assembled the first instant at Mr. Bryn’s Tavern to celebrate the day, for the plentiful gift of victuals and beer, which they were pleased to send, and which was faithfully distributed among them.”

This demonstrates the beginning of patronage to the poor that would shape the political power of Tammany Hall in the nineteenth century.

On December 16, the Sons of Liberty conduct the Boston Tea party in response to England’s Tea Act, with a few of the members posing as Indians. England responds by ending self government and making General Thomas Gage governor, occupying Massachusetts with British troops.

The Boston Tea Party, from the collection of The New York Public Library.

On April 19, American patriots of the Massachusetts militia defeat the British Army at the North Bridge at Concord and the American Revolutionary War is on.

In April, Philadelphian John Leycock writes a comedy called The Fall of British Tyranny; or, American Liberty Triumphant. On April 30 the Pennsylvania Evening Post prints a song from the comedy: The First Of May, A New Song, In Praise Of St. Tammany, The American Saint. The first two stanzas of the song beginning:

‘Of St. George, or St. Bute, let the poet Laureat sing,Of Pharaoh or Pluto of old,While he rhimes forth their praise, in false, flattering lays,I’ll sing of St. Tamm’ny the bold, my brave boys.

Let Hibernia’s sons boast, make Patrick their toast,And Scots Andrew’s fame spread abroad,Potatoes and oats, and Welch leeks for Welch goats,Was never St. Tammany’s food, my brave boys.’

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1776

1777

1777

On July 4, the Second Continental Congress, comprising of delegates of the 13 American Colonies adopt the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, declaring themselves independent states and seceding from the British Empire. It is worth noting that in June, John Adams invites a delegation of Iroquois Chiefs to observe Congress in session, mindful of the advice that Iroquois had given the colonists: “you observe the same methods, you will acquire fresh strength and power” 15 which speaks of the Iroquois Confederation’s embrace of a weak leader except in time of war, separation of powers and personal independence as outlined in the Iroquois Gayanashagowa or the Great Law of Peace. Many of these concepts will be used in The Articles of Confederation, the precursor to The Constitution. 16

Detail of a Wampum Belt from the Iroquois Confederacy, symbolizing the Gayanashagowa as an ever growing tree.

From The Constitution of the Five Nations by Arthur C. Parker.

On May 1, writing from Philadelphia, John Adams reports to his wife Abigail:

“This is King Tammany’s Day. Tammany was an Indian King, of this past of the Continent, when Mr. Penn first came here. His court was in this town. He was friendly to Mr. Penn and very serviceable to him. He lived here among the first settlers for some time and until old age. Some say he lived here with Mr. Penn when he first came here, and upon Mr. Penn’s return he heard of it, and called on his grandchildren to lead him to this place to see his old friend. But they went off and left him blind and very old. Upon this the old man finding himself forsaken, he made up a large fire and threw himself into it. The people here have sainted him and keep his day.” 17

In late September, British General William Howe enters and occupies Philadelphia after being beaten back by General George Washington’s Continental Army at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777. The Continental Congress flee Philadelphia. The Sons of St. Tammany cease activity during this time.

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America Through the Eyes of St. TammanyDuring the bitter winter at Valley Forge, Washington’s starving army is aided by The Oneida Indians who provide them with corn, insuring their survival to fight on. To commemorate this, the army holds a Tammany Day celebration on May 1 with May Poles erected. 18 George Ewing, a solider at Valley Forge writes:

“Using the bundle of arrows imagery, Washington’s men spent the day in mirth and jollity the soldiers parading, marching with fife and drum and Huzzaing as they passed the poles their hats adorned with white blossoms. The following was the procession of the 3rd J Regt on the aforesaid day first one serjeant in an Indian habit representing King Tammany. Second Thirteen Serjeants drest in white each with a bow in his left hand and thirteen arrows in his right. Thirdly thirteen Drums and fifes. Fourthly the privates in thirteen platoons, thirteen men each - The Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers being drawn up in the aforesaid manner on the Regimental Parade gave 3 Cheers at their own pole . . . in the evening the officers of the aforesaid Regt assembled and had a song and dance in honor of King Tammany.” 19

Washington at Valley Forge by Frederick Heppenheimer, from the collection of the Library of Congress.

British General Howe resigns and is replaced by the second in command, General Sir Henry Clinton. In June, responding to the threat by France to attack New York City, then occupied by the British, Clinton abandons Philadelphia and evacuates the British Army to New York.

A notice in the Pennsylvanian Packet of May 1, states:

“The Sons of St. Tammany and their adopted brethren of St. Patrick, St. Andrew and St. George, are desired to meet this day being the first of May at the Theatre in Southwark (Situated at South and Apollo Streets.) at two o’clock. Dinner on the table at three o’clock. N. B. The dining at the late Proprietors being inconvenient the Theatre is preferred to any other place.”

This demonstrates a return of formalities by the Sons of St. Tammany.

In early October, forty-two Chiefs and Braves of the Seneca Nation visit Philadelphia and are received by the Sons of St. Tammany. 20

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The Lenape, The Iroquois, The Founding FathersThe Articles of Confederation are finally ratified by the thirteen colonies, with Maryland being the last on March, 1. It is first drafted by a committee, whose chairman is Sons of St. Tammany member, John Dickinson, during the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia on July 12, 1776. Its intention is to have “a plan of confederacy for securing the freedom, sovereignty, and independence of the United States.” In fact little power is granted to Congress. It is the only federal institution. There is no presidency or judiciary. No taxes are levied by Congress leading to a financial crisis that will finally be addressed six year later with the ratification of the United States Constitution.

On October 19, the combined forces of the Continental Army under General George Washington and French Army Troops lead by Marshal of France, Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau, having besieged British General Charles Cornwallis and his British Army at Yorktown, Virginia, accept surrender by the British forces and the articles of capitulation are signed. Over 8,000 British soldiers lay down their arms. It is the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War in North America. The British will continue to garrison troops in New York City, Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia until 1783.

On December 11, Philip Freneau, known as The Poet of the American Revolution publishes the following poem in Freeman’s Journal:

THE PROPHECY OF KING TAMMANY

The Indian Chief who, fam’d of yore Saw Europe’s sons advent’ring here Look’d sorrowing to the crowded shore, And sighing dropt a tear: He saw them half his world explore, He saw them draw the shining blade, He saw their hostile ranks display’d, And cannons blazing thro’ that shade, Where only peace was known before. Ah what unequal arms! he cry’d, How are thou fall’n my country s pride, The rural sylvan reign! Far from our pleasing shores to go To Western Rivers, winding slow, Is this the boon the Gods bestow? What have we done, great patrons, say, That strangers seize our woods away, And drive us naked from our native plain? Rage and revenge inspire my soul, And passion burns without control Hence strangers, to your native shore, Far from our Indian shades retire. Remove these Gods that vomit fire, And stain with blood these ravag’d glades no more. In vain I weep, in vain I sigh, These strangers all our arms defy, As they advance our chieftains die!— What can their hosts oppose? The bow has lost its wonted spring, The arrow faulters on the wing, Nor carries ruin from the string To end their being and our woes. Yes yes—I see our nation bends;

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America Through the Eyes of St. TammanyThe Gods no longer are our friends, But why these weak complaints and sighs? Are there not gardens in the West, Where all our far fam’d Sachems rest? I’ll go an unexpected guest; And the dark horrors of the way despise. Ev’n now the thundering peals draw nigh, Tie theirs to triumph, ours to die! But mark me, Christians, ere I go— Thou too shalt have thy share of woe, The time rolls on, not moving slow, When hostile squadrons for your blood shall come, And ravage all your shore! Your warriors and your children slay, And some in dismal dungeons lay, Or lead them captive far away, To climes unknown, thro’ seas untry’d before. When struggling long, at last with pain,You brake a cruel tyrant’s chain, That never shall be joined again, When half your foes are homeward fled, And hosts on hosts in triumph fled, And hundreds maim’d and thousands dead, A timid race shall then succeed, Shall slight the virtues of the firmer race, That brought your tyrants to disgrace, Shall give your honours to an odious train, Who shunn’d all conflicts on the main, And dar’d no battles on the plain, Whose little souls sunk in the gloomy day, When Virtues only could support the fray, And sunshine friends keep off or ran away. So spoke the chief; and rais’d his funeral pyre— Around him soon the crackling flames ascend; He smil’d amid the fervours of the fire, To think his troubles were so near their end, Till the freed soul, her debt to nature paid, Rose from the ashes that her prison made, And sought the world unknown, and dark oblivion’s shade.

Prophetic indeed. It is worth noting that in 48 years, following Congress’s enacting the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the American Indian’s Trail of Tears will begin.

On May 1 in Philadelphia, the Sons of St. Tammany hold a great celebration on the banks of the Schuylkill River. As reported in Freeman’s Journal of May 7:

“The treat of the day being prepared in a proper cabin set up for the purpose at the head of which was the portraiture of our beloved old saint with his well known motto ‘ Kawanio Chee Keeteru.’ Above was an elegant design of the siege of Yorktown in front of which were his excellency General Washington and the Count de Rochambeau.”

Thirteen sachems dressed as indians hold a parade. Commemorating the peace at hand, the secretary of the society, inspired by the story of creation in the Iroquois Great Law of Peace, produces a hatchet, and it is ceremoniously buried. 21

On September 3, the Treaty of Paris is signed by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay for the Americans, and David Hartley, member of the British Parliament, representing King George III, ending the American Revolutionary War.

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On November 25, Evacuation Day, British forces leave New York City.

On May 1, the renamed Constitutional Sons of St. Tammany hold a festival at the home of one Edward Pole, on the banks of the Schuylkill River. Both Freeman’s Journal of May 5 and the Pennsylvania Packet of May 6, report the event in the same words:

“The chiefs and sachems were elected, the council fire kindled, the law of liberty proclaimed, the calumet was smoked, and the dance to the calabash performed. When the feast was prepared and the Sons of St. Tammany seated, intelligence was received that General Washington had just arrived in the city. One of the company, with a voice of exhultation, cried out: “General Washington has arrived. Huzza!”

A calumet is a peace pipe. After cheering Washington, they proceed to the estate of Robert Morris, known as the Financier of the Revolution, where Washington is dining with Morris, (The estate is now the location of Lemon Hill, a Federal-style mansion in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia)

“...and on their way home from the banquet the Sons of St. Tammany saluted Gen. Washington, who was dining with Robert Morris at the latter’s country-seat, Lemon Hill, with music, cheers, and firing of cannon. The ministers of France and the Netherlands were complimented in a similar manner.” 22

A Calumet, from The Constitution of the Five Nations by Arthur C. Parker.

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An article in the Virginia Gazette of April 23 reports that the impending May Day celebration of St. Tammany in Richmond, Virginia will be attended by General George Washington and Virginia Governor Patrick Henry. Washington records in his diary: “May 2, 1785. Received and accepted an invitation to dine with the Sons of Saint Tammany, at Mr. Anderson’s Tavern, and accordingly did so, at three o’clock.” 23

A May Day celebration of St. Tammany is held at the home of one Mr. Beveridge, in Philadelphia. For the first time the American Flag, with its 13 stars and stripes is displayed, “...ornamented with a fine figure of St. Tammany.” 24

In April, Ki On Twog Ky, translated as Cornplanter, also know to the colonists as Captian Abeel, as well as Obail and O’Beal, the famous Seneca chief of the Iroquois League of Five Nations, along with five other chiefs travel to Philadelphia on their way to New York to address Congress. Cornplanter, a half-breed, is the son of Aliquipiso, a hereditary matron of the Wolf clan and member of a Seneca noble family, and John Abeel, a Dutchman who was a gunsmith for the Iroquois. He is raised by his mother in the Seneca tribe. 25

Ki On Twog Ky, by Frederick Bartol, 1796, from the collection of the New-York Historical Society.

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In late April, Cornplanter and his compatriots are entertained in a grand ceremony on the banks of the Schuylkill River by the Constitutional Sons of St. Tammany. Clearly inspired by the Great Law of Peace, Cornplanter gives an eloquent speech: “This great gathering of our brothers is to commemorate the memory of our great-grand-father. It is a day of pleasure (pointing to St. Tammany colors). You know that your and our grandfathers loved one another and strongly recommended to their children to live in union and friendship with all their brethren and to bury the hatchet forever. I also wish (looking up to heaven) that we may all live as our great-grand-fathers lived, in peace and unity! The business I am come on is to have us all united as one man, and it may be my happiness to have it so. Let us keep fast the chain of friendship, and put the same around us. Then we shall have nothing to fear from the great kings on the other side of the waters. Brothers if we can effect this to become brothers united as one man there is no people that shall think evil of us, that a frown from us will not intimidate. I heard it said that our great-grand-fathers are dead. They are not dead. They now look down upon us and know what we are doing.”

A Tammany sachem replies: “We meet as brothers, and it is to us a day of pleasure. We meet here every year to remember our great-grand-father Tammany, and three years ago we buried the hatchet in a great deep hole near that stump; we covered it with heavy stones because we wished it never to rise again. You will see great trees growing over it under which we wish our children to sit. We kindled a fire here, it is a bright fire, for our young men to sit by, and there are twelve other fires. But there is a greater fire than all of them. We are glad you are going to that great fire. You will find the road plain and bright. They will bind the chain of friendship round their bodies, and it cannot be broken, but by cutting them in two. We have nothing to fear. Our great men will dry the tears from your eyes. We are pleased that you came; to effect this God sent you. He loves peace and friendship. We love you because you are from the great-grand-father, and we shall never forget that you visited our wigwam.”26

Cornplanter’s Seneca tribe side with the French during the French and Indian War against the British. It is interesting to note that he and George Washington (who was 23 at the time) were on opposite sides at the 1755 battle, Braddock’s Defeat - the British failed attempt to capture France’s Fort Duquesne at modern day Pittsburgh. During the American Revolutionary War he reluctantly sides with the British. After Britain’s defeat in 1783 he throws his lot in with the Americans. In 1791 the U.S government grants him 1500 acres in Warren County, northwestern Pennsylvania, know as Cornplanter Tract. The Seneca people would continue to reside there until 1964 when the area is flooded to create the Kinzua Dam.

On May 2, having arrived in New York, Cornplanter addresses Congress, voicing concern for the fragile new country’s unity:

“Brothers of the Thirteen Fires, I am glad to see you. It gives me pleasure to see you meet in Council to consult about public affairs. May the Great Spirit above direct you in such measures as are good. I wish to put the chunks together to make the Thirteen Fires burn brighter.” 27

Following the Senecas’ visit, Philadelphia again celebrates St. Tammany on May 1. Vice President of Pennsylvania, Charles Biddle is elected chief sachem. On his gorget, an ornamental collar, are the words: “St. Tammany the Grand Sachem, or the Chief to whom all our nation looks up.” 28 A Miss Eliza Phile, presumably a Philadelphia artist, presents a portrait of Cornplanter, taken from life, to Jonathan Bayard Smith, 29 another Tammany sachem, delegate for Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress and a signer of the Articles of Confederation. A banquet is served and 13 toasts are made:

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1. St. Tammany and the day.2. The Great Council fire of the United States-May the thirteen fires glow in one blended blaze! and illumine the Eagle in his flight to the Stars.3. Penna., and the illustrious President of the State-May wisdom ever preside in our councils.4. Louis the Sixteenth.5. Our Great Grand Sachem, George Washington, Esq.6. Our allies and Friends-May the lilies of France forever bloom-the Lion of the Netherlands rejoice in his strength and the Irish Harp ever be in Union with the Thirteen stars.7. Our Brother Iontonkque or the Cornplanter. May we ever remember that he visited our wigwam and spoke a good talk for our great grand fathers.8. The Friendly Indian Nations-Our warriors and young men who fought, bled and give good council for our nation9. Our Mothers, Wives, Sisters and Daughters.10. The Merchants, Farmers and Mechanics of Penna. May the manufactures of our own country ever have the preference of foreign ones.11. The University of Pennsylvania, and all Seminaries of learning.12. May the Whigs of America ever be united as a band of brothers.13. May the enemies of America never eat the bread of it, drink the drink of it, or kiss the pretty girls of it. 30

St.Tammany celebrations are held in Savannah, Georgia and Richmond, Virginia. 31

The Pennsylvanian Packet of June 5, 1786 reports:

“Richmond, Va., May 4th, 1786. Monday last, the lst instant, the Sons of St. Tammany, in memory of the anniversary of their American Saint, gave a very sumptuous entertainment at the Capitol in this City to which were invited a number of gentlemen of different nations, who participated with them on the occasion when toasts were drank and the day spent in the utmost good humor.”

By this time the Constitutional Sons of St. Tammany begin to encounter religious opposition to the grand ceremonies, replete with drinking and eating. A letter from May 6 supposedly from Cornplanter, but most likely written by a member of the Society of Friends says in part:

“They now begin to see in what the fine dignity and happiness of man consists, and that labour, trade, and the mechanic arts, are only fit for women and children; and as for the old stories they used to tell us about religion, nobody believes in them now but a few old women. As a proof of this preference of our manners and principles to their own, a large body of the Citizens of Philadelphia, assembled on the first of May on the banks of the Schuylkill every year, and then in the dress of Sachems celebrate the name, character and death of Old King Tammany, in eating, drinking, smoking, dancing and singing around a fire. This entertainment ends as all such entertainments do with us, in drunkenness and disorder, which are afterwards printed in their newspaper in the most agreeable colours as constituting the utmost festivity and joy. But the principal end of this annual feast is to destroy the force of the Christian religion. For this religion you know forbids self murder and drunkenness. Now by honoring and celebrating the name of Tammany who killed himself by burning his cabin in a drunken frolic, they take away all infamy from these crimes and even place them among the number of virtues.” 32

Following this, the Constitutional Sons of St. Tammany cease to hold large celebrations in Philadelphia, 33 making way for the rise of the Society of St. Tammany in New York City.

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The Lenape, The Iroquois, The Founding FathersNOTES ON CHAPTER 1

1 Spencer Wells and Mark Read, The Journey of Man - A Genetic Odyssey (Random House 2002) pp. 138-1402 Reconstructing Native American Population History (Nature, July 11, 2012) pp. 370 -3743 Oliver E. Allen, The Tiger: The Rise and Fall of Tammany Hall (Addison-Wesley 1993) p. 24 Harry G. Kyriakodis, Philadelphia’s Lost Waterfront (The History Press 2011) p. 775 Randolph C. Downes, Council Fires on the Upper Ohio (University of Pittsburgh Press 1940) p. 216.6 Pennsylvania Archives, (First Series), 1:627 Pennsylvania Archives, (First Series), 1:1168 Pennsylvania Colonial Records, 1:+1-7.9 Archives of Maryland; Proceedings of the Council of Maryland, 1696-97-98; 427-429; 1698-1731, 104, 10610 Edwin P. Kilroe, Saint Tammany and the Origins of the Society of Tammany or Columbian Order in the City of New York (Columbia University, 1913) p. 2311 Donald A. Grinde, Jr and Bruce E. Johansen, Exemplar of Liberty: Native America and the Evolution of Democracy (American Indian Studies Center, UCLA, 1991) Chapter 912 Bruce E. Johansen and Barry Pritzker, Encyclopedia of American Indian History (ABC- CLIO, Inc. 2008) p. 86013 Edwin P. Kilroe, Saint Tammany and the Origins of the Society of Tammany or Columbian Order in the City of New York (Columbia University, 1913) p. 8914 Printed by Robert Aitken, Philadelphia, (1773), The Library Company of Philadelphia15 Proceedings of the Commissioners Appointed by the Continental Congress to Negotiate a Treaty with the Six Nations, 1775,” Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-89, National Archives (M247, Roll 144, Item No. 134)16 Donald A. Grinde, Jr and Bruce E. Johansen, Exemplar of Liberty: Native America and the Evolution of Democracy (1990) Chapter 917 Lyman H. Butterfield, ed., Adams Family Correspondence (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1963-1973), II, pp. 229-230.18 Cara Richards, The Oneida People (Phoenix: Indian Tribal Series, 1974), pp. 53-5419 Thomas Ewing, The military journal of George Ewing (1754-1824) a soldier of Valley Forge (Privately printed, 1928)20 Freeman’s Journal, Oct. 3, 1781.21 Donald A. Grinde, Jr and Bruce E. Johansen, Exemplar of Liberty: Native America and the Evolution of Democracy (1990) Chapter 922 J. Thomas Scharf and Thompson Westcott, History of Philadelphia 1609-1884 (L. H. Everts & Co. 1884) p. 43623 W. S. Baker, Washington after the Revolution (J. P. Lippincott Company, 1898) p. 3024 Freeman’s Journal, May 2, 178525 Merle H. Deardorff, “Chief Cornplanter” Historic Pennsylvania Leaflet No. 32 (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1994).26 Independent Gazetteer, April 22, 178627 Virginia Gazette, May 24, 178628 Penna. Evening Herald, May 6, 178629 William W. Betts, The Hatchet and the Plow: The Life and Times of Chief Cornplanter (iUniverse,2010) p. 13430 Edwin P. Kilroe, Saint Tammany and the Origins of the Society of Tammany or Columbian Order in the City of New York (Columbia University, 1913) p. 9631 Donald A. Grinde, Jr and Bruce E. Johansen, Exemplar of Liberty: Native America and the Evolution of Democracy (1990) Chapter 932 Pennsylvania Magazine. of History and Biography, XXV:446.33 Edwin P. Kilroe, Saint Tammany and the Origins of the Society of Tammany or Columbian Order in the City of New York (Columbia University, 1913) p. 97

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