Moses’ motive shifted from building works to seizing power itself

Evidence

And this difference made the 1936 Tunnel Authority fight a watershed in Robert Moses’ life. Always before, Moses had conceived a public work, and then had sought the power to bring it into reality. In the Tunnel Authority fight, someone else conceived the public work. Moses sought the power to take it over. Before, his motivation had always been the work—the project, the achievement, the dream. Now the motivation was power. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 2594

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Moses would destroy a needed public work rather than let others build it — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 2595; No substantive disagreement underpinned Moses’ tunnel power grab — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 2593; Moses centralized scattered corruption into a force that bent city government. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 95 (+10 more)

Broader Connections

• Moses disguised a power grab as a coordination speech #corroborates (0.85) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 2601