Tammany rebranded as progressive to break the Irish Catholic ceiling

Evidence

From the head of the table, Silent Charlie listened silently to Smith and other young sachems like Wagner. Murphy knew that Tammany must change. He knew it because of the reasons the young men gave—and he knew it because of a consideration of his own. Never had one of their own kind risen to Governor or senator; never, despite the power of Kelly and Croker before him, never, despite his own power, had a Tammany man ever come even close to the top prize in the Democratic Party for which Tammany supplied so many of the votes. Always Tammany was thought of as the party of Tweed and Kelly and Croker, of the poor from the Old Country who might be fit to sweep the streets but not to sit in the Governor’s Mansion or the White House. Becoming identified with Progressivism, becoming known as the party of social progress, would be a way to shatter that image forever. Pushing to the forefront bright young men identified with such causes rather than with the ancient rituals of Tammany would be a way to spawn candidates who would shatter forever the unseen but heavy chains that weighed down the Irish Catholic in America. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 567

Categorization

• XREF: Cross-references Caro’s broader theme of how political machines strategically modernize to retain power—echoes the author’s method elsewhere in the book and the treatment of self-interested reform. — connects to: Tammany embraced progressivism to shatter its corrupt Irish image and reach high office — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 567

Broader Connections

• Tammany embraced progressivism to shatter its corrupt Irish image and reach high office #corroborates (0.90) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 567