George W. Plunkitt
| George W. Plunkitt | |
|---|---|
| File:George Washington Plunkitt 4525453219 2ff5c45597 o.jpg | |
| Member of the New York Senate from the 17th district |
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| In office January 1, 1899 – December 31, 1904 |
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| Preceded by | Charles B. Page |
| Succeeded by | Martin Saxe |
| Member of the New York Senate from the 11th district |
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| In office January 1, 1892 – December 31, 1893 |
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| Preceded by | Eugene S. Ives |
| Succeeded by | Joseph C. Wolff |
| In office January 1, 1884 – December 31, 1887 |
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| Preceded by | Frank P. Treanor |
| Succeeded by | Eugene S. Ives |
| Member of the New York State Assembly from the 17th district |
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| In office January 1, 1869 – December 31, 1870 |
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| Preceded by | Frederick H. Flagge |
| Succeeded by | Edmond Connelly |
| Personal details | |
| Born | George Washington Plunkitt November 17, 1842 New York, New York, United States |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. New York, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
George Washington Plunkitt (November 17, 1842 – November 19, 1924) was an American politician from New York State. He served in both houses of the New York State Legislature and was as a member of the Tammany Hall machine in New York City.
Political life
He was a member of the New York State Assembly (New York Co., 17th D.) in 1869 and 1870.
He was a member of the New York State Senate from 1884 to 1887 (11th D.), in 1892 and 1893 (11th D.), and from 1899 to 1904 (17th D.). He sat in the 107th, 108th, 109th, 110th, 115th, 116th, 122nd, 123rd, 124th, 125th, 126th, and 127th New York State Legislatures.
Plunkitt became wealthy by practicing what he called "honest graft" in politics. He was a cynically honest practitioner of what today is generally known as "machine politics," patronage-based and frank in its exercise of power for personal gain.
In one of his speeches, quoted in Plunkitt of Tammany Hall, he describes the difference between dishonest and honest graft. For dishonest graft, one works solely for one's own interests. For honest graft, one pursues, at the same time, the interests of one's party, state, and person.
He made most of his money through the purchase of land that he knew would be needed for public projects. He would buy such parcels and then resell them at an inflated price. (This was "honest graft." "Dishonest graft," according to Plunkitt, would be buying land and then using influence to have a project built on it.)
He defends himself: "I could get nothin' at a bargain but a big piece of swamp, but I took it fast enough and held on to it. What turned out was just what I counted on. They couldn't make the park complete without Plunkitt's swamp, and they had to pay a good price for it. Anything dishonest in that?" Plunkitt was also a thoroughgoing party man, believing in appointments, patronage, spoils, and all of the practices curtailed by the civil service law. He saw such practices as both the rewards and cause of patriotism. He hated the civil service system and believed it would be the downfall of the entire governmental system.
Plunkitt is also remembered for the line he used to defend his actions: "I seen my opportunities and I took 'em."
On October 7, 1905, he underwent an operation for retro-peritoneal abscess, and almost died.[1]
He died on November 19, 1924;[2] and was buried at the Calvary Cemetery in Queens
References
Further reading
Riordon, William L., Plunkitt of Tammany Hall: A Series of Very Plain Talks on Very Practical Politics, Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1993. (Originally published in 1905)
External links
- History Matters
- George W. Plunkitt at Find a Grave
- Works by George Washington Plunkitt at Project Gutenberg
- Lua error in Module:Internet_Archive at line 573: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Works by George W. Plunkitt at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Plunkitt of Tammany Hall by William L. Riordon 1963
- George Washington Plunkitt, Honest Graft and Dishonest Graft (1905)
- George Washington Plunkitt, Reciprocity in Patronage (1905)
| New York Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | New York State Assembly New York County, 17th District 1869–1870 |
Succeeded by Edmond Connelly |
| New York State Senate | ||
| Preceded by | New York State Senate 11th District 1884–1887 |
Succeeded by Eugene S. Ives |
| Preceded by | New York State Senate 11th District 1892–1893 |
Succeeded by Joseph C. Wolff |
| Preceded by | New York State Senate 17th District 1899–1904 |
Succeeded by Martin Saxe |
