Hugh McLaughlin (April 2, 1827 – December 7, 1904) was an American politician and for many years the "

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...

" of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Life

Hugh McLaughlin was born in Brooklyn as son of Irish immigrants. He learned the trade of a rope maker. In 1855 he became master mechanic in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. That position put a great deal of

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

at his disposal which he used to build support for the Democratic Party. In spite of his growing influence, McLaughlin's candidacy for

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

of Kings County failed in 1860. In 1861, however, was elected to the office of Kings County

Register of Deeds Recorder of deeds or deeds registry is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over ...

, a function which he kept for three consecutive terms. More important than his public offices was McLaughlin's position within the Brooklyn Democratic party: In 1862 he became the boss of the Brooklyn

political machine In the politics of Representative democracy, representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a hig ...

known as the "Brooklyn ring". As such, he dominated local politics for many years, despite the efforts of reform-oriented mayors like

Frederick A. Schroeder Frederick A. Schroeder (March 9, 1833 – December 1, 1899) was an American industrialist and politician of German descent. As mayor of Brooklyn—before the city's merger with New York—and New York state senator, Schroeder earned a reputatio ...

and

Seth Low Seth Low (January 18, 1850 – September 17, 1916) was an American educator and political figure who served as the mayor of Brooklyn from 1881 to 1885, the president of Columbia University from 1890 to 1901, a diplomatic representative of t ...

to roll back the influence of the Brooklyn ring. McLaughlin was thus able to play an important role in the creation of Prospect Park and the building of

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/ suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River ...

. However, after the merger of Brooklyn and New York City in 1898, McLaughlin's ring came into conflict with the political machine of

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

in New York. McLaughlin lost and was forced to retire from politics in 1903. He was succeeded as Brooklyn's political boss by Patrick J. McCarren who forced McLaughlin from power. John H. McCooey. McLaughlin died from a heart attack at his home on December 7, 1904. His funeral was held on December 10 and he was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in

, New York.

References

* Who Was Who in America. (1968). Vol. 1 (1897–1942). P. 818.

External links

*
A cartoon from Harper's Weekly portraying McLaughlin and Tammany Hall Boss Richard Croker with explanations on Croker, McLaughlin and the political machines in Brooklyn and New York
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mclaughlin, Hugh 1827 births 1904 deaths 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American politicians American people of Irish descent American political bosses from New York (state) Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn New York (state) Democrats Politicians from Brooklyn