King of the Bowery

King of the Bowery is the first complete study of Timothy D. "Big Tim" Sullivan, Tammany chieftain and kingmaker. "King of the Lower East Side" to many, and to some "King of the Underworld," Sullivan was a pivotal figure in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century urban politics. A master of the personal, paternalistic, and corrupt no-holds-barred politics of the nineteenth century, he heartily embraced progressive causes in his later years and anticipated many of the policies and initiatives later pursued by Al Smith and Franklin D. Roosevelt, early acquaintances and sometimes antagonists. Politics was Sullivan's major occupation and he served as state assemblyman, Congressman, and state senator. He also played a significant role in the bankrolling and promotion of mass entertainment such as vaudeville, sports, and motion pictures, investments that were as lucrative to him as they were enjoyable to his constituents. A significant amount of Sullivan's income derived from his involvement with the underworld, especially gambling, a vice to which he was personally addicted. Throughout his career he also dodged and vehemently denied accusations that he profited from prostitution, which was rife in New York City. His underworld connections led to a swirl of conspiracy theories following his bizarre death in the wake of a sensational gangland shooting in 1913.