Tammany Hall started out innocently enough in 1788 as a club of mainly craftsmen. They adopted Tarmanend, a legendary Native American chief, as their patron and symbol of their organization.

However, by the mid-nineteenth century Tammany Hall, as headquarters of New York's Democratic Party, was well on its way to becoming one of the city's earliest political machines.

Tammany leadership quickly recognized the huge voting bloc that European immigrants represented. By helping them find work and rapidly gain citizenship, and by opposing the anti-Catholic movements of the day, Tammany Hall became an influential and essential part of the Irish community.