Black Horse Cavalry
BLACK HORSE CAVALRY
BLACK HORSE CAVALRY was the name applied to a bipartisan group of corrupt legislators in the New York State Assembly in Albany. During the last quarter of the nineteenth century, they gained notoriety by extorting campaign funds and bribes from corporations and other institutions that did business with state government. They usually used blackmail by introducing bills damaging to the business of corporations, bills that would be killed if sufficient payments were forthcoming. Theodore Roosevelt was appalled by the rampant corruption when he entered the state assembly in January 1882, an experience that helped place him on the path of progressive reform.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brands, H. W. T. R.: The Last Romantic. New York: Basic Books, 1997.
Moscow, Warren. Politics in the Empire State. New York: Knopf, 1948.
HaroldZink/a. g.
See alsoCorruption, Political ; Government Regulation of Business .