- 2000 – A Florida state judge refused to overturn Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush‘s certified victory in Florida, and the U.S. Supreme Court set aside a ruling that had allowed manual recounts. [NYT]
- 1991 – Hostage Terry Anderson was freed in Lebanon on December 4, 1991. [History Channel]
- 1978 – Future California Sen. Dianne Feinstein became San Francisco’s first woman mayor when she was named to replace George Moscone, who had been assassinated. [NYT]
- 1875 – On December 4, 1875, William Marcy “Boss” Tweed, notorious leader of New York City’s Democratic political machine, escaped from prison and fled to Europe. Between 1865 and 1871, Boss Tweed and his cronies stole millions of dollars from the city treasury. Convicted of forgery and larceny in 1873, Tweed was released in 1875. Immediately rearrested on civil charges, he was allowed daily visits to his family in the company of his jailor. On one of these trips, Tweed made his escape. Elected an alderman in 1851, the former bookkeeper and volunteer fireman worked his way up New York City’s Democratic hierarchy by holding various elected and unelected positions in the municipal government. He served one congressional term, but operated most effectively at the state level. By 1868, the year he gained a seat in the New York senate, Tweed firmly controlled the state Democratic Party. Two years later, he maneuvered passage of a revised city charter. A newly instituted board of audit became the principle means by which the Boss and his friends siphoned the city treasury of between twenty million and two-hundred million dollars. [Library of Congress]
- 1860 – Outgoing President James Buchanan sends a distressed State of the Union message to Congress. In it he states that secession is unconstitutional, says the federal government lacks the authority to prevent it and calls for a constitutional amendment allowing Southern states to retain slaves as property. [Civil War Timeline]
Connect:
