Canal Ring (New York)

The Canal Ring referred to the group of corrupt contractors and politicians who conspired shortly after the American Civil War to defraud the State of New York by overcharging for repairs and improvement of the state's canal system. It defied an "investigation" in 1868 and for years was powerful enough to prevent interference and to defeat unfriendly candidates for office. The group was finally broken up by Governor Samuel J. Tilden in 1874.

References

*"Dictionary of American History" by James Truslow Adams, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940