Citizens Union is a New York City-based good government group founded in 1897 to combat the influences of the Tammany Hall political machine.

J. Pierpont Morgan, Benjamin Altman, Elihu Root, and Carl Schurz numbered among its 165 founders.

"[1] In 1902, Citizens Union supported Columbia University president Seth Low in his successful campaign to become the second mayor of New York.

Six years later, in 1908, Citizens Union transitioned from a political party to a nonpartisan government watchdog organization.

[2] In 1999, Citizens Union Foundation launched the Gotham Gazette, a New York newspaper known for its reporting on city and state government activities.