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83-543: Roosevelt, although aided by Tammany's Al Smith into the Governorship in 1928, did not seek advice from Tammany Hall or Smith. The organized crime robbery of a New York City judge and leader of the Tepecano Democratic Club, Albert H. Vitale, during a dinner party on December 7, 1929, and the subsequent recovering of the stolen goods from gangsters following a few calls from Magistrate Vitale, prompted questions from

166-493: A compromise candidate; instead, he maneuvered to become the nominee. After losing the nomination, Smith eventually campaigned for Roosevelt in 1932, giving a particularly important speech on behalf of the Democratic nominee at Boston on October 27 in which he "pulled out all the stops". Smith became highly critical of Roosevelt's New Deal policies, which he deemed a betrayal of good-government progressive ideals and ran counter to

249-592: A landslide in 1928 . Smith then entered business in New York City, and became involved in the construction and promotion of the Empire State Building . He sought the 1932 Democratic presidential nomination but was defeated by Franklin D. Roosevelt , his former ally and successor as governor of New York. During the Roosevelt presidency, Smith became an increasingly vocal opponent of Roosevelt's New Deal . Smith

332-677: A majority of seats in the State Assembly, and Smith became Majority Leader and Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. The following year, following the loss of the majority, he became the Minority Leader. When the Democrats reclaimed the majority after the next election, he was elected Speaker for the 1913 session. He became Minority Leader again in 1914 and 1915. In November 1915, he was elected Sheriff of New York County, New York . By now he

415-459: A man of the people. Although indebted to the Tammany Hall political machine (and particularly to its boss, "Silent" Charlie Murphy ), he remained untarnished by corruption and worked for the passage of progressive legislation. It was during his early unofficial jobs with Tammany Hall that he gained renown as an orator. Smith's first political job was in 1895, as an investigator in the office of

498-407: A massive shake-up of the lower court system, and the resignation of Jimmy Walker. New York County Sheriff Thomas M. Farley was removed from office by Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt . The Seabury investigation would also lead to the indictment of Deputy City Clerk James J. McCormick and the arrest of State Senator John A. Hastings . One of the judges implicated in the hearings was Judge Jean H. Norris ,

581-406: A note of personal condolence. Smith's grandchildren later recalled that he was greatly touched by it. After the 1928 election, Smith became the president of Empire State, Inc., the corporation that built and operated the Empire State Building . Construction for the building symbolically began on March 17, 1930, St. Patrick's Day , per Smith's instructions. Smith's grandchildren cut the ribbon when

664-477: A pattern of false arrests, fraudulent bail bonds, and imprisonment. Many people — often women, always working class — who were charged with crimes in the Magistrate's Court were totally innocent of wrongdoing, "framed" in police parlance, by lying police officers and police-paid "witnesses." The victims usually knew no lawyers and could not afford private counsel. Victims were made to understand that conviction and

747-450: A prison sentence were a foregone conclusion unless money was paid through certain attorneys to court personnel, police and others. An assistant district attorney was involved in these schemes. One of the police set-up men was Chile Mapocha Acuna, whose testimony inspired a song titled, "Chile Acuna, the human spittoona." The conspiracy had been highly effective; innocent people either parted with their life's savings or faced prison sentences,

830-401: A reluctant witness and was avoiding answering questions about his questionable awarding of permits for garages and gas stations throughout the city, in addition to his large financial earnings outside his salary. The former Boss, George W. Olvany also testified. Witness Thomas M. Farley was notable as a witness during questioning regarding the use of political clubs as gambling locations. Farley

913-681: A reputation of a "spokesman for ethnic minorities in Northern cities". As such, Smith's candidacy, coupled with Hoover's Southern concession, initiated abandonment of loyalty to the Republicans and embrace of the Democratic Party by African-American voters. Samuel O'Dell wrote in Phylon that 1928 black voters "bolted to the Democratic party in unprecedented numbers." Smith was also known as an economic progressive, and championed progressive reforms such as

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996-490: A shorter workweek, workers' compensation laws, as well as health and workplace safety reforms. Many of his reforms later inspired the New Deal, even though Smith himself came to oppose the New Deal legislation. A hallmark of Smith's progressivism was his support for and extensive ties to New York labor unions; Smith believed that workers need to be protected from economic exploitation, and became known for legislation that expanded

1079-453: A strong impression on him. Together with Perkins and Robert F. Wagner , Smith crusaded against dangerous and unhealthy workplace conditions and championed corrective legislation. The Commission, chaired by State Senator Robert F. Wagner, held a series of widely publicized investigations around the state, interviewing 222 witnesses and taking 3,500 pages of testimony. They hired field agents to do on-site inspections of factories. Starting with

1162-584: A useful barometer of the voting patterns of the New Deal era. Lichtman notes that the sole defining issue of the election was anti-Catholicism, which radically realigned states' voting patterns. States that had never voted Republican after Reconstruction such as Texas, Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia voted for Hoover, while Smith carried Massachusetts and Rhode Island—states that had never voted Democratic before save for 1912. Lichtman further proves this by pointing out that Smith and Hoover had very similar political views save for religion and Prohibition, and yet

1245-689: A vehement radio attack on the President, she invited him to stay at the White House . To avoid embarrassing the Roosevelts, he declined. Historian Robert Slayton observers that Smith and Roosevelt did not reconcile until a brief meeting in June 1941, and he also suggests that during the early 1940s the antipathy which Smith held toward his former ally had waned. Upon the death of Smith's wife Katie in May 1944, Roosevelt sent Smith

1328-511: A window." Smith later abandoned his criticism of the New Deal once Roosevelt arranged for the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to rent space in the Empire State Building , which eased Smith's financial problems. Shortly before his death in 1944, Smith changed his view of Roosevelt completely, speaking to a reporter: "He [Roosevelt] was the kindest man who ever lived, but don't get in his way." Although personal resentment

1411-399: Is incompatible with American democracy and institutions. Catholics were portrayed as reactionary despite being more left-wing than mainstream American Protestant congregations at the time. William Allen White , a renowned newspaper editor, warned that Catholicism would erode the moral standards of America, saying that "the whole Puritan civilization which has built a sturdy, orderly nation

1494-459: Is threatened by Smith." While Herbert Hoover avoided raising the issue of Catholicism on the campaign trail, he defended the Protestant actions in a private letter: There are many people of intense Protestant faith to whom Catholicism is a grievous sin, and they have as much right to vote against a man for public office because of that belief. That is not persecution. White rural conservatives in

1577-653: The New York State Assembly Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was the 42nd governor of New York , serving from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1923 to 1928. He was the Democratic Party 's presidential nominee in the 1928 presidential election , losing to Herbert Hoover of the Republican Party . The son of an Irish-American mother and a Civil War –veteran Italian-American father, true surname Ferraro, Smith

1660-508: The Fulton Fish Market , where he worked for $ 12 per week. His acting skills made him a success on the amateur theater circuit. He became widely known, and developed the smooth oratorical style that characterized his political career. On May 6, 1900, Al Smith married Catherine Ann Dunn, with whom he had five children. In his political career, Smith built on his working-class beginnings, identifying himself with immigrants and campaigning as

1743-553: The NAACP supported Smith, with Walter Francis White writing that "Governor Smith is by far the best man available for the Presidency" and arguing that Smith's "nomination and election would be the greatest blow at bigotry that has ever been struck." Smith attracted the attention of disheartened African-American voters, as he was unpopular in the South, faced prejudice as a Roman Catholic, and had

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1826-608: The South also believed that Smith's close association with Tammany Hall , the Democratic machine in Manhattan, showed that he tolerated corruption in government, while they overlooked their own brands of it. Another major controversial issue was the continuation of Prohibition , the enforcement of which was widely considered problematic. Smith personally favored the relaxation or repeal of Prohibition laws because they had given rise to more criminality. The Democratic Party split North and South on

1909-617: The 1920s. Smith was the first Roman Catholic to be nominated for president of the United States by a major party. His 1928 presidential candidacy mobilized both Catholic and anti-Catholic voters. Many Protestants (including German Lutherans and Southern Baptists ) feared his candidacy, believing that the Pope in Rome would dictate his policies. Smith was also a committed "wet" (i.e., an opponent of Prohibition ); as New York governor, he had repealed

1992-552: The 1928 election had a turnout of 57%, despite previous 1920s American elections having their turnouts below 50%. Christopher M. Finan (2003) says Smith is an underestimated symbol of the changing nature of American politics in the first half of the last century. He represented the rising ambitions of urban, industrial America at a time when the hegemony of rural, agrarian America was in decline, although many states had legislatures and congressional delegations biased toward rural areas because of lack of redistricting after censuses. Smith

2075-482: The 1934 or 1936 elections and rapidly declined in influence. It was officially dissolved in 1940. Smith's antipathy to Roosevelt and his policies was so great that he supported Republican presidential nominees Alf Landon in the 1936 election and Wendell Willkie in the 1940 election . According to Jonathan Alter , the reasons for Smith's opposition to Roosevelt's New Deal were principally personal rather than ideological. Roosevelt wronged Smith in 1931 by opposing

2158-517: The Bible. Charles Hillman Fountain, a Protestant writer, insisted that Catholics should be barred from holding any office. Farris states that "More disturbing than the ridiculous and the dangerous was the respectable anti-Catholicism", as contemporary newspapers and Protestant churches tried to mask their anti-Catholicism as genuine concern. Protestant activists insisted that Catholicism represents an alien culture and medieval mentality, claiming that Catholicism

2241-452: The Census of 1920, did little to alter this state of affairs. Historians agree that prosperity, along with widespread anti-Catholic sentiment against Smith, made Hoover's election inevitable. He defeated Smith by a landslide in the 1928 United States presidential election , carrying five Southern states via crossover voting by conservative white Democrats. The fact that Smith was Catholic and

2324-557: The Commissioner of Jurors as appointed by Tammany Hall. During his time as the Governor of New York, Smith became known as a progressive; David Farber wrote that "Smith became a strong and effective advocate of worker safety laws and championed, then and for years after, legislation aimed at giving workers more rights and protections against economic exploitation." He staunchly supported labor unions and pressed for protective legislation for

2407-629: The Court of Appeals Samuel Seabury to investigate matters. A key witness in the first of Seabury's investigations in 1930, Vivian Gordon , was found murdered in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. Gordon was to testify on her incongruous arrest in 1923. This murder prompted the second of Seabury's investigations on behalf of Roosevelt. Gordon's murder also prompted the first time that the Pinkerton Agency

2490-708: The Democratic candidate was his faith and not any political view. Bob Jones Sr. , a prominent Protestant pastor in South Carolina , said: I'll tell you, brother, that the big issue we've got to face ain't the liquor question. I'd rather see a saloon on every corner of the South than see the foreigners elect Al Smith president. A Methodist newspaper in Georgia called Catholicism "a degenerate type of Christianity," while Southern Baptist churches ordered their followers to vote against Smith, claiming that he would close down Protestant churches, end freedom of worship and prohibit reading

2573-628: The Irish-American community and became its leading spokesman in the 1920s. His father Alfred owned a small trucking firm, but died when Smith was 13. Aged 14, Smith had to drop out of St. James parochial school to help support the family, and worked at a fish market for seven years. Prior to dropping out of school, he served as an altar boy, and was strongly influenced by the Catholic priests he worked with. He never attended high school or college, and claimed he learned about people by studying them at

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2656-547: The Mullan-Gage law. As governor, Smith became known nationally as a progressive who sought to make government more efficient and more effective in meeting social needs. Smith's young assistant Robert Moses built the nation's first state park system and reformed the civil service, later gaining appointment as Secretary of State of New York . During Smith's time in office, New York strengthened laws governing workers' compensation, women's pensions and children and women's labor with

2739-473: The Republican Party prior to 1928. Hoover sought "Southern Strategy" for the election, and sided with the segregationist lily-white Republicans at the expense of the pro-civil rights black and tans . Prominent African Americans were removed from positions of leadership in the Republican Party and replaced with lily-white Republicans in order to appeal to the segregationist South, and Hoover's spokesmen in

2822-575: The South spoke of his commitment to white supremacy. Allan Lichtman wrote that Hoover "sought a permanent reorganization of southern Republicanism under the leadership of white racists." This action was taken to exploit the unpopularity of Smith in the South, as Hoover and his cabinet were "convinced that white Southern votes were more essential to a Hoover win than black ones". Hoover assured Southern voters that he "had no intention of appointing colored men" and pledged that he had "no intention—party platform notwithstanding—of foisting off an anti-lynch law on

2905-462: The availability of fire extinguishers, the installation of alarm systems and automatic sprinklers, better eating and toilet facilities for workers, and limited the number of hours that women and children could work. In the years from 1911 to 1913, sixty of the sixty-four new laws recommended by the Commission were legislated with the support of Governor William Sulzer . In 1911, the Democrats obtained

2988-461: The church's liberal policies—particularly its uncompromising position against social and political segregation." Al Smith was supportive of racial equality and appointed African Americans to the New York City school system and civil service commission. Major black newspapers throughout the United States such as The Chicago Defender , Baltimore Afro-American and Norfolk Journal and Guide endorsed Smith for president, and prominent members of

3071-689: The city's first woman judge. The pressure for reform, once unleashed, later ensnared State Senator Hofstadter when the executive committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York held that State Senator Hofstadter had violated the public trust by having accepted a judicial appointment from Tammany Hall when he was investigating that political organization's "domination of the city government." Al Smith Governor of New York 1928 presidential campaign Other campaigns for president: Member of

3154-475: The club. As a result of the investigation, formal charges of corruption were brought against many involved in the scheme. The Appellate Division ordered the dismissal of corrupt judges. Later, when Mayor Jimmy Walker reneged on his agreement to pay the commissioner's cost, a writ of mandamus was brought before the Appellate Division, which ordered the mayor to pay. The Seabury Commission's work resulted in

3237-474: The conspiracy of judges, attorneys, police and bail bondsmen to extort money from defendants facing trial. The Magistrate's Court of the City of New York was the Court in which those people charged with certain crimes first encountered the justice system. Throughout the autumn of 1930, the Seabury Commission heard more than 1,000 witnesses — judges, lawyers, police officers and former defendants — describe

3320-512: The cost of milk. Smith lost his bid for re-election in the 1920 New York gubernatorial election , but was again elected governor in 1922 , 1924 and 1926 , with Farley managing his campaign. In his 1922 re-election, he embraced his position as an anti-prohibitionist. Smith offered alcohol to guests at the Executive Mansion in Albany, and repealed the state's Prohibition enforcement statute,

3403-497: The daily, living needs of those whom it is created to serve." However, Smith envisioned a progressive vision based on state and local intervention, and decentralizing power to specific locales and communities. He was ambivalent with regard to federal economic intervention, which eventually led him to oppose the New Deal legislation. Smith was first elected to the New York State Assembly (New York Co., 2nd D.) in 1904, and

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3486-447: The descendant of Catholic immigrants was instrumental in his loss of the election of 1928. Historical hostilities between Protestants and Catholics had been carried by national groups to the United States by immigrants, and centuries of Protestant domination allowed myths and superstitions about Catholicism to flourish. Long-established Protestants had viewed the waves of Catholic immigrants from Ireland , Italy and Eastern Europe since

3569-528: The early 1900s was interrupted by a youngster who yelled, "Alderman, your saloon is on fire!" All the other Alderman left the room. While acting as the Boss, Olvany used his law firm Olvany, Eisner and Donnelly , to direct other law firms to bring clients before the city's Board of Standards and Appeals. Olvany firm garnered up to $ 5 million from fees at the point when the Seabury Commission began investigating at

3652-525: The economic prosperity at the time. Smith felt slighted by Roosevelt during the latter's governorship. They became rivals in the 1932 Democratic Party presidential primaries after Smith decided to run for the nomination against Roosevelt, the presumed favorite. At the convention, Smith's animosity toward Roosevelt was so great that he put aside longstanding rivalries to work with McAdoo and Hearst to block Roosevelt's nomination for several ballots. That coalition fell apart when Smith refused to work on finding

3735-418: The famous speech "A man as low and mean as I can picture", making a drastic break with publisher William Randolph Hearst . Hearst, known for his notoriously sensationalist and largely left-wing position in the state Democratic Party, was the leader of its populist wing in the city. He had combined with Tammany Hall in electing the local administration, and had attacked Smith for starving children by not reducing

3818-525: The goal of close cooperation with business. Smith joined the American Liberty League , an organization founded by conservative Democrats who disapproved of Roosevelt's New Deal measures and tried to rally public opinion against the New Deal. The League published pamphlets and sponsored radio programs, arguing that the New Deal was destroying personal liberty; however, the League failed to gain support in

3901-463: The help of Frances Perkins , soon to be President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's Labor Secretary . In 1924, Smith unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president, advancing the cause of civil liberty by decrying lynching and racial violence. Roosevelt delivered the nominating speech for Smith at the 1924 Democratic National Convention in which he saluted Smith as "the Happy Warrior of

3984-582: The interests of all, rather than being divided by the interests of a few. Smith continued to promote the Empire State Building, which was derided as the "Empty State Building" due to a lack of tenants, in the years following its construction. In 1929, Smith was awarded the Laetare Medal by the University of Notre Dame , considered the most prestigious award for American Catholics . In 1929 Smith

4067-467: The investigators that his department had identified more than 200 factories where conditions resulted in risk of a fire like that at the Triangle Factory. The State Commission's reports led to the modernization of the state's labor laws, making New York State "one of the most progressive states in terms of labor reform." New laws mandated better building access and egress, fireproofing requirements,

4150-513: The issue of fire safety, they studied broader issues of the risks of injury in the factory environment. Their findings led to thirty-eight new laws regulating labor in New York State, and gave each of them a reputation as leading progressive reformers working on behalf of the working class. In the process, they changed Tammany's reputation from mere corruption to progressive endeavors to help the workers. New York City's Fire Chief John Kenlon told

4233-399: The issue, with the more rural South continuing to favor Prohibition. During the campaign, Smith tried to duck the issue with non-committal statements. Smith was an articulate proponent of good government and efficiency, as was Hoover. Smith swept the entire Catholic vote, which in 1920 and 1924 had been split between the parties; he attracted millions of Catholics, generally ethnic whites, to

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4316-710: The mid-19th century with suspicion. In addition, many Protestants carried old fears related to extravagant claims of one religion against the other which dated back to the European wars of religion . They feared that Smith would answer to the Pope rather than the United States Constitution . Scott Farris notes that the anti-Catholicism of the American society was the sole reason behind Smith's defeat, as even contemporary Prohibition activists would admit that their main problem with

4399-492: The nomination of Al Smith, a northeastern reformer, did Democrats make gains among the urban, blue-collar and Catholic voters who were later to become core components of the New Deal coalition and break the pattern of minimal class polarization that had characterized the Fourth Party System ." However, historian Allan Lichtman 's quantitative analysis suggests that the 1928 results were based largely on religion and are not

4482-456: The oft-repeated observation that Smith was defeated by "the three P's: Prohibition, Prejudice and Prosperity". The Republican Party was still benefiting from an economic boom, as well as a failure to reapportion Congress and the electoral college following the 1920 census, which had registered a 15 percent increase in the urban population. The party was biased toward small-town and rural areas. Its presidential candidate Herbert Hoover , who headed

4565-550: The political battlefield." Smith represented the urban, east coast wing of the party as an anti-prohibition "wet" candidate, while his main rival for the nomination, President Woodrow Wilson 's son-in-law William Gibbs McAdoo , a former Secretary of the Treasury , stood for the more rural tradition and prohibition "dry" candidacy. The party was hopelessly split between the two. An increasingly chaotic convention balloted 100 times before both men accepted that neither would be able to win

4648-634: The polls for the first time, especially women, who were first allowed to vote in 1920. He lost important Democratic constituencies in the rural North as well as in Southern cities and suburbs. Smith did retain the loyalty of the Deep South, thanks in part to the appeal of his running mate, Senator Joseph Robinson from Arkansas , but lost five states of the Rim South to Hoover. Smith carried the popular vote in each of America's ten most populous cities, an indication of

4731-525: The position of Speaker of the Assembly in 1913. Smith also served as sheriff of New York County from 1916 to 1917. He was first elected governor of New York in 1918, lost his 1920 bid for re-election, and was elected governor again in 1922, 1924, and 1926. Smith was the foremost urban leader of the efficiency movement in the United States and was noted for achieving a wide range of reforms as the New York governor in

4814-416: The power of labor unions, enhanced safety regulations, and provided essential services such as healthcare and education to impoverished neighbourhoods and working-class communities. However, Smith said little about his economic progressivism on the 1928 campaign trail, as the public was largely supportive of the conservative economic vision that the incumbent Republican administration pursued, crediting it with

4897-481: The proposal for an unequivocal stand for repeal of Prohibition postulated by Smith and his Northern progressive wing of the party. Moreover, many of Smith's proposals and policies from his time as governor of New York were expanded and turned into federal legislation within the New Deal, leading Smith to believe that Roosevelt stole his ideas and was taking credit for them at his expense. Speaking of Roosevelt in 1932, Smith proclaimed: "Frank Roosevelt just threw me out of

4980-450: The prosperous times. Undeterred, Smith returned to fight a determined campaign for the party's nomination in 1928. He was aided by the endorsement of Philip La Follette , son of 1924 Progressive Party presidential candidate Robert M. La Follette , who died in 1925 seven months after receiving 16.62 percent of the popular vote—the fifth-highest proportion for any third-party presidential candidate . Reporter Frederick William Wile made

5063-527: The public and press regarding ties between organized crime, law enforcement, and the judicial system within the city. Vitale was accused of owing $ 19,600 to Arnold Rothstein , and was investigated by the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court for failing to explain how he accrued $ 165,000 over four years while receiving a total judicial salary of $ 48,000 during that same period. Vitale

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5146-472: The required two-thirds of the votes, and so each withdrew. On the 103rd ballot, the exhausted party nominated the little-known candidate John W. Davis of West Virginia , a former congressman and United States Ambassador to Great Britain who had been a dark horse presidential candidate in 1920. Davis lost the election by a landslide to the Republican Calvin Coolidge , who won in part because of

5229-497: The rising power of the urban areas and their new demographics. Smith was not a very good campaigner. His campaign theme song, " The Sidewalks of New York ", had little appeal among rural Americans, who also found his 'city' accent slightly foreign when heard on radio. Smith narrowly lost his home state; New York's electors were biased in favor of rural upstate and largely Protestant districts. However, in 1928 his fellow Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt (a Protestant of Dutch old-line stock)

5312-471: The state's prohibition law. As a "wet", Smith attracted voters who wanted beer, wine, and liquor and did not like dealing with criminal bootleggers, along with voters who were outraged that new criminal gangs had taken over the streets in most large and medium-sized cities. Incumbent Republican Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover was aided by national prosperity , the absence of American involvement in war, and anti-Catholic bigotry , and he defeated Smith in

5395-487: The white South"; at the same time, Hoover heavily emphasized "his rural-Protestant roots" and appealed to the white voters' anti-urban and anti-Catholic sentiments, while also portraying Smith as a pro-civil rights candidate. According to Phylon , apart from the Catholics' perceived allegiance to the Pope over the United States, American anti-Catholicism was also racially motivated, as Southern Protestants "strongly opposed

5478-472: The women often on spurious convictions for prostitution . It was discovered, during the investigation, that 51 young women had been illegally confined in the women's prison at Bedford . The Boss of Tammany Hall, John Curry, was also called to testify after calling in a Tammany judge to stay the sentencing of Tammany's William F. Doyle, a horse doctor who became chief of the Bureau of Fire Prevention. Doyle had been

5561-399: The workers, stressing the need to expand the rights of working women in particular. A “New Era Progressive”, Smith advocated local governnment funded facilities and services such as hospitals, parks and schools in poor and working-class areas. Speaking of the role of the state in 1927, Smith said: "The State is a living force. It must have the ability to clothe itself with human understanding of

5644-464: The world's tallest skyscraper opened on May 1, 1931, which was May Day , an international labor celebration. Its construction had been completed in only 13 months, a record for such a large project. As with the Brooklyn Bridge , which Smith had seen being built from his Lower East Side boyhood home, the Empire State Building was both a vision and an achievement that had been constructed by combining

5727-402: Was a New York General Sessions Court judge, the deputy New York City Fire Commissioner , and the leader of Tammany Hall . He was born on June 20, 1876. He replaced Charles Francis Murphy in 1924 as the leader of Tammany Hall . Olvany was the first Tammany Hall boss to have received a college education. A popular story used to describe Olvany was as follows: A Board of Alderman meeting in

5810-567: Was a Tammany Hall associate who was head of the Fourteenth Assembly District, owner of the Thomas M. Farley Association, and sheriff of New York County . Although Farley's club had been raided many times by Inspector Lewis Valentine's Confidential Squad, the club was always tipped off beforehand. The sheriff denied that gambling took place on premises and could not account for the presence of associates of Arnold Rothstein who frequented

5893-486: Was a leader of the Progressive movement in New York City and state. His campaign manager and top aide was Belle Moskowitz , a daughter of Jewish immigrants. After serving in the patronage-rich job of sheriff of New York County beginning in 1916, Smith was elected governor of New York in 1918 with the help of Tammany Boss Charles F. Murphy and James A. Farley , who brought Smith the upstate vote. In 1919, Smith gave

5976-589: Was born at 174 South Street and raised in the Fourth Ward on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1873; he resided there for his entire life. His mother, Catherine (née Mulvihill), was the daughter of Maria Marsh and Thomas Mulvihill, who were immigrants from County Westmeath , Ireland. His father, baptised Joseph Alfred Smith in 1839, was the son of Emanuel Smith, an Italian marinaro (sailor). The elder Alfred Smith (Anglicized name for Alfredo Emanuele Ferraro)

6059-522: Was called in to help investigate a case in New York City. Additionally, a Tammany Hall associate and state Supreme Court Justice, Joseph Force Crater , disappeared in August 1930, in what would become an unsolved case. Crater was president of a Tammany Hall Club on the Upper West Side and was also a known acquaintance of Gordon. A third investigation followed, with several thousand interviews. The commission

6142-425: Was chaired by State Senator Samuel H. Hofstadter . The actual investigation was conducted by Seabury who was appointed legal counsel to the committee. The commission heard testimony from a thousand citizens, policemen, judges, lawyers and defendants about unjust treatment before the law prompted by allegations of corruption in police and court systems. The Seabury investigation into the Magistrate's Courts exposed

6225-418: Was connected to the hopes and aspirations of immigrants, especially Catholics and Jews from eastern and southern Europe. Smith was a devout Catholic, but his struggles against religious bigotry were often misinterpreted when he fought the religiously inspired Protestant morality imposed by prohibitionists. The 1928 election initiated a complete voter realignment of African-Americans, who overwhelmingly supported

6308-645: Was elected President of the Board of Trustees of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University . Knowing his fondness for animals, in 1934 Robert Moses made Al Smith the Honorary Night Zookeeper of the newly renovated Central Park Zoo . Though a ceremonial title, Smith was given keys to the zoo and often took guests to see the animals after hours. George W. Olvany Judge George Washington Olvany (June 20, 1876 – October 15, 1952)

6391-414: Was elected to replace him as governor of New York. Farley left Smith's camp to run Roosevelt's successful campaign for governor in 1928, and then Roosevelt's successful campaigns for the Presidency in 1932 and 1936. Some political scientists believe that the 1928 election started a voter realignment that helped develop Roosevelt's New Deal coalition . One political scientist said, "...not until 1928, with

6474-447: Was one factor in Smith's break with Roosevelt and the New Deal, Christopher Finan (2003) argues that Smith was consistent in his beliefs and politics—suggesting that Smith always believed in social mobility, economic opportunity, religious tolerance, and individualism. Historian David Farber argues that while Smith was always a "firm believer in the use of government to right wrongs", his vision

6557-487: Was raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan near the Brooklyn Bridge . He resided in that neighborhood for his entire life. Although Smith remained personally untarnished by corruption, he—like many other New York Democrats—was linked to the notorious Tammany Hall political machine that controlled New York City politics during his era. Smith served in the New York State Assembly from 1904 to 1915 and held

6640-463: Was removed from the bench. A further investigation by U.S. district attorney Charles H. Tuttle in 1929 discovered that Brooklyn Judge Bernard Vause was paid $ 190,000 in return for obtaining pier leases for a shipping company, and that another city judge, George Ewald had paid Tammany Hall $ 10,000 for the replacement seat of Judge Vitale. Roosevelt responded by launching the first of three investigations between 1930 and 1932. Roosevelt prompted Ex-Judge of

6723-438: Was repeatedly elected to office, serving through 1915. After being approached by Frances Perkins , an activist to improve labor practices, Smith sought to improve the conditions of factory workers. Smith served as vice chairman of the state commission appointed to investigate factory conditions after 146 workers died in the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire . Meeting the families of the deceased Triangle factory workers left

6806-625: Was the son of Italian and German immigrants. He served with the 11th New York Fire Zouaves in the opening months of the Civil War. Smith grew up with his family struggling financially in the Gilded Age ; New York City matured and completed major infrastructure projects. The Brooklyn Bridge was being constructed nearby. "The Brooklyn Bridge and I grew up together", Smith would later recall. His four grandparents were of ethnic German , Irish as well as Italian ancestry, but Smith identified more with

6889-483: Was ultimately based on decentralizing power to the states and local communities, which would have pursued public ownership and economic interventionism on local and regional level. Smith was also far less supportive of direct federal intervention, on which "he was ambivalent, even uncertain." Despite the break between the men, Smith and Eleanor Roosevelt remained close. In 1936, while Smith was in Washington, D.C. , making

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