SMITH, ALFRED E. 1873-1944

New york governor, 1919-1921, 1923-1929

Democratic nominee for president, 1928

Smith's Early Career

With only an eighth-grade education, Alfred E. Smith, an Irish Catholic New Yorker raised in the Fourth Ward of the city's Lower East Side, entered the rough-and-tumble world of New York City politics as a Tammany Hall loyalist. He began his political career in 1903 as a representative in New York's state assembly. During his legislative career Smith earned a reputation as a hardworking, progressive legislator. In 1918 New York elected the aggressive politician as its governor. In 1920 Smith lost his reelection bid when the rising conservative, xenophobic tide swept Republicans into office in New York, as well as across the nation. But Smith easily recaptured the governorship in 1922 and served three consecutive terms following that victory.

Progressive Governor

While governor, Smith developed a reputation as a progressive reformer, Consistent with national progressive reform efforts to increase governmental efficiency, Smith reorganized New York's state government, eliminating overlapping agencies and reducing costs. He worked for a forty-eight-hour work-week for labor and strengthened the State Labor Department's hand in enforcing safety requirements and administering workmen's compensation. Smith also developed low-cost housing projects and an extensive parks and recreation system in New York. Determined to defend civil liberties in an era of repression, the governor vetoed several antisedition bills, thwarting the legislature's attempts to curtail the civil liberties of Socialists. Throughout his governorship Smith opposed Prohibition and called for its repeal. His accomplishments made him a viable candidate for national office, but his sometimes controversial views on major issues made him a target of substantial criticism.

Presidential Hopeful

Always the ambitious politician, the successful New York governor soon set his sights on the presidency. At the 1920 Democratic convention Smith was included in the crowded field of favorite sons and dark-horse candidates, but he was hardly a serious contender that year. Four years later Smith made a serious bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, but his urban, wet forces clashed with the Democratic Party's rural, dry, Protestant wing. Thus, a bitterly divided convention in 1924 could not nominate either Al Smith or his chief opponent, William McAdoo. Smith's open opposition to the Ku Klux Klan, which included virulent anti-Catholicism among its prejudices, thwarted his opportunity to secure the necessary nvo-thirds majority. After an unprecedented 103 ballots, delegates settled for John Davis, a compromise candidate.

Campaign of 1928

Determined not to repeat the mistakes that divided the 1924 Democratic convention, Smith campaigned early and long, assuring himself the party's nomination in 1928. Although the rural opposition in the Democratic Party was without a national leader, it was determined to be a menacing force. Smith could not unite his party, and he continually reaped dissenters' criticism for his anti-Prohibition stance, his Tammany connections, and his Catholic beliefs. Smith's controversial candidacy diverted attention from the reality of a formidable opponent, Herbert Hoover, and a strong economy. Historian Richard Hofstadter observed, "There was not a Democrat alive, Protestant or Catholic, who could have beaten Hoover in 1928,"

Source:

David Burner, The Politics of Provincialism: The Democratic Party in Transition, 1918-1932(New York: Norton, 1968).

Smith, Alfred E. (1873–1944), governor of New York and Democratic presidential candidate. Smith was born on New York City's Lower East Side. His father was of German and Italian background; his mother was Irish American. Forced by his father's death to quit school early, he supported his family by working in the Fulton Fish Market. Local leaders of New York City's Democratic organization, Tammany Hall got him a job with the Commissioner of Jurors. Elected to the state assembly in 1903 he served for twelve years, rising to become Speaker. He also cochaired the State Factory Investigating Commission, which was established in response to the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire of 1911. The commission sponsored numerous bills regulating factory work and established Smith as a champion of the working class.

Needing more income, Smith, now a father of five, became sheriff of New York County in 1915 and president of the New York City Board of Aldermen two years later. Nominated as the Democratic candidate for governor in 1918 he won easily, serving from 1919 to 1920, and again from 1923 to 1928. His strong legislative record as a progressive reformer expanded his political support. Though Smith lost the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's rancorous 1924 convention, he won in 1928, becoming the first Catholic to run for president on a major party ticket. A number of factors—Smith's religion, his stand against Prohibition, and eight years of Republican prosperity—led to his crushing loss to the Republican candidate, Herbert Hoover. In New York, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was narrowly elected governor, winning the post that Smith had vacated.

After losing the 1932 Democratic presidential nomination to Roosevelt, Smith did not seek office again. Embittered by Roosevelt's popularity, he opposed much of the New Deal and even joined the conservative American Liberty League. He was an active Catholic layman and served as figurehead president of the Empire State Building Corporation headed by John J. Raskob, a prominent Democrat. Popular with audiences and the press for his affability and oratorical skills, Al Smith remains one of New York's most beloved public figures.
See also Democratic Party; Irish Americans; Progressive Era; Roman Catholicism; Temperance and Prohibition; Twenties, The.

Bibliography

Oscar Handlin , Al Smith and His America, 1958.
Paula Eldot , Governor Alfred E. Smith: The Politician as Reformer, 1983.

Elisabeth Israels Perry

Alfred Emanuel Smith 1873–1944, American political leader, b. New York City. Reared in poor surroundings, he had no formal education beyond grade school and took various jobs—including work in the Fulton fish market—to help support his family. In 1895, through the help of a Tammany district leader, he was appointed a clerk in the office of the county commissioner of jurors. As a member (1904–15) of the New York state assembly, he took a prominent role in state Democratic politics, became (1913) speaker of the assembly, and gained a reputation for progressive policies. He was (1915–17) sheriff of New York co. and then was elected (1917) president of the New York City Board of Aldermen, the predecessor of the City Council.

In 1918, Smith was elected governor of New York. He was defeated for reelection in 1920 but regained the office in 1922 and was reelected twice again (1924, 1926). He proved a forceful and well-liked governor and achieved a much-needed overhauling of the state bureaucracy and passage of much reform legislation. In 1928, Smith, helped by Franklin Delano Roosevelt , won the Democratic nomination for president, the first Roman Catholic to receive this recognition. An ugly campaign ensued in which virulent anti-Catholic prejudice played a major part.

After his defeat by Herbert Hoover , Smith retired to private life, becoming (1929) president of the firm that owned and operated the Empire State Building in New York City. He also served (1932–34) as editor of the magazine New Outlook. He became a bitter opponent of President F. D. Roosevelt's New Deal policies and supported the Republican presidential candidates in 1936 and 1940. Smith was the author of Up to Now (1929).

Bibliography: See biographies by F. Graham (1945), E. S. Warner (1956), O. Handlin (1958, repr. 1987), M. Josephson (1969), R. O'Connor (1970), R. A. Slayton (2001), and C. M. Finan (2002); F. D. Roosevelt, The Happy Warrior (1928).

Smith, Alfred Emanuel (1873–1944) US politician. He was governor of New York (1919–20, 1923–28), supporting social welfare legislation and public works projects. A candidate for the presidential nomination in 1924, he ran in 1928 but lost the election to Herbert Hoover.