Al Smith Early Life Political Career The 1928 Election

Although Smith grew up in relative comfort on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, he quit school and began work at the age of fourteen, after his father's death. In his political career he emphasized his lowly beginnings, identified himself with immigrants, and campaigned as a man of the people. Although indebted to the Tammany Hall political machine for his entry into politics and for their ongoing support, he remained untarnished by corruption and worked for the passage of progressive legislation. He was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1903 and his oratorical gifts and skill at drafting legislation helped him become the majority leader. When he served as vice-chairman of the commission appointed to investigate factory conditions after the disastrous Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in 1911, he became acutely aware of the dangerous and unhealthy conditions under which many laborers worked and championed legislation to protect workers.

2 Political Career

After serving as sheriffSheriff is both a political and a legal office held under English common law, Scots law or American common law, or the person who holds such office. Modern usage United States In the United States a sheriff is generally the highest elected law-enforcement of New York County for several years beginning in 1915Events January 12 The Rocky Mountain National Park is established by an act of Congress. January 12 United States House of Representatives rejects proposal to give women the right to vote. January 13 An earthquake (6. 8 in Richter scale) in Avezzano, Ital, Smith was elected governor of New York in 1918Events January January 8 President Woodrow Wilson announces his " Fourteen Points" for the aftermath of World War I. February February 3 The Twin Peaks Tunnel begins service in San Francisco as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world (11,920 feet long).. He lost the election of 19201920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) Events January January 7 Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. January 9 Britain announces it will build 100,000 homes for war veterans. January 10 Leagu in the Republican landslide of that year, but was reelected governor in 1922Events January 7 Dali Eireann ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64-57 votes. January 10 Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dail Eireann January 11 First successful insulin treatment of diabetes. January 12 British government releases Irish prisoners and served three more terms. As governor, he became known nationally as a progressive who sought to make government more efficient and more effective in meeting social needs. His parks czar, Robert MosesRobert Moses ( December 18, 1888 July 29, 1981) was the master builder of 20th century New York City and its suburbs. As the shaper of a modern city, his only peer is Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris. Although he never held elective office, Moses wa constructed the nation's first state park system; Smith later appointed him New York State Secretary of State. During his term, New York strengthened laws governing workmen's compensation, women's pensions, and child and women's labor. In 1924 he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president. Franklin D. Roosevelt made the nominating speech in which he called Smith "the Happy Warrior of the political battlefield."

Al Smith finally secured the Democratic presidential nomination in 1928. His acceptance speech was the first live broadcast of a political event on television, although few saw this experimental early broadcast; a great many more heard it on radio.

Smith was the first major-party presidential candidate of the Roman Catholic faith.

A major controversial issue was the continuation of alcohol Prohibition. Smith was personally in favor of relaxation or repeal of Prohibition, but the Democratic Party refused to back him on the issue. During the campaign Smith tried to duck the issue with noncommittal statements. A satire portrayed Smith being asked, "Are you wet (anti-Prohibition) or dry (pro-Prohibition)?" with Smith replying, "I can't remember. Maybe I'll know better by November."

3 The 1928 Election

The Republican Party was riding high on the economic boom of the 1920s, which their presidential candidate Herbert Hoover vowed to continue. Hoover defeated Smith by a significant margin in the 1928 Election.

Part of Smith's especially poor showing can be attributed to anti-Catholic bias (Smith was accused of standing for "rum, Romanism, and rebellion"), anti-New York City bias, and Smith's own bad campaigning. Smith's campaign theme song, "The Sidewalks of New York", was not likely to appeal to people in Georgia, and Smith's own brogue seemed foreign to many people. Some newspapers outside major cities even publicly condemned him as an "alien" because of the foreign origin of his parents (both were immigrants from Ireland) and the large number of immigrants living in his state.

Smith felt slighted by Roosevelt during Roosevelt's governorship. They became rivals for the 1932 Democratic presidential nomination. When Roosevelt won and began pursuing the policies of the New Deal, Smith began to work against Roosevelt more. He became a leader of the American Liberty League, a leading opponent of the New Deal, and supported the Republican presidential candidates, Alfred M. Landon in the 1936 election and Wendell Willkie in the 1940 election. His son, Al Smith, Jr. . actually endorsed Republican Richard Nixon in 1960.

4 Later Life

After the 1928 election, a friend of Smith encouraged him to invest in a real estate company that was constructing the world's tallest building in New York's Midtown Manhattan, he became the president of Empire State, Inc., the corporation which built and operated the Empire State Building. Smith was present at the ribbon-cutting ceremony when the building opened for business in May 1931.

Al Smith died on October 4, 1944, and is interred at Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York.

5 Reference

Adapted from the public domain text at Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site. The original authors cited the following sources:
- Black, Allida. Casting Her Own Shadow: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Shaping of Postwar Liberalism (New York: Columbia University Press, 1996), 12-18.
- Lichtman, Allan J. "Alfred E. Smith" in Franklin D Roosevelt: His Life and Times. New York: DaCapo Press, 1985, 387-388.

Preceded by :
Charles S. Whitman (First term)
Nathan L. Miller(Second term)

Governors of New York

Succeeded by:
Nathan L. Miller (First term)
Franklin D. Roosevelt (Second term)

Preceded by:
John W. Davis

Democratic Party Presidential candidate
1928 (lost)

Followed by:
Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Smith, Al Smith, Al Smith, Al Smith, Al Smith, Al Smith, Al

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