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Alfred E. Smith: The Happy Warrior
A challenging biography of one of America's most controversial politicians
Alfred E. Smith lost the 1928 presidential election by a landslide. Herbert Hoover and the Republicans sailed into office on a wave of prosperity, the promise of a chicken in every pot, and the support of the Ku Klux Klan. The brash, Catholic anti-Prohibitionist from New York's Lower East Side seemed never to have stood a chance.
The meteoric rise and dramatic fall of the "Happy Warrior" are well known--from his job at the Fulton Fish Market through his years in the state legislature and as four-time governor of New York to his crushing defeat in 1928 and his final, puzzling defection from the Democratic party in 1936. Christopher M. Finan offers new insights into Smith's early years in New York politics and provides a fascinating interpretation of Smith's break with Roosevelt, which, he believes, was more FDR's doing than Smith's. Finan argues persuasively that Roosevelt captured the Democratic nomination in 1932 by seeking the support of Smith's enemies, including the southern, anti-Catholic Democrats who had rejected Smith four years earlier. In addition, Finan skillfully explores Smith's personal life, uncovering compelling information about Smith's financial dealings during his governorship. The result is a full, nuanced study, written with verve and zeal, of an intriguing--and misunderstood--politician.
Alfred E. Smith lost the 1928 presidential election by a landslide. Herbert Hoover and the Republicans sailed into office on a wave of prosperity, the promise of a chicken in every pot, and the support of the Ku Klux Klan. The brash, Catholic anti-Prohibitionist from New York's Lower East Side seemed never to have stood a chance.
The meteoric rise and dramatic fall of the "Happy Warrior" are well known--from his job at the Fulton Fish Market through his years in the state legislature and as four-time governor of New York to his crushing defeat in 1928 and his final, puzzling defection from the Democratic party in 1936. Christopher M. Finan offers new insights into Smith's early years in New York politics and provides a fascinating interpretation of Smith's break with Roosevelt, which, he believes, was more FDR's doing than Smith's. Finan argues persuasively that Roosevelt captured the Democratic nomination in 1932 by seeking the support of Smith's enemies, including the southern, anti-Catholic Democrats who had rejected Smith four years earlier. In addition, Finan skillfully explores Smith's personal life, uncovering compelling information about Smith's financial dealings during his governorship. The result is a full, nuanced study, written with verve and zeal, of an intriguing--and misunderstood--politician.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published June 2, 2002
87 people want to read
About the author
Christopher M. Finan
6 books6 followersChris Finan is executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship, an alliance of 56 national non-profits that defends free speech. A native of Cleveland he is a graduate of Antioch College. After working as a newspaper reporter, he studied American history at Columbia University, where he received his Ph.D. in 1992.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 19, 2012
This is a pretty great biography of a pivotal figure in New York history, a four-term governor (and onetime Democratic presidential candidate) who grew up on the streets of the Lower East Side and never made it through 7th grade. Finan does an admirable job of telling his subject's story (especially in light of the fact that Smith did not leave behind many papers), and raises a number of questions that are fascinating to ponder within the context of recent events. In the same way that attitudes toward race have often lurked (not articulated explicitly but very much evident) beneath the attacks on Obama, religious prejudice acted as a chronic force that Smith, a Roman Catholic, needed to address and combat. In fact, it would be accurate to say that in the 1928 presidential election religion occupied the place that race did 90 years later.
Also, Finan makes it clear how the Democratic party was very much divided along rural and urban lines during the first decades of the 20th century, especially when it came to questions of representation in the state legislature and Prohibition (to which Smith, as someone who had risen to power with the assistance of the saloon-oriented world of Tammany Hall, was opposed). Eventually, Smith's dominance of the political scene gave way to the patrician FDR, even though Smith had first outlined and put forth many of the policies that later characterized much of the New Deal. In the end, the jolly, good-humored Smith became embittered, turning against Roosevelt and (in what was perceived as a startling defection) the Democratic Party. A true child of Tammany Hall, Smith remained active, however, keeping his fingers in many pots. Later in his life, after his political ambitions were mostly exhausted, he became head of the corporation that constructed and managed the Empire State Building.
Also, Finan makes it clear how the Democratic party was very much divided along rural and urban lines during the first decades of the 20th century, especially when it came to questions of representation in the state legislature and Prohibition (to which Smith, as someone who had risen to power with the assistance of the saloon-oriented world of Tammany Hall, was opposed). Eventually, Smith's dominance of the political scene gave way to the patrician FDR, even though Smith had first outlined and put forth many of the policies that later characterized much of the New Deal. In the end, the jolly, good-humored Smith became embittered, turning against Roosevelt and (in what was perceived as a startling defection) the Democratic Party. A true child of Tammany Hall, Smith remained active, however, keeping his fingers in many pots. Later in his life, after his political ambitions were mostly exhausted, he became head of the corporation that constructed and managed the Empire State Building.
May 3, 2009
Robert Caro said recently that someone should write a good biography of Alfred E. Smith. Obviously, he was thinking this wasn't a good one.... Alfred E. Smith is one of the great rags to riches stories and probably does deserve a better bio. But until one comes along, this will do.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews