Alfred E. Smith
Alfred E. Smith: the happy warrior Christopher M. Finan
Publisher: New York : Hill and Wang, 2002.
ISBN: 0809030330
DDC: 973.915092
LCC: E748
Edition: (alk. paper)
Summary:
"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.
In retrospect, it may seem that the brash Catholic
anti-prohibitionist from New York's Lower East Side never stood a
chance, but at the time, millions of Catholics and Jews rallied
behind the "Happy Warrior" in the belief that he was going to shatter
the unwritten law that only a Protestant could be elected
president.".
"The meteoric rise and dramatic fall of Al Smith may be 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 - but Christopher M. Finan's biography
offers insights into Smith's early years in New York politics that
change our perspective.
He provides an interpretation of Smith's break with Franklin
Roosevelt, his successor as governor and someone he considered a
close friend: Finan believes the split was more FDR's doing than
Smith's, arguing that Roosevelt captured the Democratic nomination in
1932 by actively seeking the support of Smith's enemies, including
the anti-Catholic Southern Democrats who had rejected Smith four
years earlier. In addition, Finan explores Smith's personal life, and
he has uncovered information about Smith's financial dealings during
his governorship.
The result is a study of one of America's most intriguing - and
misunderstood - politicians."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (p. [351]-378) and index.
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