Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith.(Review)

Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith By Robert A. Slayton Free Press, 480 pages, $30

Finally, a biography befitting the greatest twentieth-century leader of urban America: New York Governor Alfred Emanuel Smith. Responsible for a dizzying array of public works and social legislation, Smith was a remarkable representative of and advocate for the city and state of New York.

Born in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1873, 13-year-old Al dropped out of grammar school upon the death of his father, a manual laborer, to take on various menial jobs to support his penniless family. After spending long hours rolling fish barrels at the Fulton Fish Market (in later years he would boast that his alma mater was F.F.M.), Al would spend his leisure time participating in parish plays and oratory contests. It was at these activities that he caught the eye of Tammany Hall district leader Tom Foley. Hired by the clubhouse as a county process server, Smith advanced to municipal court clerk, state representative, speaker of the Assembly, Manhattan sheriff, president of New York City's board of aldermen and, in 1918, election to the first of four terms as governor.

Smith was certainly one of the most colorful politicians of the Roaring '20s, known for his brown derby hat, wide striped suits, ever-present cigar, and a gravelly New York accent that was instantly recognizable on the "raddio." By 1928, he was convinced the time had come for the inner cities to promote one of their own to lead the national government--and who better epitomized the role of urban leader than the governor of New York? Described in Franklin Roosevelt's 1928 nominating speech as the "Happy Warrior," Al Smith went on to be the first Roman Catholic nominated for the presidency by a major party.

Most political analysts agree that America's prosperity made it impossible for any Democrat to be elected president in 1928; still, the campaign was savagely fought. Al Smith had felt the back of the hand of the Knickerbocker crowd, who were repulsed by the waves of immigrants invading New York's shores. But he didn't anticipate the viciousness and hatred unleashed by the dark powers of prejudice. Anti-Catholics and anti-urban bigots portrayed Smith as a captive of the Tammany Hall brothel and the "whore of Babylon"--the Pope.

Slayton devotes several well-researched chapters to the campaign waged against the governor. An American Standard headline proclaimed "Rome Suggests That Pope May Move Here." Another publication held Smith responsible for all of urban society's perceived ills: "card playing, cocktail drinking, poodle dogs, divorces, novels, stuffy rooms, dancing, evolution, Clarence Darrow, overeating, nude art, ...