Alfred E. Smith was a four-time Democratic governor of New York, enacting a wide range of progressive reforms during his tenure. He was also the first Roman Catholic to run for President.
Early Life
Smith was born in 1873 the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where he spent the rest of his life. Although he never completed formal education, Smith was a skilled orator. He entered the political sphere with the help of Tammany Hall, a New York City political organization that helped immigrants, largely Irish Americans, rise to power.
Career
Smith first served as an investigator in the office of the Commissioner of Jurors and later served in the New York State Assembly from 1904-1915. Smith served as vice-chairmen of the state commission appointed to investigate the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. After seeing the dangerous and unhealthy workplace conditions at New York City factories, he worked tirelessly towards labor reform. In advocating other reforms to protect his working class constituents, Smith solidified himself as the leader of the Progressive movement in New York City and state.
Governor of NY
In 1915, Tammany Hall installed Smith as sheriff of New York County. Two years later, he was elected president of the Board of Aldermen of Greater New York. In 1918, he became Governor of New York. He went on to serve three additional terms. During his tenure, Smith was successful at instituting various reforms on the Progressive agenda, including expanded housing, greater protections for factory workers, improved care for the the mentally ill, and the establishment of state parks.
Smith unsuccessfully ran for President of the United States in 1928. As reporter Frederick William Wile noted, Smith was not only defeated by Herbert Hoover, but also by “the three P’s: Prohibition, Prejudice and Prosperity.” Smith sought the 1932 nomination, but lost to Franklin D. Roosevelt.
