Al Smith

Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873–October 4, 1944), often known as Al Smith, was Governor of New York and a U.S. presidential candidate in 1928. He lost the election to Herbert Hoover.

Early life

Smith was born to Irish Catholic immigrants and initially grew up in relative comfort on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, on Oliver Street, New York City, before he quit school and began work at the age of fourteen, after his father's death, who was a lorrie driver and veteran of the Civil War. 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 particularly to its boss Silent Charlie Murphy, 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 (a gift he developed acting in various plays put on by St. James Catholic Church) 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 Factory fire in 1911, where scores of immigrant sons and daughters perished, he became acutely aware of the dangerous and unhealthy conditions under which many laborers worked and championed legislation to protect workers.

Related Topics:
Lower East Side - Manhattan - New York City - Civil War - Tammany Hall - Political machine - Silent Charlie Murphy - New York State Assembly - 1903 - Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire - 1911

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