Download PDF Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith, by Robert A. Slayton
Empire Statesman: The Rise And Redemption Of Al Smith, By Robert A. Slayton. Is this your extra time? What will you do after that? Having spare or leisure time is very remarkable. You can do everything without pressure. Well, we expect you to save you couple of time to read this e-book Empire Statesman: The Rise And Redemption Of Al Smith, By Robert A. Slayton This is a god book to accompany you in this complimentary time. You will certainly not be so hard to recognize something from this publication Empire Statesman: The Rise And Redemption Of Al Smith, By Robert A. Slayton A lot more, it will certainly help you to obtain much better info and also encounter. Even you are having the wonderful jobs, reviewing this book Empire Statesman: The Rise And Redemption Of Al Smith, By Robert A. Slayton will certainly not include your mind.
Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith, by Robert A. Slayton
Download PDF Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith, by Robert A. Slayton
Find out the strategy of doing something from numerous resources. One of them is this book qualify Empire Statesman: The Rise And Redemption Of Al Smith, By Robert A. Slayton It is a very well recognized book Empire Statesman: The Rise And Redemption Of Al Smith, By Robert A. Slayton that can be suggestion to read currently. This advised book is among the all excellent Empire Statesman: The Rise And Redemption Of Al Smith, By Robert A. Slayton collections that remain in this website. You will certainly additionally discover other title and also motifs from various authors to browse right here.
Keep your means to be below and read this page completed. You could take pleasure in browsing the book Empire Statesman: The Rise And Redemption Of Al Smith, By Robert A. Slayton that you actually refer to get. Below, obtaining the soft file of guide Empire Statesman: The Rise And Redemption Of Al Smith, By Robert A. Slayton can be done effortlessly by downloading and install in the link web page that we supply below. Certainly, the Empire Statesman: The Rise And Redemption Of Al Smith, By Robert A. Slayton will be your own quicker. It's no have to await the book Empire Statesman: The Rise And Redemption Of Al Smith, By Robert A. Slayton to get some days later after acquiring. It's no need to go outside under the heats at mid day to head to the book shop.
This is a few of the advantages to take when being the participant and also obtain guide Empire Statesman: The Rise And Redemption Of Al Smith, By Robert A. Slayton here. Still ask just what's various of the other website? We provide the hundreds titles that are developed by advised authors and publishers, around the globe. The connect to buy and download Empire Statesman: The Rise And Redemption Of Al Smith, By Robert A. Slayton is likewise really easy. You could not find the complicated site that order to do more. So, the way for you to get this Empire Statesman: The Rise And Redemption Of Al Smith, By Robert A. Slayton will be so very easy, will not you?
Based on the Empire Statesman: The Rise And Redemption Of Al Smith, By Robert A. Slayton information that we provide, you could not be so baffled to be right here as well as to be participant. Obtain currently the soft file of this book Empire Statesman: The Rise And Redemption Of Al Smith, By Robert A. Slayton and also save it to be yours. You saving could lead you to stimulate the ease of you in reading this book Empire Statesman: The Rise And Redemption Of Al Smith, By Robert A. Slayton Also this is kinds of soft documents. You can really make better possibility to get this Empire Statesman: The Rise And Redemption Of Al Smith, By Robert A. Slayton as the recommended book to review.
Franklin Roosevelt is said to have explained Al Smith, and his own New Deal, with these words: "Practically all the things we've done in the federal government are the things Al Smith did as governor of New York." Smith, who ran for president in 1928, not only set the model for FDR, he also taught America that the promise of the country extends to everyone and no one should be left behind.
The story of this trailblazer is the story of America in the twentieth century. A child of second-generation immigrants, a boy self-educated on the streets of the nation's largest city, he went on to become the greatest governor in the history of New York; a national leader and symbol to immigrants, Catholics, and the Irish; and in 1928 the first Catholic major-party candidate for president. He was the man who championed safe working conditions in the wake of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire. He helped build the Empire State Building. Above all, he was a national model, both for his time and for ours.
Yet, as Robert Slayton demonstrates in this rich story of an extraordinary man and his times, Al Smith's life etched a conflict still unresolved today. Who is a legitimate American? The question should never be asked, yet we can never seem to put it behind us. In the early years of the twentieth century, the Ku Klux Klan reorganized, not to oppose blacks, but rather against the flood of new immigrants arriving from southern Europe and other less familiar sources. Anti-Catholic hatred was on the rise, mixed up with strong feelings about prohibition and tensions between towns and cities. The conflict reached its apogee when Smith ran for president. Slayton's story of the famous election of 1928, in which Smith lost amid a blizzard of blind bigotry, is chilling reading for Americans of all faiths. Yet Smith's eventual redemption, and the recovery of his deepest values, shines as a triumph of spirit over the greatest of adversity.
Even in our corrosively cynical times, the greater vision of Al Smith's life inspires and uplifts us.
- Sales Rank: #1536152 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Free Press
- Published on: 2007-06-25
- Released on: 2007-06-25
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.44" h x 1.60" w x 5.50" l, 1.68 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 520 pages
- Used Book in Good Condition
Review
Harold Evans author of "The American Century" Rich and relevant: Robert Slayton's portrait of the colorful and appealing Al Smith is rich in new detail -- and very relevant to the political controversies of today. The 'Happy Warrior' nominated by FDR for the Democratic ticket in 1924 (and again in 1928), New York Governor Smith was a populist Catholic who confronted the KKK bigots with tolerance, integrity, and humor, long before John F. Kennedy finally exorcised the anti-Catholic demons from American politics...or did he? An America in search of heroes will find sustenance in this honorable man of the city. Al Smith was one of those people who make a reality of American ideals.
Robert A. Caro
author of "The Power Broker: Robert Moses" and "the Fall of New York"
At last! Here is a book, vivid and insightful, that finally rescues from obscurity a man who deserves a major place in American political history. From the glory of his governorship to the tragedy of his final years, here he is -- the Happy Warrior.
Hasia Diner
author of "Erin's Daughters in America"
Robert Slayton has presented readers with a 'real American hero' and with an exemplary biographical narrative. The Al Smith who jumps out of these pages is a paradigm of urban America, someone who had been shaped by its streets, and who dedicated his public life to making them livable for all.
Jack Beatty
author of "The Rascal King: The Life and Times of James Michael Curley, 1874-1958"
Alfred Emanuel Smith: the name once had a resonance. It stood for inclusion, for immigrant hope of assimilation, for the fulfillment of the dream vision of America -- a country without bigotry, your land and mine. In defeat Al Smith meant more to Americans than all but the great presidents have meant in victory, and in this needed reinterpretation of Smith, Robert Slayton shows us why.
Terry Golway
author of "The Irish in America"
Robert Slayton reminds us why Al Smith is one of America's great political heroes. With great affection, Slayton tells the story of a man who worked his way up from poverty, but who never forgot the immigrants and their children in the old neighborhood. Robert Slayton has given us a touching portrait of an honorable man who showed that government could make a difference in the lives of the poor, the powerless, and the disenfranchised. What an antidote for today's corrosive cynicism about politics and politicians!
Harold Evans
author of "The American Century"
Rich and relevant: Robert Slayton's portrait of the colorful and appealing Al Smith is rich in new detail -- and very relevant to the political controversies of today. The 'Happy Warrior' nominated by FDR for the Democratic ticket in 1924 (and again in 1928), New York Governor Smith was a populist Catholic who confronted the KKK bigots with tolerance, integrity, and humor, long before John F. Kennedy finally exorcised the anti-Catholic demons from American politics...or did he? An America in search of heroes will find sustenance in this honorable man of the city. Al Smith was one of those people who make a reality of American ideals.
Robert A. Caro author of "The Power Broker: Robert Moses" and "the Fall of New York" At last! Here is a book, vivid and insightful, that finally rescues from obscurity a man who deserves a major place in American political history. From the glory of his governorship to the tragedy of his final years, here he is -- the Happy Warrior.
Terry Golway author of "The Irish in America" Robert Slayton reminds us why Al Smith is one of America's great political heroes. With great affection, Slayton tells the story of a man who worked his way up from poverty, but who never forgot the immigrants and their children in the old neighborhood. Robert Slayton has given us a touching portrait of an honorable man who showed that government could make a difference in the lives of the poor, the powerless, and the disenfranchised. What an antidote for today's corrosive cynicism about politics and politicians!
Hasia Diner author of "Erin's Daughters in America" Robert Slayton has presented readers with a 'real American hero' and with an exemplary biographical narrative. The Al Smith who jumps out of these pages is a paradigm of urban America, someone who had been shaped by its streets, and who dedicated his public life to making them livable for all.
Jack Beatty author of "The Rascal King: The Life and Times of James Michael Curley, 1874-1958" Alfred Emanuel Smith: the name once had a resonance. It stood for inclusion, for immigrant hope of assimilation, for the fulfillment of the dream vision of America -- a country without bigotry, your land and mine. In defeat Al Smith meant more to Americans than all but the great presidents have meant in victory, and in this needed reinterpretation of Smith, Robert Slayton shows us why.
About the Author
Robert A. Slayton is Associate Professor of history at Chapman University. A New Yorker by birth, he is the author of Back of the Yards: The Making of a Local Democracy and New Homeless and Old: Community and the Skid Row Hotel. He lives in Orange County, California.
Most helpful customer reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful.
A compelling and moving biography of a great American
By Rocco Dormarunno
Growing up in New York, it was hard to avoid the name Alfred E. Smith. The huge housing development on the Lower East Side is just one structure that bears his name. But it wasn't until I had read Leon Stein's "Traingle Fire" (for a college paper), when I learned something about the man himself. Later, as another reviewer mentioned, Al Smith was highlighted in the Ric Burns "New York" documentary. Intrigued, I picked up Christopher Finan's "Happy Warrior", which was a very good introduction. However, Professor Robert Slayton's "Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith" has completed the picture for me.
Slayton painstakingly examines the complex relationships between Smith and many of the players in his political spectrum, especially FDR. How this contrasts with the simple but deep relationships he had with friends and family is astounding. One of Professor Slayton's main theses--that Smith embodied the best qualities of turn-of-the century immigrant New York--is smoothly argued. For New York, Smith was the right man at the right time. But then Slayton switches gears, with convincing authority, that Smith was the wrong man at wrong time for 1928 America. It is a devestating irony, and grippingly described.
I found the final sections about Smith's reconciliation with FDR and America extremely moving. The entire "Finale" section, including the deaths and funerals of Smith's wife, Katie, and then Smith himself, had me choking back the tears. Finally, there is Professor Slayton's reminder of the legacy that Al Smith left behind, both for New York City and the nation. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
Rocco Dormarunno
Author of The Five Points
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Mr. Smith Goes to.........Albany
By Thomas J. Burns
The election of John F. Kennedy to the presidency occurred when I was in the seventh grade of my local parochial school. In the Catholic/Democratic atmosphere of East Buffalo, and probably in Tim Russert's South Buffalo as well, the resulting ascendancy of a Catholic to the White House was a vindication. We knew that a Catholic had run once before; in fact, he had been governor of our own state. The popular wisdom of the Catholic grass roots held that the first intrepid candidate had lost because he was a Catholic, and a lot of America did not like Catholics. It did not occur to a seventh grader that people vote for lots of reasons, and that this was true in 1928 as in 1960.
Alfred E. Smith, a man of no small accomplishment, lost miserably to Herbert Hoover in a 1928 presidential election that added little to the American character. It may be true that his Catholicism was a major factor in his defeat, but biographer Robert A. Slayton provides a balanced study of Smith that gives reason to pause. We see early in this work that Smith [particularly when compared to Hoover] suffered from major deficiencies in his political upbringing that affected his judgment and contributed to a naiveté about the nature of the American electorate.
Born in 1873 in New York's infamous Fourth Ward, there was no way that young Smith would not be baptized into the two religions of his neighborhood: the Roman Catholic Church and Tammany Hall. At his local St. James Parish he received his elementary school education from the Christian Brothers. It is doubtful that he absorbed any particularly subversive tendencies of church and state at St. James. Catholic schools of the time were a laborious financial undertaking for Catholic bishops of the day, who considered them a necessary refuge against the virulent anti-Catholic attitudes of many public school curriculums. What Smith certainly absorbed from his Catholic upbringing was New York's multiculturalism, a phenomenon not understood and generally feared in the predominantly agricultural and Protestant Middle America.
Tammany Hall, one of America's most notorious yet beneficent Democratic political machines, would also demonstrate in Smith's day that same ability to adapt to cultural diversity despite its Irish heritage. Tammany was the incarnation of Tip O'Neill's dictum that "all politics is local." Slayton has no argument with this philosophy except to note that it is notorious bad presidential politics. Thus from the formative years Smith emerges as the Catholic/Tammany wounded duck.
But Smith postponed his inevitable denouement for a long time. For much of his life his personality, loyalty, affability and attention to detail, not to mention his "made man" status with the Tammany war horses, were enough to see him through his political climb. Despite its size and stature, New York State government was Byzantine and unwieldy. The legislature itself was a purgatory for a man without some kind of particular agenda, and Smith found his in the very organization of state government. With little to do, he became that body's best studied member and probably the best informed of the lot; he had something of Bob Taft's feel for the paper of legislation but with a much more extroverted personality. His counsel became cherished and his respect among his peers flourished.
And, he was lucky, though it is also true that men can make their own luck through hard work. On March 25, 1911 a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire in New York killed 146 workers. The dimensions of this tragedy and the accompanying neglect of worker safety made labor reform a statewide issue, allowing Smith to conduct emotional public hearings throughout the state. This exposure, and his public advocacy for a popular issue, put him into the New York State governor's mansion in 1919. With the invaluable help of Belle Moskowitz, Frances Perkins, and Robert Moses, among others, Smith continued his program of reform of the state constitution and generally pleased voters enough to maintain office more often than not in the dreadful decade of 1920's national Democratic defeats.
When William McAdoo declined to seek the presidential nomination in 1928, Governor Smith was virtually unopposed within his party. Suffice to say that once he stepped onto the national stage, however, all of his assets of many years became liabilities. His New York bonhomie, his Catholicism, his parochial accent, and his enjoyment of spirits in the age of the Volstead Act doomed his campaign from the start. He was running against the extremely popular Coolidge legacy, against a candidate who knew how to avoid mistakes. To borrow a metaphor from this century, the "red states" were really red, and there were many more of them in 1928.
Having said that, there is no denying that the 1928 campaign set the twentieth century low water mark for bigotry and ugliness. Slayton points out that the KKK of the 1920's was primarily an anti-Catholic movement; Jim Crow laws made Negro intimidation relatively unnecessary at the time. Catholicism was understood as a foreign invasion of lower class degenerates who drank excessively and usurped the jobs of present American citizens. The Democratic ticket was seen as an endorsement of this demographic shift, and voters turned upon the top of the ticket with a particular vehemence. Smith's parochialism had not prepared him for this, and the intensity of feeling against him, along with the size of the defeat, seems to have left psychological scars that remained with Smith for the rest of his life.
After this grueling ordeal, it galled Smith all the more that the perceived savior of his party was a man he considered a political lightweight, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As long as FDR lived, Smith would never get his electoral revenge. Coupled with the debacle of managing the day's tallest white elephant, the new Empire State Building, Smith's "redemption" makes only a cameo appearance in this work.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
The FFM Man
By Steve Iaco
In the midst of a heated debate on the floor of the New York State Legislature, it's suddenly announced that Cornell has won a major boating race. "It means nothing to me, I'm a Yale man," one legislator intones. Bellows another: "means nothing to me either, I'm a Harvard man." "It doesn't mean anything to me," responds Al Smith, "I'm an FFM." What's FFM? "Fulton Fish Market," Smith says. "Now can we return to the debate?"
This is just one of the colorful anecdotes that lace Robert Slayton's excellent chronicle of Al Smith's rise from "The Sidewalks of New York" (his adoptive campaign theme song) to the New York Statehouse and beyond. Here's another story that caught my fancy. As Governor, Al visits a local elitist who's opposed to the expansion of public parklands on Long Island. "It will just bring more rabble from the City," the elitist protests. "Rabble? I'm the rabble," Smith rejoins.
My interest in Al Smith was recently piqued by the PBS "History of New York" documentary (episodes #4 and #5), and I picked up Mr. Slayton's new biography looking to learn more about this seminal public figure. Mr. Slayton delivered everything I expected and more: Smith, the street-wise Lower Eastsider who rises to Tammany leadership; the reformer who crusades for life-safety codes and work rules revisions in the wake of the deadly Triangle Shirtwaist Factory inferno; the four-term Governor who achieves landmark administrative reforms and inveighs against Prohibition; his pathbreaking, but deeply disappointing 1928 Presidential campaign; his foray into the private sector and the construction of the Empire State Building -- just in time for the Great Depression; and Smith's bitter falling out, and eventual rapprochement with FDR.
All in all, it's quite a fascinating life.
Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith, by Robert A. Slayton PDF
Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith, by Robert A. Slayton EPub
Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith, by Robert A. Slayton Doc
Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith, by Robert A. Slayton iBooks
Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith, by Robert A. Slayton rtf
Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith, by Robert A. Slayton Mobipocket
Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith, by Robert A. Slayton Kindle
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar