June 28, 1928: The Democratic National Convention is held at Sam Houston Hall, in the Texas city named for Sam. It is the 1st time the Convention has been held in the South since the Civil War.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, former Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and the party’s 1920 nominee for Vice President, repeats his 1924 task of placing the name of Governor Alfred E. Smith of New York in nomination for President. Four years before, the polio-stricken FDR had walked to the podium on crutches, and gave Smith the nickname "The Happy Warrior." Smith was not nominated then. This time, with one hand holding a cane and the other hand holding his son James' arm, FDR walks to the podium, and gives an even better speech.
The speech is not the reason, but Smith is nominated. He thus becomes the 1st Catholic -- indeed, the 1st non-Protestant – ever nominated for President by a major party. He's a "Happy Warrior," all right, even turning the sad song "The Sidewalks of New York" into a cheery campaign song. The Senate Minority Leader, Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas, is nominated for Vice President.
Smith was born to Irish immigrants on December 30, 1873, in a tenement underneath the Brooklyn Bridge, then under construction. The Alfred E. Smith Houses housing project would be built on the site. He joined New York City's Democratic "political machine," Tammany Hall, and, despite this, built a scandal-free career.
He served in the New York State Assembly from 1904 to 1915, and was Speaker for its 1913 term. He was Sheriff of New York County for the entirety of calendar year 1916. In 1918, he was President of the City Board of Aldermen. (New York County is Manhattan Island, and the City's County Sheriff offices were abolished in 1942. In 1938 the Board of Aldermen was replaced by a City Council.)
He was narrowly elected Governor in the Republican year of 1918, was narrowly defeated for re-election in the Republican year of 1920, regained the office easily in the Democratic year of 1922, and was re-elected in the Republican year of 1924 (narrowly, over Theodore Roosevelt Jr.) and the Democratic year of 1926. (After 1938, New York Governors' terms became 4 years, not 2.)
Since Smith wouldn't be running for a 5th term as Governor, FDR ends up being nominated in his place. At this point, 6 current or former Governors of New York had been nominated for President, 3 of them winning, including FDR's cousin Theodore. Someone asked Smith if supporting FDR's nomination means raising a rival for power. The 52-year-old Smith, noting the 46-year-old FDR's polio, says, "No. He will be dead within a year." In other words, he considered the Governorship to be FDR's "gold watch," a final gift for a good career in politics.
Smith was Catholic, and faced terrible bigotry over this. He was a "Wet," supporting the repeal of Prohibition. His family had been in America for less than 60 years. He was tied to Tammany Hall, which concerned a lot of people: Entertainer Will Rogers, in his nationally-syndicated newspaper column, said that New Yorkers were about to find out just how many people lived west of the Hudson River. Early sound films, speeches broadcast on radio, and records of his speeches revealed him to have a strong N'Yawk accent. He seemed to be everything that traditional America feared, and even hated.
If Smith had been Protestant, been a "Dry" (supporting the continuation of Prohibition), a multi-generational American, a product of small-town Midwestern politics, and had no traceable accent, he still would have lost, if not as badly: Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover was running as the candidate of Republican-led prosperity. As Democratic political operative James Carville would say, decades later, "It's the economy, stupid." It elevated Hoover in 1928 -- and destroyed him in 1932.
Two months after the 1928 Presidential election, Smith watched FDR, who narrowly beat the State's Republican Attorney General, Albert Ottinger, be sworn in to replace him as Governor. They did indeed become rivals for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1932, and when FDR got it, Smith never forgave him. And, despite his health getting more and more precarious as World War II went on, FDR still outlived Smith by 6 months.
The Democrats did not hold another Convention in the South until 1972 -- and if Miami Beach doesn't really count, then not again until Atlanta in 1988.
*
June 28, 1928 was a Thursday. Patrick Hemingway, writer and wildlife manager, was born on this day, to writer and adventurer Ernest Hemingway and 2nd wife, Pauline Pfeiffer. This was also the day that University of Kansas basketball player Harry Kersenbrock drowned at the age of 22. I have a separate entry for that event.
These baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 10-4 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. George Pipgras went the distance for the win, while Rube Walberg only pitched 2 innings. Babe Ruth went 3-for-5 with 2 home runs, a walk and 3 RBIs. Bob Meusel went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, and 2 RBIs. Lou Gehrig went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.
Playing out the string with the A's, Ty Cobb went 1-for-5 with an RBI, Eddie Collins struck out as a pinch-hitter, and Tris Speaker did not get into the game. Jimmy Dykes went 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk and 3 RBIs. Al Simmons went 1-for-4. Jimmie Foxx went 0-for-3 with a walk. He was catching, and Mickey Cochrane did not get into the game.
* The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1 at the Polo Grounds. Bill Terry and Mel Ott each went 0-for-2 with a walk.
* A doubleheader was split at Fenway Park in Boston. The Washington Senators won the opener, 4-3. The Boston Red Sox won the nightcap, 8-7.
* The St. Louis Browns beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-2 at Navin Field (later Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium) in Detroit.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 3-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Frankie Frisch and Chick Hafey hit home runs. For the Pirates, Paul Waner went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI, and Pie Traynor and Lloyd Waner each went 0-for-4.
* The Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds were rained out at Redland Field (later renamed Crosley Field) in Cincinnati. The game was made up on July 2. The Cubs won, 8-2. Hack Wilson went 3-for-5 with 4 RBIs. Kiki Cuyler also went 3-for-5, but had no RBIs.
* And the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Braves were not scheduled.
No comments:
Post a Comment