Includes bibliographical references (pages 373-378) and index.

"Alfred E. Smith lost the 1928 presidential election by a landslide. Herbert Hoover and the Republicans sailed into office on a wave of prosperity, the promise of a chicken in every pot, and the support of the Ku Klux Klan. In retrospect, it may seem that the brash Catholic anti-prohibitionist from New York's Lower East Side never stood a chance, but at the time, millions of Catholics and Jews rallied behind the "Happy Warrior" in the belief that he was going to shatter the unwritten law that only a Protestant could be elected president." "The meteoric rise and dramatic fall of Al Smith may be well known - from his job at the Fulton Fish Market, through his years in the state legislature and as four-time governor of New York, to his crushing defeat in 1928 and his final, puzzling defection from the Democratic Party in 1936 - but Christopher M. Finan's biography offers insights into Smith's early years in New York politics that change our perspective. He provides an interpretation of Smith's break with Franklin Roosevelt, his successor as governor and someone he considered a close friend: Finan believes the split was more FDR's doing than Smith's, arguing that Roosevelt captured the Democratic nomination in 1932 by actively seeking the support of Smith's enemies, including the anti-Catholic Southern Democrats who had rejected Smith four years earlier. In addition, Finan explores Smith's personal life, and he has uncovered information about Smith's financial dealings during his governorship. The result is a study of one of America's most intriguing - and misunderstood - politicians."--Jacket.

BSLW RECAT 2023