Smith, Alfred Emanuel (1873-1944), was an American political leader. He was elected governor of New York four times. In 1928, he was an unsuccessful candidate for president of the United States.
Smith, known by the nickname Al, became active in politics at the age of 22. He worked his way up in the Tammany Hall machine to become a leader of the Democratic Party. He was elected to the state legislature in 1903 and became governor of New York in 1919.
Smith failed to win the Democratic Party’s nomination for president in 1924. But in 1928, he won the nomination with the help of his friend and associate, Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Happy Warrior, as Roosevelt called him, lost the election to Herbert Hoover. Some opposed Smith because he was a Roman Catholic and because he opposed prohibition. At the start of the depression of the 1930’s, Smith supported federal spending. Later, Smith broke with Roosevelt, who was elected U.S. president in 1932. Smith became critical of Roosevelt’s New Deal policies and joined the Liberty League, an anti-Roosevelt group (see New Deal ; Liberty League ). Smith was born on Dec. 30, 1873, in New York City and died there on Oct. 4, 1944.
