AL SMITH: THE HAPPY WARRIOR

In 1928, in an effort to carry his home state of New York, Smith talked his friend Franklin Roosevelt into running for Governor. Although Smith lost the state, Roosevelt was elected Governor. Roosevelt began a program of government aid and subsidies to fight the Depression, and was re-elected in 1930, one of the few incumbent to be re-elected during the Depression. This made Roosevelt the front-runner for the 1932 nomination, which Smith also wanted. When Roosevelt beat him, Smith campaigned for Roosevelt, and expected a cabinet or other major appointment.

Roosevelt froze Smith out of the government, which made Smith a bitter, disappointed foe of Roosevelt. Smith returned to business, becoming president of the company building the Empire State Building. As he became wealthier, he identified more and more with the wealthy and their interests as opposed to the working man he had represented throughout his career. In each of Roosevelt's re-election campaigns, Smith supported the Republican opponents, but never got actively involved in politics again. When his beloved wife died in May of 1944, his health failed and he died five short months later.

Smith would have been a very different President than Hoover, and would have reacted to the Great Depression in a far different manner. His tenure as Governor had shown his support for the working class, and his conviction that the government could and should take action to help the average man. The programs he started as Governor, such as welfare, health programs and housing subsidies, would have been successful on the national scene as well. But with his defeat, the nation had to wait four years for Roosevelt to enact those programs.

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