John Purroy Mitchel
Encyclopedia
John Purroy Mitchel was the mayor of New York from 1914 to 1917. At age 34 he was the second-youngest ever; he is sometimes referred to as "The Boy Mayor of New York." Mayor Mitchel is remembered for his short career as leader of Reform politics in New York, as well as for his early death as an Army air officer in the last months of World War One. Mitchel's staunchly Catholic New York family had been founded by grandfather and namesake John Mitchel
, an Ulster Presbyterian Young Ireland
er (Irish nationalist supporter) who became a renowned writer and leader in the Irish independence movement.
Purroy graduated from secondary school at Fordham Preparatory School
in the late 1890s. He obtained his bachelors degree from Columbia College of Columbia University
in 1899 and graduated from New York Law School
in 1901. His short career witnessed a turning point in New York State politics, in which the Democratic Party
increasingly returned to positions of power after a long period of Republican dominance in many jurisdictions since the career of Grover Cleveland
. Mitchel's success occurred as an older generation of Democrats, men like John Franklin Kinney
, were returning to the private sector, having been eclipsed by Theodore Roosevelt
and the progressive Republicans.
He rose to prominence just five years later, for leading the investigation of Manhattan Borough President John F. Ahern and Bronx Borough President Louis Haffin. Both of the Borough Presidents were ejected from their posts as a result of a full investigation, including the murder of a Manhattan gambler named Herman Rosenthal, allegedly on the orders of New York Police Lieutenant Charles Becker
resulting in the controversial impeachment of William Sulzer
, the Governor of New York State, after Sulzer fell out with Tammany boss Charles Francis Murphy
. The young Purroy Mitchel's reputation as a reformer garnered him the support of the anti-Tammany forces. In 1909, Mitchel was elected President of the Board of Alderman (an organization similar to the current City Council).
Four years later, at the age of 34, Mitchel was elected Mayor on the Fusion (Party) slate
, an alliance of Republicans with Jewish and Protestant reformers. His progressive, reform agenda included appointing Henry Bruère
Chamberlain of the City, with powers to investigate corruption and recommend reforms. Purroy Mitchel fell out with much of the Catholic hierarchy over positions in favor of ecumenism and his criticisms of the certain bishops' favoritism in municipal politics, although Mitchel was a devout Catholic and had his own Jesuit chaplain.
Mitchel's administration introduced widespread reforms, particularly in the Police Department, which had long been highly corrupt and which was cleaned up by Mitchel's Police Commissioner Arthur Wood. Mitchel's early popularity was soon dented, however, when Tammany Hall attacked a series of planned educational reforms, suggesting that they would make it impossible for poor Catholic children to receive a free education.
Mitchel advocated universal military training to prepare for war. In a speech at Princeton University
on March 1, 1917, he described universal military training as "the [only] truly democratic solution to the problem of preparedness on land."
Mitchel ran again for Mayor in the highly-charged wartime election of 1917
. He narrowly lost the Republican primary to William Bennett after a contentious recount, but ran for re-election as a pro-war Fusion candidate against Bennett, the anti-war Socialist Morris Hillquit
and the Tammany Hall
Democrat John F. Hylan
, who won the election without taking a clear position on the War. (Mitchel barely beat Hillquit for second place.)
After failing to get re-elected, Mitchel joined the Air Service
. He died thirteen days short of his thirty-ninth birthday, in a training accident in Lake Charles, Louisiana
, on July 6, 1918. Mitchel fell out of his aircraft at 500 feet and plummeted to the ground, dying instantly. It was thought that he had forgotten to fasten his seat belt
.
Mitchel Field (Mitchel Air Force Base
) on Long Island
was named for him in 1918. A bronze memorial plaque with Mitchel's likeness is also affixed between the two stone pylons at the western end of Hamilton Hall
, the main college building at Columbia University
.
, author of an unpublished manuscript on Mitchel's life
John Mitchel
John Mitchel was an Irish nationalist activist, solicitor and political journalist. Born in Camnish, near Dungiven, County Londonderry, Ireland he became a leading member of both Young Ireland and the Irish Confederation...
, an Ulster Presbyterian Young Ireland
Young Ireland
Young Ireland was a political, cultural and social movement of the mid-19th century. It led changes in Irish nationalism, including an abortive rebellion known as the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848. Many of the latter's leaders were tried for sedition and sentenced to penal transportation to...
er (Irish nationalist supporter) who became a renowned writer and leader in the Irish independence movement.
Biography
Purroy was born in New York City to James Mitchel, one of three brothers to fight for the Confederacy and the only to survive the War, despite multiple injuries including the loss of his arm.Purroy graduated from secondary school at Fordham Preparatory School
Fordham Preparatory School
Fordham Preparatory School is a private Jesuit all-boys high school located in the Bronx, New York City, with an enrollment of approximately 950 students. It is located on the Rose Hill campus of Fordham University....
in the late 1890s. He obtained his bachelors degree from Columbia College of Columbia University
Columbia College of Columbia University
Columbia College is the oldest undergraduate college at Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus in Morningside Heights in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1754 by the Church of England as King's College, receiving a Royal Charter from King George II...
in 1899 and graduated from New York Law School
New York Law School
New York Law School is a private law school in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. New York Law School is one of the oldest independent law schools in the United States. The school is located within four blocks of all major courts in Manhattan. In 2011, New York Law School...
in 1901. His short career witnessed a turning point in New York State politics, in which the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
increasingly returned to positions of power after a long period of Republican dominance in many jurisdictions since the career of Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
. Mitchel's success occurred as an older generation of Democrats, men like John Franklin Kinney
John Franklin Kinney
John Franklin Kinney of Rochester, New York was a New York State jurist and Democratic Party operative of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, described as one of “the strong men of the Democratic Party, potent in counsel, a trusted leader and a popular campaign orator.”- Early & Family Life...
, were returning to the private sector, having been eclipsed by Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
and the progressive Republicans.
He rose to prominence just five years later, for leading the investigation of Manhattan Borough President John F. Ahern and Bronx Borough President Louis Haffin. Both of the Borough Presidents were ejected from their posts as a result of a full investigation, including the murder of a Manhattan gambler named Herman Rosenthal, allegedly on the orders of New York Police Lieutenant Charles Becker
Charles Becker
Charles Becker was a New York City police officer in the 1890s-1910s and who was tried, convicted and executed for ordering the murder of a Manhattan gambler, Herman Rosenthal in the Becker-Rosenthal trial. Becker was the first American police officer to receive the death penalty for murder...
resulting in the controversial impeachment of William Sulzer
William Sulzer
William Sulzer was an American lawyer and politician, nicknamed Plain Bill Sulzer. He was the 39th Governor of New York and a long-serving congressman from the same state. He was the first and so far only New York Governor to be impeached...
, the Governor of New York State, after Sulzer fell out with Tammany boss Charles Francis Murphy
Charles Francis Murphy
Charles Francis "Silent Charlie" Murphy was a U.S. political figure, head of New York City's Tammany Hall.-Biography:...
. The young Purroy Mitchel's reputation as a reformer garnered him the support of the anti-Tammany forces. In 1909, Mitchel was elected President of the Board of Alderman (an organization similar to the current City Council).
Four years later, at the age of 34, Mitchel was elected Mayor on the Fusion (Party) slate
Fusion Party
Fusion Party is a term that may have a variety of meanings in the political history of the United States.The Fusion Party was the original name of the Republican Party in the state of Ohio. In 1854, anti-slavery parties were forming in many northern states in opposition to the Kansas Nebraska Act...
, an alliance of Republicans with Jewish and Protestant reformers. His progressive, reform agenda included appointing Henry Bruère
Henry Bruère
Henry Jaromir Bruère was a Progressive public administrator, reformer and social reformer known for his role as credit advisor to President Franklin D...
Chamberlain of the City, with powers to investigate corruption and recommend reforms. Purroy Mitchel fell out with much of the Catholic hierarchy over positions in favor of ecumenism and his criticisms of the certain bishops' favoritism in municipal politics, although Mitchel was a devout Catholic and had his own Jesuit chaplain.
Mitchel's administration introduced widespread reforms, particularly in the Police Department, which had long been highly corrupt and which was cleaned up by Mitchel's Police Commissioner Arthur Wood. Mitchel's early popularity was soon dented, however, when Tammany Hall attacked a series of planned educational reforms, suggesting that they would make it impossible for poor Catholic children to receive a free education.
Mitchel advocated universal military training to prepare for war. In a speech at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
on March 1, 1917, he described universal military training as "the [only] truly democratic solution to the problem of preparedness on land."
Mitchel ran again for Mayor in the highly-charged wartime election of 1917
New York City mayoral election, 1917
The 1917 Election for Mayor of the City of New York replaced sitting Mayor John P. Mitchel, a reform Democrat running on the Fusion Party ticket, with John F. Hylan, the regular Democrat supported by Tammany Hall and William Randolph Hearst....
. He narrowly lost the Republican primary to William Bennett after a contentious recount, but ran for re-election as a pro-war Fusion candidate against Bennett, the anti-war Socialist Morris Hillquit
Morris Hillquit
Morris Hillquit was a founder and leader of the Socialist Party of America and prominent labor lawyer in New York City's Lower East Side during the early 20th century.-Early years:...
and the Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
Democrat John F. Hylan
John F. Hylan
John Francis Hylan , nicknamed "Red Mike", was the Mayor of New York City from 1918 to 1925.-Biography:Hylan was born in Hunter, New York a town in upstate Greene County where his family owned a farm. Hylan married young, became dissatisfied with farm life and moved to Brooklyn with his bride, and...
, who won the election without taking a clear position on the War. (Mitchel barely beat Hillquit for second place.)
After failing to get re-elected, Mitchel joined the Air Service
United States Army Air Service
The Air Service, United States Army was a forerunner of the United States Air Force during and after World War I. It was established as an independent but temporary wartime branch of the War Department by two executive orders of President Woodrow Wilson: on May 24, 1918, replacing the Aviation...
. He died thirteen days short of his thirty-ninth birthday, in a training accident in Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
, on July 6, 1918. Mitchel fell out of his aircraft at 500 feet and plummeted to the ground, dying instantly. It was thought that he had forgotten to fasten his seat belt
Pilot error
Pilot error is a term used to describe the cause of an accident involving an airworthy aircraft where the pilot is considered to be principally or partially responsible...
.
Legacy
Mitchel Air Force Base
Decommissioned in 1961, Mitchel Field became a multi-use complex currently home to the Cradle of Aviation Museum, Nassau Coliseum, Mitchel Athletic Complex, Nassau Community College and Hofstra University.-Origins:...
) on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
was named for him in 1918. A bronze memorial plaque with Mitchel's likeness is also affixed between the two stone pylons at the western end of Hamilton Hall
Hamilton Hall
Hamilton Hall was a hall of residence for the University of St Andrews, Scotland, between the years of 1949 and 2006.-History:The building that would become Hamilton Hall was originally opened as a hotel in 1895 to capitalise on the rapid expansion of St Andrews as a popular tourist destination...
, the main college building at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
See also
° William Brown Meloney (1878–1925)William Brown Meloney (1878–1925)
William Brown Meloney was a journalist, writer, executive secretary to Mayor William Jay Gaynor of New York City and a historian of shipping....
, author of an unpublished manuscript on Mitchel's life