New York City mayoral election, 1917
Encyclopedia
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
.
The election was notable not only for the first partisan primary elections for City offices, but for the contentious debate over supporting U.S. entry into World War One, vigorously supported by Mitchel and opposed by the Socialist candidate, Morris Hillquit
. Mitchel and Hillquit each won about a fifth of the total vote, while Hylan won office with less than half the vote.
called a "puzzle without parallel" , would have been exciting even had it occurred in peacetime. In September, the City held its first-ever primary elections for Mayor. Incumbent Fusion Mayor John Purroy Mitchel
(an insurgent Democrat) who had enjoyed Republican non-opposition in 1913, apparently won the Republican primary until a series of counting mistakes and frauds (followed by criminal indictments) forced recounts that gave a narrow victory to William M. Bennett. Attempts to find a compromise anti-Tammany
candidate failed, Bennett declined to withdraw from the race, and Mitchel went on to wage an independent campaign for re-election.
But the Mayoral election happened in the same year as the United States' entry into World War One on April 6th. An emergency national convention and referendum of the Socialist Party of America
overwhelmingly approved a resolution, co-authored by Morris Hillquit
(the Party's candidate for Mayor of New York), which proclaimed,
, Mayor Mitchel, who hinted at Hillquit's foreign birth by saying that "any man who will not buy a Liberty bond when he can afford them is not fit to be a citizen of the United States" , and ex-President Theodore Roosevelt
(the Republicans' 1886 candidate for Mayor), who declared that Hillquit "stands as an aid to the Prussianized autocracy of the Hohenzollerns."
The Fusion campaign decided to direct its last week against Hillquit (who would eclipse Mitchel in The Bronx
while matching his vote in Queens
and Brooklyn
), rather than against Judge John F. Hylan
, the candidate of Tammany Hall
and William Randolph Hearst
. (Hearst, the newspaper publisher who was the 1905 Mayoral candidate of the Municipal Ownership League
, and Hylan, who had started life operating subway trains, were both strong opponents of the city's private transit companies.) Hylan's position on the war was unclear, but not his sharp victory over all three of his major rivals on November 6th (exactly seven months after the U.S. Declaration of War and one day before the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia). Although a divided opposition let Hylan carry the City and three of her boroughs with less than 50% of the total vote, the numbers (as in 1897) suggest that Tammany Hall might very easily have won a two-candidate race.
The New York City Socialists won the highest percentage of the Mayoral vote they would ever receive, while electing ten State Assemblymen, seven city Aldermen, and a municipal court judge.
Running for President of the Board of Aldermen (the position from which Acting Mayors succeeded when elected Mayors could not serve) on the same Democratic ticket as Hylan was Al Smith
, then Sheriff of New York County (Manhattan), and previously Democratic Leader and Speaker of the New York State Assembly
. (Smith had hoped to run for Mayor himself, but Tammany Hall leader Charles F. Murphy chose Hylan instead, partly out of deference to Hearst and to John McCooey, the Democratic leader in Brooklyn
.) Smith easily defeated the New York City Fire Commissioner, Robert Adamson
, who was running for Board President on the Fusion ticket with Mitchel.
, where Hillquit pushed Mitchel into third place. (Hillquit came within 200 votes of doing the same in Queens
.) Bennett (the Republican), who came in fourth everywhere else, came third and pushed Hillquit into fourth place (and below 10%) on Staten Island
. Hylan (who led everywhere) won pluralities, rather than absolute majorities, in the City as a whole and in Manhattan
, the Bronx and Brooklyn
, winning a slim overall majority in Queens and a decisive (4-3) majority on Staten Island.
[Others and Total from The Encyclopedia of New York City (Yale, 1995), which does not exactly match the other numbers, taken from The World Almanac for 1929 & 1943.]
Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
replaced sitting Mayor John P. Mitchel, a reform Democrat running on the Fusion Party ticket, with 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...
, the regular Democrat supported by 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...
and William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
.
The election was notable not only for the first partisan primary elections for City offices, but for the contentious debate over supporting U.S. entry into World War One, vigorously supported by Mitchel and opposed by the Socialist candidate, 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:...
. Mitchel and Hillquit each won about a fifth of the total vote, while Hylan won office with less than half the vote.
The Campaign
The Fall 1917 election, which The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called a "puzzle without parallel" , would have been exciting even had it occurred in peacetime. In September, the City held its first-ever primary elections for Mayor. Incumbent Fusion Mayor John Purroy Mitchel
John Purroy Mitchel
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...
(an insurgent Democrat) who had enjoyed Republican non-opposition in 1913, apparently won the Republican primary until a series of counting mistakes and frauds (followed by criminal indictments) forced recounts that gave a narrow victory to William M. Bennett. Attempts to find a compromise anti-Tammany
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...
candidate failed, Bennett declined to withdraw from the race, and Mitchel went on to wage an independent campaign for re-election.
But the Mayoral election happened in the same year as the United States' entry into World War One on April 6th. An emergency national convention and referendum of the Socialist Party of America
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
overwhelmingly approved a resolution, co-authored by 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:...
(the Party's candidate for Mayor of New York), which proclaimed,
"The Socialist Party of the United States in the present grave crisis solemnly reaffirms its allegiance to the principle of internationalism and working-class solidarity the world over, and proclaims its unalterable opposition to the war just declared by the Government of the United States."Hillquit's refusal to support the war by such acts as buying Liberty Bonds won the Socialists new support in many immigrant communities , but vitriolic denunciations from many quarters, including The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Mayor Mitchel, who hinted at Hillquit's foreign birth by saying that "any man who will not buy a Liberty bond when he can afford them is not fit to be a citizen of the United States" , and ex-President 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...
(the Republicans' 1886 candidate for Mayor), who declared that Hillquit "stands as an aid to the Prussianized autocracy of the Hohenzollerns."
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
while matching his vote in Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
and Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
), rather than against Judge 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...
, the candidate of 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...
and William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
. (Hearst, the newspaper publisher who was the 1905 Mayoral candidate of the Municipal Ownership League
Municipal Ownership League
The Municipal Ownership League was an American third party formed in 1904 by controversial newspaper magnate and Congressman William Randolph Hearst for the purpose of contesting elections in New York City....
, and Hylan, who had started life operating subway trains, were both strong opponents of the city's private transit companies.) Hylan's position on the war was unclear, but not his sharp victory over all three of his major rivals on November 6th (exactly seven months after the U.S. Declaration of War and one day before the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia). Although a divided opposition let Hylan carry the City and three of her boroughs with less than 50% of the total vote, the numbers (as in 1897) suggest that Tammany Hall might very easily have won a two-candidate race.
The New York City Socialists won the highest percentage of the Mayoral vote they would ever receive, while electing ten State Assemblymen, seven city Aldermen, and a municipal court judge.
Running for President of the Board of Aldermen (the position from which Acting Mayors succeeded when elected Mayors could not serve) on the same Democratic ticket as Hylan was Al Smith
Al Smith
Alfred Emanuel Smith. , known in private and public life as Al Smith, was an American statesman who was elected the 42nd Governor of New York three times, and was the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate in 1928...
, then Sheriff of New York County (Manhattan), and previously Democratic Leader and Speaker of the New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
. (Smith had hoped to run for Mayor himself, but Tammany Hall leader Charles F. Murphy chose Hylan instead, partly out of deference to Hearst and to John McCooey, the Democratic leader in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
.) Smith easily defeated the New York City Fire Commissioner, Robert Adamson
Robert Adamson (FDNY Commissioner)
Robert Edward Adamson was an American journalist and public official.-Biography:Adamson was born on March 31, 1871 in Georgia to Augustus Pitt Adamson and Martilla Ellen Cook. He began writing articles for the Macon, Georgia newspaper while still in his teens. At age 20, he became city editor of...
, who was running for Board President on the Fusion ticket with Mitchel.
Later careers of the participants
- Ex-Mayor Mitchel volunteered for air service with the U.S. Army Signal CorpsAviation Section, U.S. Signal CorpsThe Aviation Section, Signal Corps, was the military aviation service of the United States Army from 1914 to 1918, and a direct ancestor of the United States Air Force. It replaced and absorbed the Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps, and was succeeded briefly by the Division of Military...
and fell out of his aircraft to his death while training on July 6, 1918 (exactly eight months after Election Day). - Eight days later, on Bastille DayBastille DayBastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is celebrated on 14 July of each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale and commonly le quatorze juillet...
, 1918, Quentin RooseveltQuentin RooseveltQuentin Roosevelt was the youngest and favorite son of President Theodore Roosevelt. Family and friends agreed that Quentin had many of his father's positive qualities and few of the negative ones. Inspired by his father and siblings, he joined the United States Army Air Service where he became a...
, the youngest son of Theodore RooseveltTheodore RooseveltTheodore "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...
, died in aerial combat in France, leading the former President to become more withdrawn before he himself died on January 6, 1919 (six months after Mitchel). - The Socialist Party of AmericaSocialist Party of AmericaThe Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
suffered crippling losses from government actions during the war and the departure of most of its members in 1919 to start the American Communist movement. Morris HillquitMorris HillquitMorris 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:...
, who stayed with the Party he had helped to found, ran again for Mayor in 1932 (receiving an eighth of the vote) and died the next year. - In November 1918, after a year as President of the Board of Aldermen, Alfred E. Smith was elected to the first of four terms as Governor of New YorkGovernor of New YorkThe Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
by unseating the incumbent Republican Governor Charles S. WhitmanCharles S. WhitmanCharles Seymour Whitman served as the 41st Governor of New York from January 1915 to December 1918. He was also a delegate to Republican National Convention from New York in 1916.-Biography:...
. (Smith lost re-election in 1920, but won three successive terms in 1922, 1924 and 1926.) In 1928, he ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic candidate for President of the United StatesPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
against the Republican Herbert HooverHerbert HooverHerbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
. - John F. HylanJohn F. HylanJohn 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...
was re-elected Mayor in 1921 but lost the 1925 Democratic primary to Jimmy WalkerJimmy WalkerJames John Walker, often known as Jimmy Walker and colloquially as Beau James , was the mayor of New York City from 1926 to 1932...
after a split among Democratic borough leaders, reflecting the deep enmity between Hylan's patron, W.R. HearstWilliam Randolph HearstWilliam Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
, and Hylan's 1917 running-mate, Al Smith (now Governor). Mayor Walker later returned Judge Hylan to the bench by appointing him to the Children's Court.
General Election Results
Mayor Mitchel ran second to Judge Hylan in every borough but the BronxThe Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, where Hillquit pushed Mitchel into third place. (Hillquit came within 200 votes of doing the same in Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
.) Bennett (the Republican), who came in fourth everywhere else, came third and pushed Hillquit into fourth place (and below 10%) on Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
. Hylan (who led everywhere) won pluralities, rather than absolute majorities, in the City as a whole and in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, the Bronx and Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, winning a slim overall majority in Queens and a decisive (4-3) majority on Staten Island.
| candidate | party | Manhattan Manhattan Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York... |
The Bronx The Bronx The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated... |
Brooklyn Brooklyn Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated... |
Queens Queens Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States.... |
Richmond Staten Island Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay... (Staten Is.) |
Total | % |
| John Francis Hylan | Democratic | 113,728 | 41,546 | 114,487 | 35,399 | 8,850 | 314,010 | 46.8% |
| 46.4% | 42.9% | 46.5% | 51.7% | 58.3% | ||||
| John Purroy Mitchel John Purroy Mitchel 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... |
Fusion | 66,748 | 19,247 | 52,921 | 13,641 | 2,940 | 155,497 | 23.2% |
| 27.3% | 19.9% | 21.5% | 19.9% | 19.4% | ||||
| 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:... |
Socialist Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization... |
51,176 | 30,374 | 48,880 | 13,477 | 1,425 | 145,332 | 21.7% |
| 20.9% | 31.4% | 19.9% | 19.7% | 9.4% | ||||
| William M. Bennett | Republican | 13,230 | 5,576 | 29,748 | 5,916 | 1,968 | 56,438 | 8.4% |
| 5.4% | 5.8% | 12.1% | 8.6% | 13.0% | ||||
| Subtotal | 244,882 | 96,743 | 246,036 | 68,433 | 15,183 | 671,277 | ||
| Edmund Seidel | Socialist Labor | 20,586 | ||||||
| others | ||||||||
| T O T A L | 691,809 | |||||||
[Others and Total from The Encyclopedia of New York City (Yale, 1995), which does not exactly match the other numbers, taken from The World Almanac for 1929 & 1943.]
See also
- New York City mayoral elections
- Characteristics of New York City mayoral electionsCharacteristics of New York City mayoral electionsThe elections of the Mayor of New York City involve a combination of factors that are not seen together elsewhere.New York City is the largest city in the United States, with a population greater than that of many states. Its mayoral elections, accordingly, attract great attention.Special...
- History of New York CityHistory of New York CityThe history of New York, New York begins with the first European documentation of the area by Giovanni da Verrazzano, in command of the French ship, La Dauphine, when he visited the region in 1524. It is believed he sailed in Upper New York Bay where he encountered native Lenape, returned through...
- Socialist Party of AmericaSocialist Party of AmericaThe Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
- Tammany HallTammany HallTammany 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...
Sources
- The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
archives for September-November, 1917 - The World Almanac and Book of Facts for 1929 and 1941
- James WeinsteinJames WeinsteinJames "Jimmy" Weinstein was an American historian and journalist best known as the founder and publisher of In These Times...
, The Decline of Socialism in America, 1912-1925 (New York 1967: Monthly Review Press & 1969: VintageVintage BooksVintage Books is a publishing imprint founded in 1954 by Alfred A. Knopf. Its publishing list includes world literature, fiction, and non-fiction...
) - David A. Shannon, The Socialist Party of America: a history (New York 1950: MacmillanMacmillan Publishers (United States)Macmillan Publishers USA, also known as Macmillan Publishing, is a privately held American publishing company owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than 30 others....
and Chicago 1967: Quadrangle) - The Encyclopedia of New York CityThe Encyclopedia of New York CityThe Encyclopedia of New York City is a comprehensive reference book on New York City. Historian and Columbia University professor Kenneth T...
, edited by Kenneth T. JacksonKenneth T. JacksonKenneth Terry Jackson is a professor of history and social sciences at Columbia University. A frequent television guest, he is best known as an urban historian and a preeminent authority on New York City, where he lives on the Upper West Side....
(New Haven, ConnecticutNew Haven, ConnecticutNew Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, 1995: Yale University PressYale University PressYale University Press is a book publisher founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day. It became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but remains financially and operationally autonomous....
& New York Historical Society) ISBN 0-500-05536-6