Mr. Democrat: Jim Farley, the New Deal and the Making of Modern American Politics

294 Pages·2006·1.17 MB·English

by  Daniel Mark Scroop

Mr. Democrat

Mr. Democrat
Jim Farley, the New Deal,
and the Making of Modern
American Politics
Daniel Scroop
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN PRESS Ann Arbor
Copyright © by the University of Michigan 2006
All rights reserved
Published in the United States of America by
The University of Michigan Press
Manufactured in the United States of America
cPrinted on acid-free paper
2009 2008 2007 2006 4 3 2 1
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise,
without the written permission of the publisher.
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Scroop, Daniel, 1973–
Mr. Democrat : Jim Farley, the New Deal, and the making of modern
American politics / Daniel Scroop.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn-13: 978-0-472-09930-6 (cloth : alk. paper)
isbn-10: 0-472-09930-2 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Farley, James Aloysius, 1888– 2. Politicians—United States—Biography.
3. Postmasters general—United States—Biography. 4. United States—
Politics and government—1933–1945. 5. New Deal, 1933–1939.
6. Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882–1945—Friends and
associates. 7. Politics, Practical—United States. 8. Legislators—
New York (State)—Biography. 9. New York (State)—Politics and
government—1865–1950. 10. Democratic Party (N.Y.)—History—20th
century. I. Title.
e748.f24s38 2006
973.917'092—dc22 2005028457
For my parents, Dick & Jeanette, and for Julia

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1. “The Art of Practical Politics in Local Affairs” 9
2. Reawakening the “Rip Van Winkle
Upstate Democracy” 29
3. A Traveling Elk 53
4. A Regular Guy 79
5. The Death of the Broker? 99
6. “As Maine Goes . . .” 123
7. Drifting Apart 143
8. The Breaking Point 165
9. The Politics of Revenge? 191
10. Mr. Democrat 215
Notes 231
Bibliography 257
Index 265
Illustrations following page 86

Acknowledgments
I
t is a pleasure to acknowledge the many debts that I have accumulated
in researching and writing this book. The seed of this book was planted
more than ten years ago by John Rowett, who introduced me to the New
Deal when he and Bob Dallek taught it as a special subject when I was an
undergraduate at Oxford. It was John who mentioned, midtutorial, that
someone should write a book about Jim Farley. It was a good idea, and I
hope I have done it justice.
As a graduate student I was incredibly lucky to be in Oxford at a time
when two distinguished historians of American liberalism, Steve Gillon
and Alan Brinkley, happened to be passing through. With great care and
skill, they guided me through the early stages of my graduate work on
Farley. I could not have wished for better mentors. Steve and Alan both
read portions of the manuscript in various forms and their comments
and criticisms have improved this book enormously.
Alan and his family deserve special mention for the kindness they
showed me when the attacks of September 11, 2001, left me stranded in
New York City during a research trip. I will always be grateful to them.
When this book was in its embryonic form, a great number of people
aided me by discussing how I might frame a study of Farley. In Oxford,
Byron Shafer helped me to see the big picture and always sent me away
from his of‹ce with plenty to think about; Nigel Bowles, who read a por-
tion of this work in draft form, proved a rigorous and effective critic; and
Peter Thompson and Robert Middlekauf provided encouragement and
support, as did Jane Sillery, Ewen Green, and Desmond King. Like so
many other British Americanists, I am also indebted to Tony Badger, not
least for his thoughtful comments on my doctoral thesis.