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Belle Moskowitz: Feminine Politics and the Exercise of Power in the Age of Alfred E. Smith
Most people believe that women's entry into political life is a recent phenomenon. This book shatters that myth. It restores to history the career of one remarkable woman and reveals the vital role that women in the early part of the twentieth century played in American politics--despite
their absence from elective or appointive office.
Belle Moskowitz was Alfred E. Smith's closest political adviser during his four terms as Governor of New York, and, as a result, the most powerful woman in American political life during his ascendancy in the Democratic Party throughout the 1920s. She served as Smith's political strategist and
campaign manager and was a major force in shaping the social welfare programs for which his administration is best known today; many of these programs were precursors of programs later developed on the national level by Franklin D. Roosevelt under the New Deal.
Moskowitz achieved her prominence without benefit of either family connections or social position resulting from birth or marriage. This book explains how she managed this astonishing feat.
Her role as Governor Smith's adviser followed a career of almost twenty years in settlement work, social reform, and industrial and labor relations. When Smith first ran for governor in 1918, Moskowitz organized the women's vote for him. She later masterminded his nomination for President at the
Democratic convention in 1928. Throughout Smith's years in office, Moskowitz worked as his public relations counsellor, a new profession in which she was a pioneer.
Moskowitz's career has not received close attention until now. Since she worked at a secondary level of politics in which her own career never seemed as important as that of the man she served, she discarded many of her private papers; others were lost. Elisabeth Perry, who is Moskowitz's
granddaughter, has dug deeply into the public record and the records of Moskowitz's associates, as well as drawing on the reminiscences of Moskowitz's daughter, Perry's own aunt. The result is this riveting portrait--truly a labor of love.
their absence from elective or appointive office.
Belle Moskowitz was Alfred E. Smith's closest political adviser during his four terms as Governor of New York, and, as a result, the most powerful woman in American political life during his ascendancy in the Democratic Party throughout the 1920s. She served as Smith's political strategist and
campaign manager and was a major force in shaping the social welfare programs for which his administration is best known today; many of these programs were precursors of programs later developed on the national level by Franklin D. Roosevelt under the New Deal.
Moskowitz achieved her prominence without benefit of either family connections or social position resulting from birth or marriage. This book explains how she managed this astonishing feat.
Her role as Governor Smith's adviser followed a career of almost twenty years in settlement work, social reform, and industrial and labor relations. When Smith first ran for governor in 1918, Moskowitz organized the women's vote for him. She later masterminded his nomination for President at the
Democratic convention in 1928. Throughout Smith's years in office, Moskowitz worked as his public relations counsellor, a new profession in which she was a pioneer.
Moskowitz's career has not received close attention until now. Since she worked at a secondary level of politics in which her own career never seemed as important as that of the man she served, she discarded many of her private papers; others were lost. Elisabeth Perry, who is Moskowitz's
granddaughter, has dug deeply into the public record and the records of Moskowitz's associates, as well as drawing on the reminiscences of Moskowitz's daughter, Perry's own aunt. The result is this riveting portrait--truly a labor of love.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published November 12, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 28, 2021
There is a small detail in Robert Caro's masterful "The Power Broker" about how Robert Moses was transformed from a serially defeated reformer to the eponymous political master. The very first step in this was his being plucked from underemployment and obscurity and then mentored by Belle Moskowitz and given important but difficult tasks by her and Governor Al Smith for whom she worked. It was just a few paragraphs in a giant book but it really piqued my interest. Apparently it did the same for Moskowitz's grand daughter, the author of this biography. With, understandably, unparalleled access to her papers and easy access to many who knew her well this is a very in depth biography of Moskowitz's.
It's an interesting work though there are placed where one feels that anecdotes were included in order to satisfy the relations who related them rather than advancing the narrative but aside from that minor quibble the book is an extremely interesting history of several phenomena. First, the first wave feminist movement, wherein women made themselves felt in politics at first through activism, then through the vote, then through influence on politicians.
The section on her activism serves also as an inside history of the Progressive Era, as women like Belle worked though the settlement movement in lower Manhattan to better the lives of immigrants and through this got involved in labor organizing and ultimately labor mediation. This was a bridge into politics since this required state intervention to help enforce agreements between labor and management. The suffrage movement was also something that Belle was involved in though she had been organizing women politically even before they had the vote, when women did get the vote, her political organization instantly attracted the interest of politicians who wanted to lever it.
The story of her organizing women was also very interesting because she played up that era's stereotypes of women in order to appeal to them on an identitarian basis. Thus her calls for solidarity among women come across to the contemporary reader as a form of aggressive sexism. Still, appeals to identity have a long history in political movements that last until our own day, and it's important to remember that what to us seems like blatant stereotyping of feminine traits was, at the time, a call to arms. Most importantly, it worked.
Al Smith, who sought to lever this network got more than he bargained for in the deal. Moskowitz was not only a gifted political mobilizer of female voters, she was an extremely capable organizer and handler of people and, having worked on a shoestring promoting the work of settlement houses, knew how to get a lot of mileage out of dollars spent on publicity. It's not an exaggeration to say that her skills propelled Smith from being a Lower East Side ward boss to the Governorship of New York and the Democratic nomination for President in 1928.
Alas, Moskowitz could see very deeply into the Progressive voter base but not too clearly outside it. She struggled to understand people from outside New York and her efforts to repeat her statewide victories nationally failed more or less catastrophically. Her PR for Smith on his national campaign played up Smith's personality in ways designed to appeal to people who thought as she did, not as the actual voters did. This is a remarkably common problem in politics and is seen in the "twitter bubble" effect of our own day.
Nonetheless, Belle Moskowitz was an extremely successful politico, and putting a Catholic at the top of a national ticket in 1928 was an incredible achievement to say nothing of the Government reorganization in New York and the many public works projects she helped Smith ram though, one of which is helping to power the computer on which I am writing this right now. This is a great book about a great woman.
It's an interesting work though there are placed where one feels that anecdotes were included in order to satisfy the relations who related them rather than advancing the narrative but aside from that minor quibble the book is an extremely interesting history of several phenomena. First, the first wave feminist movement, wherein women made themselves felt in politics at first through activism, then through the vote, then through influence on politicians.
The section on her activism serves also as an inside history of the Progressive Era, as women like Belle worked though the settlement movement in lower Manhattan to better the lives of immigrants and through this got involved in labor organizing and ultimately labor mediation. This was a bridge into politics since this required state intervention to help enforce agreements between labor and management. The suffrage movement was also something that Belle was involved in though she had been organizing women politically even before they had the vote, when women did get the vote, her political organization instantly attracted the interest of politicians who wanted to lever it.
The story of her organizing women was also very interesting because she played up that era's stereotypes of women in order to appeal to them on an identitarian basis. Thus her calls for solidarity among women come across to the contemporary reader as a form of aggressive sexism. Still, appeals to identity have a long history in political movements that last until our own day, and it's important to remember that what to us seems like blatant stereotyping of feminine traits was, at the time, a call to arms. Most importantly, it worked.
Al Smith, who sought to lever this network got more than he bargained for in the deal. Moskowitz was not only a gifted political mobilizer of female voters, she was an extremely capable organizer and handler of people and, having worked on a shoestring promoting the work of settlement houses, knew how to get a lot of mileage out of dollars spent on publicity. It's not an exaggeration to say that her skills propelled Smith from being a Lower East Side ward boss to the Governorship of New York and the Democratic nomination for President in 1928.
Alas, Moskowitz could see very deeply into the Progressive voter base but not too clearly outside it. She struggled to understand people from outside New York and her efforts to repeat her statewide victories nationally failed more or less catastrophically. Her PR for Smith on his national campaign played up Smith's personality in ways designed to appeal to people who thought as she did, not as the actual voters did. This is a remarkably common problem in politics and is seen in the "twitter bubble" effect of our own day.
Nonetheless, Belle Moskowitz was an extremely successful politico, and putting a Catholic at the top of a national ticket in 1928 was an incredible achievement to say nothing of the Government reorganization in New York and the many public works projects she helped Smith ram though, one of which is helping to power the computer on which I am writing this right now. This is a great book about a great woman.
December 31, 2018
This biography of one remarkable woman illuminates several topics along the way; avenues available to women seeking to work outside the home in the early 20th century, jewish immigrant experience and assimiliation, local New York and national politics in the mid 20thc, and generally, how one particular woman shrewedly navigated the world, and thus fleshing out the picture for women in general. The intersection of political and social movements in the early part of the 20th century was also a part of her story, and the particular light cast on other major figures, especially Al Smith and Robert Moses adds to popular understanding. This is a well written, thorough perspective that touches on all these topics, and thus makes for a good read, should some or all of them happen to capture your interest.
December 29, 2011
Nice biography of an advisor to Governor Al Smith. Great background on women's actives in the early 20th century in New York including reform organizations, the Progressive movement and women in the Democratic Party.
July 24, 2021
Enjoyed the section on the founding of the Port Authority. The authors focus on the development of skills that would allow her to work for Governor Smith was well done. The come up is usually more interesting than peak of power.
Need to read more on the rise of Jewish political power in nyc.
Need to read more on the rise of Jewish political power in nyc.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews