ALS signed “FDR,” one page, 8.5 x 11, Roosevelt & O’Connor Councelors At Law letterhead, September 24, 1928. Letter addressed to his friend Don. In full, “Letter from J. Russell Carney enclosed - Will take this up with Norton & Carney? What news of the new Trust Co.? All well here, getting a real rest - speak in Atlanta next Wed. eve. Smith will then carry Georgia! I asked the carpenter from the neighboring town of Woodbury how much opposition to Smith - he said ‘3 votes for Hoover - 2 ministers & 1 nigger.’” Intersecting mailing folds, two punch holes to left edge, office stamp to top right and a few wrinkles, otherwise fine condition. Smith swept the entire Catholic vote, which had been split in 1920 and 1924, and brought millions of Catholic ethnics to the polls for the first time, especially women. He lost important Democratic constituencies in the rural north and in southern cities and suburbs. He did carry the Deep South, thanks in part to his running mate, Senator Joseph Robinson of Arkansas. Later, Smith felt slighted by Roosevelt during Roosevelt’s governorship. They became rivals for the 1932 Democratic presidential nomination, but Smith’s old enemy William Randolph Hearst used his influence to swing the nomination in favor of Roosevelt. After losing the nomination, Smith begrudgingly campaigned for Roosevelt in 1932. After the 1928 election, he became the president of Empire State, Inc., the corporation which built and operated the Empire State Building. Smith cut the ribbon when the world’s tallest skyscraper opened in May 1931. LOA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
