Thomas C. Platt
Encyclopedia
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in the years 1881 and 1897-1909 — is best known as the "political boss
Political boss
A boss, in politics, is a person who wields the power over a particular political region or constituency. Bosses may dictate voting patterns, control appointments, and wield considerable influence in other political processes. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves...
" of the Republican Party in New York State in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century. Upon his death, the New York Times stated that "no man ever exercised less influence in the Senate or the House of Representatives than he," but "no man ever exercised more power as a political leader."
He considered himself to be the "political godfather" of many Republican governors of the state, including 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...
. He is also known for his contribution to the creation of the City of Greater New York
City of Greater New York
The City of Greater New York was a term commonly used originally to refer to the expanded city created on January 1, 1898 by the incorporation into the city of Richmond County, Kings County, Queens County, and the eastern part of what is now called The Bronx...
which incorporated the four boroughs of Kings, Queens, Richmond and Bronx counties.
Personal background
Platt was born to William Platt, a lawyer, and Lesbia Hinchman in Owego, New YorkOwego (village), New York
Owego is a village in and the county seat of Tioga County, New York, USA. The population was 3,911 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Area...
on July 15, 1833.
His father, a successful attorney and strict Presbyterian, tried to encourage his son to enter the ministry. Accordingly, the young Platt was prepared for college at the Owego Academy and attended Yale College
Yale College
Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...
(1850-1852), where he studied theology at the behest of his father. But Thomas Platt had no interest in the ministry and failed to earn a degree. After leaving Yale in 1852, he entered into a variety of employments. He started out as a druggist (a business in which he was engaged for two decades), was briefly an editor of a small newspaper, served as president of the Tioga
Tioga, New York
Tioga is a town in Tioga County, New York, United States. The population was 4,840 at the 2000 census. The town is in the southwest part of the county and lies between Elmira and Binghamton. Tioga is in the Southern Tier District of New York.- History :...
National Bank, and was interested in the lumbering business in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. He also acted as president of the Southern Central and other railways.
In 1852 he married Ellen Lucy Barstow, with whom he had three sons, Edward T. Platt, Frank H. Platt, and Henry B. Platt.
Platt became secretary and director of the United States Express Co. in 1879 and was elected president of the company in 1880. He was a member and president of the Board of Quarantine Commissioners of New York from 1880 to 1888. He was President of the Tennessee Coal & Iron Company
Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company
The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company , also known as TCI and the Tennessee Company, was a major American steel manufacturer with interests in coal and iron ore mining and railroad operations. Originally based entirely within Tennessee, it relocated most of its business to Alabama in the...
for several years.
Two years after his first wife, Ellen Platt, died in 1901, he married Lillian Janeway, whom the New York Times described as "young enough in appearance to pass for his daughter." Their "legal separation" was announced in 1906. He died in New York City, March 6, 1910 and was interred in Evergeen Cemetery, Owego, N.Y. At the time of his death he remained married to Lillian, but she received nothing in his will.
Political activities
Platt's political involvement began at the Republican Party'sRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
inception; he made his first appearance in politics in 1856, in the presidential campaign of the party's first presidential candidate, John C. Fremont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
. Running as a Republican, he was elected clerk of Tioga County
Tioga County, New York
As of the census of 2010, there were 51,125 people residing in the county, with 22,203 housing units, of these 20,350 occupied, 1,853 vacant. The population density was 98 people per square mile...
, serving from 1859 to 1861. He was elected as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
to the Forty-third United States Congress and the Forty-fourth United States Congress, serving from March 4, 1873 to March 4, 1877. His influence on statewide politics began on his return from Congress in 1877, when he aligned with the "Stalwart" faction led by U.S. Senator Roscoe Conkling
Roscoe Conkling
Roscoe Conkling was a politician from New York who served both as a member of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. He was the leader of the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party and the last person to refuse a U.S. Supreme Court appointment after he had...
at the party's state convention, and against the "Half-Breed
Half-Breed (politics)
The "Half-Breeds" were a political faction of the United States Republican Party that existed in the late 19th century. The Half-Breeds were a moderate-wing group, and they were the opponents of the Stalwarts, the other main faction of the Republican Party. The main issue that separated the...
" faction loyal to President Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
.
In January 1881
United States Senate election in New York, 1881
The 1881 United States Senate election in New York was held on January 18, 1881, by the New York State Legislature to elect a U.S. Senator to represent the State of New York in the United States Senate.-Background:...
he was elected with the support of the Stalwart faction to represent New York in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. He became a member of the Forty-seventh Congress
47th United States Congress
The Forty-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1881 to March 4, 1883, during the administration...
and the chairman of the Committee on Enrolled Bills. However, he only served from March 4 to May 16, 1881, when he and Conkling resigned because of a disagreement with President James Garfield
James Garfield
James Abram Garfield served as the 20th President of the United States, after completing nine consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Garfield's accomplishments as President included a controversial resurgence of Presidential authority above Senatorial courtesy in executive...
over federal appointments in New York. (Platt resigned at Conkling's insistence, earning him the nickname of "Me Too" Platt.) The immediate occasion of their resignation was Garfield's appointment of Half-Breed faction leader William H. Robertson
William H. Robertson
William Henry Robertson was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was a United States Representative from 1867 to 1869, and President pro tempore of the New York State Senate.-Life:He was the son of Henry Robertson...
as Collector of the Port of New York
Collector of the Port of New York
The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, sometimes also as Collector of Customs for the Port of New York or Collector of Customs for the District of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import...
. Soon thereafter, however, Garfield's assassination by Charles J. Guiteau
Charles J. Guiteau
Charles Julius Guiteau was an American lawyer who assassinated U.S. President James A. Garfield. He was executed by hanging.- Background :...
, a self-proclaimed Stalwart who claimed friendships with Platt and Conkling, was the finishing blow for their faction. Platt and Conkling ran in the special election to fill the vacancies created by their own resignations, and lost. Eschewing elective office, Platt then devoted his attention to mending fences and rebuilding the machine, which he then ran after 1887 as an "easy boss."
Sixteen years after Platt's resignation, he was elected to the U.S. Senate a second time. He was elected a U.S. Senator from New York in January 1897
United States Senate election in New York, 1897
The 1897 United States Senate election in New York was held on January 19, 1897, by the New York State Legislature to elect a U.S. Senator to represent the State of New York in the United States Senate.-Background:Democrat David B...
, and was re-elected in January 1903
United States Senate election in New York, 1903
The 1903 United States Senate election in New York was held on January 20, 1903, by the New York State Legislature to elect a U.S. Senator to represent the State of New York in the United States Senate.-Background:Republican Thomas C...
. This time, he served from March 4, 1897, to March 4, 1909. He was Chairman of the Committee on Transportation Routes to the Seaboard (in the 55th Congress). He was on the Committee on Printing (in the 56th through 60th Congresses), the Committee on Cuban Relations (in the 59th Congress) and the Committee on Interoceanic Canals (in the 59th Congress).He also served on the Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
.
On January 21, 1897, Platt's photograph appeared in the New York Tribune
New York Tribune
The New York Tribune was an American newspaper, first established by Horace Greeley in 1841, which was long considered one of the leading newspapers in the United States...
as “the first halftone
Halftone
Halftone is the reprographic technique that simulates continuous tone imagery through the use of dots, varying either in size, in shape or in spacing...
reproduction to appear in a mass circulation daily paper,” according to Time-Life’s Photojournalism.
In order to increase his power as a political boss
Political boss
A boss, in politics, is a person who wields the power over a particular political region or constituency. Bosses may dictate voting patterns, control appointments, and wield considerable influence in other political processes. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves...
, Platt steered passage of the Greater New York bill in 1898. The bill incorporated the boroughs of 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....
, and 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...
into the city, thereby creating New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
as it exists today.
Platt reluctantly supported Theodore Roosevelt's candidacy for Governor of New York
Governor of New York
The 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...
in 1898, in the immediate aftermath of Roosevelt's fame leading the Rough-Riders
Rough Riders
The Rough Riders is the name bestowed on the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish-American War and the only one of the three to see action. The United States Army was weakened and left with little manpower after the American Civil War...
in the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
earlier that year. Once elected, Governor Roosevelt was independently-minded, and crusaded against machines and corruption. In response, Platt sought a way to "shelve" Roosevelt so that a more compliant Governor could be installed in his place. President William McKinley's
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
original vice president had died in office, leaving a place on the ticket to fill before the 1900 election. At the 1900 Republican National Convention
1900 Republican National Convention
The 1900 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States was held June 19 to June 21 in the Exposition Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Exposition Auditorium was located south of the University of Pennsylvania, and the later Convention Hall was constructed along the...
, Platt and President McKinley's political ally Mark Hanna
Mark Hanna
Marcus Alonzo "Mark" Hanna was a United States Senator from Ohio and the friend and political manager of President William McKinley...
proposed to get Roosevelt out of Platt's way in New York by nominating him for vice president. Roosevelt was chosen by acclamation, played a major part in McKinley winning the re-election, and became president in September 1901 after McKinley was assassinated in office.
Platt's control over the Republican Party in New York State effectively ended in 1902. Benjamin Barker Odell Jr.
Benjamin Barker Odell Jr.
Benjamin Barker Odell, Jr. was an American politician from New York.-Life:He was the son of Benjamin Barker Odell who was Mayor of the City of Newburgh....
, Roosevelt's successor as governor, had not only acted independently of Platt, but by 1902 insisted on taking over from Platt as leader of the party. After Platt tried, and failed, to block Odell's renomination as governor and Odell was re-elected, the era of a separate "boss" was over.