AMERICAN DICTATORS (by Stephen Hart)
A while ago I reviewed a book on this site about the history of Newark (How Newark Became Newark) which a number of you found interesting. In a similar vein I just finished a book dealing with two of the most powerful (and corrupt) political bosses in the history of New Jersey and the United States. The book is entitled American Dictators and deals with the rise and fall of long time Jersey City Mayor Frank (I am the Law) Hague and Atlantic City kingpin Nucky (Boardwalk Empire) Johnson. Their careers overlapped and between them the controlled New Jersey government and politics from about 1913 up to the 1940's. One was a Republican while the other a Democrat but liberal or conservative political philosophy had little to do with their reigns which was all about power and money and in fact they acted in concert on many occasions for mutual benefit.
While both Hague and Johnson were similar in some respects they were very different in other ways. One area of common ground was that both men were ardent supporters of voting rights for the "recently departed". Being among the deceased never impaired ones right to vote in either Hudson or Atlantic Counties. Both men also controlled their local police departments and opponents often found themselves bloodied up and behind bars.
Hague was a "moralist" who had the support of the churches & clergymen. In fact many priests, ministers and rabbis were on the public payroll and there was no separation of church and state in Jersey City where public funds were frequently used for church projects and/or repairs. Personally he never drank or smoked and did not allow brothels in his jurisdiction, however he did allow gangsters to run their gambling, bootlegging and speakeasy interests as long as he got his cut. He also frequently used the mob to silence opponents when necessary.
Johnson on the other hand was a gangster himself and even hosted a mob convention in Atlantic City to divide up territories. Nucky rarely drank anything that was not alcoholic and would frequent the clubs and whorehouses on a regular nightly basis.
Both men would decide among themselves who would or would not be elected Governor in our state. They would join forces to make sure that no reformers of either party made it to the statehouse. Hague's political base was the Irish population in Jersey City that considered him one of their own. In Atlantic City Johnson maintained power by overwhelmingly winning the black vote from the City's Northend that were to a large extent the hotel workers.
In the end neither was done in by reformers. The people that took over control (John V. Kenny & Hap Farley) were part of the machine and kept running things essentially the same way. In Nucky Johnson's case the end came the way it did for many gangsters such as Al Capone. He was convicted of Income Tax Evasion. (Please note the TV show had a different ending for the fictional character Nucky Thompson which was based on Johnson's life. I won't go into that in case anyone has not yet finished watching Boardwalk Empire) . In Frank Hague's case he retired but his handpicked successor (his nephew) was defeated at the polls. The victor John V. Kenny had been a top Hague lieutenant who felt slighted that he was not the chosen heir apparent. Kenny defeated Hague by gaining support from the rising Italian & Polish populations as well as younger Irish returning from WW2 who felt no allegiance to Hague.
If you are interested in N.J. politics or the workings of the urban political machines this is a good read and the book itself only runs about 170 pages. Also if you did watch Boardwalk Empire and want to know more about some of the real life characters in the dramatization. Of course like in any historical dramatization some of the characters were real and others fictional. Another good book on Atlantic City is the book Boardwalk Empire which is not about the TV show but rather the actual history of the rise and fall of that city including the reigns of the three true life bosses of AC - The Commodore, Nucky Johnson & Hap Farley.
A while ago I reviewed a book on this site about the history of Newark (How Newark Became Newark) which a number of you found interesting. In a similar vein I just finished a book dealing with two of the most powerful (and corrupt) political bosses in the history of New Jersey and the United States. The book is entitled American Dictators and deals with the rise and fall of long time Jersey City Mayor Frank (I am the Law) Hague and Atlantic City kingpin Nucky (Boardwalk Empire) Johnson. Their careers overlapped and between them the controlled New Jersey government and politics from about 1913 up to the 1940's. One was a Republican while the other a Democrat but liberal or conservative political philosophy had little to do with their reigns which was all about power and money and in fact they acted in concert on many occasions for mutual benefit.
While both Hague and Johnson were similar in some respects they were very different in other ways. One area of common ground was that both men were ardent supporters of voting rights for the "recently departed". Being among the deceased never impaired ones right to vote in either Hudson or Atlantic Counties. Both men also controlled their local police departments and opponents often found themselves bloodied up and behind bars.
Hague was a "moralist" who had the support of the churches & clergymen. In fact many priests, ministers and rabbis were on the public payroll and there was no separation of church and state in Jersey City where public funds were frequently used for church projects and/or repairs. Personally he never drank or smoked and did not allow brothels in his jurisdiction, however he did allow gangsters to run their gambling, bootlegging and speakeasy interests as long as he got his cut. He also frequently used the mob to silence opponents when necessary.
Johnson on the other hand was a gangster himself and even hosted a mob convention in Atlantic City to divide up territories. Nucky rarely drank anything that was not alcoholic and would frequent the clubs and whorehouses on a regular nightly basis.
Both men would decide among themselves who would or would not be elected Governor in our state. They would join forces to make sure that no reformers of either party made it to the statehouse. Hague's political base was the Irish population in Jersey City that considered him one of their own. In Atlantic City Johnson maintained power by overwhelmingly winning the black vote from the City's Northend that were to a large extent the hotel workers.
In the end neither was done in by reformers. The people that took over control (John V. Kenny & Hap Farley) were part of the machine and kept running things essentially the same way. In Nucky Johnson's case the end came the way it did for many gangsters such as Al Capone. He was convicted of Income Tax Evasion. (Please note the TV show had a different ending for the fictional character Nucky Thompson which was based on Johnson's life. I won't go into that in case anyone has not yet finished watching Boardwalk Empire) . In Frank Hague's case he retired but his handpicked successor (his nephew) was defeated at the polls. The victor John V. Kenny had been a top Hague lieutenant who felt slighted that he was not the chosen heir apparent. Kenny defeated Hague by gaining support from the rising Italian & Polish populations as well as younger Irish returning from WW2 who felt no allegiance to Hague.
If you are interested in N.J. politics or the workings of the urban political machines this is a good read and the book itself only runs about 170 pages. Also if you did watch Boardwalk Empire and want to know more about some of the real life characters in the dramatization. Of course like in any historical dramatization some of the characters were real and others fictional. Another good book on Atlantic City is the book Boardwalk Empire which is not about the TV show but rather the actual history of the rise and fall of that city including the reigns of the three true life bosses of AC - The Commodore, Nucky Johnson & Hap Farley.
