William Sulzer | |
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39th Governor of New York | |
In office January 1, 1913 – October 17, 1913 |
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Lieutenant | Martin H. Glynn |
Preceded by | John Alden Dix |
Succeeded by | Martin H. Glynn |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 11th and 10th district |
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In office March 4, 1895 – December 31, 1912 |
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Preceded by | Amos J. Cummings |
Succeeded by | Herman A. Metz |
Personal details | |
Born | March 18, 1863 Elizabeth, New Jersey |
Died | November 6, 1941 New York City |
(aged 78)
Political party | Democratic |
Religion | Presbyterian |
William Sulzer (March 18, 1863 – November 6, 1941) was an American lawyer and politician, nicknamed Plain Bill Sulzer. He was the 39th Governor of New York and a long-serving congressman from the same state. He was the first and so far only New York Governor to be impeached. His brother Charles August Sulzer served in Congress as a delegate from the Territory of Alaska.
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Sulzer attended the public schools and graduated from Columbia College. Then he studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1884, and commenced practice in New York City.
He was a member from New York County of the New York State Assembly from 1889 to 1894, and was Speaker in 1893. He was also as a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1892, 1896, 1900, 1904, 1908 and 1912.
Sulzer was elected to the Fifty-fourth United States Congress, and served as a U.S. Representative from New York in the eight succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1895, to December 31, 1912. In the Sixty-second United States Congress he chaired the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He resigned from Congress effective December 31, 1912, having been elected Governor of New York in November 1912 for the term beginning on January 1, 1913.
A few months into his term, Sulzer was alleged to have diverted campaign contributions to his own use and to have lied. Sulzer had enjoyed Tammany Hall support as the Democratic candidate for Governor in 1912, but he quickly drew the ire of the powerful leader of that New York City organization, Charles F. Murphy, by refusing to accept party instructions on appointments, by seeking primary elections rather than nominating by convention, and other actions. One of the appointments that Sulzer refused to make was that of James E. Gaffney, owner of the 1914 "Miracle" Braves, to State Commissioner of Highways.[1] Sulzer and many historians later affirmed that the impeachment charges were made under instructions from Murphy, to remove him as an obstacle to Tammany Hall's influence in state politics.
On August 13, 1913, the New York Assembly voted to impeach Governor Sulzer, by a vote of 79 to 45. Sulzer was served with a summons to appear before the Court for the Trial of Impeachments, and Lieutenant Governor Martin H. Glynn was empowered to act in his place pending the outcome of the trial. However, Sulzer maintained that the proceedings against him were unconstitutional and refused to vacate his office.[2] Both Sulzer and Glynn claimed to be Governor. Lt.Gov. Glynn began signing documents as "Acting Governor" beginning on August 21.[3]
The trial of Sulzer before the Impeachment Court began in Albany on September 18. Sulzer had called upon Louis Marshall to head his defense team and Marshall agreed, telling his wife that he was not enthusiastic about the outcome.[4] The trial did not go well; Sulzer didn't even testify in his own defense. The court convicted Sulzer on three of the Articles of Impeachment on the afternoon of October 16, finding him guilty of filing a false report with the Secretary of State concerning his campaign contributions, committing perjury, and advising another person to commit perjury before an Assembly committee.[5] The following day, the court voted on a resolution to remove Sulzer from office. On October 17, 1913, Sulzer was removed by the same margin, a vote of 43–12, and Lt. Gov. Glynn succeeded to the governorship.[6]
According to the hagiographic 1914 book, The Boss or the Governor, by Samuel Bell Thomas, a crowd of 10,000 gathered outside the Executive Mansion on the night Governor Sulzer left Albany, leading to an exchange as follows:
Some in Albany maintained that he was impeached unfairly, as he had been the first person ever to have been impeached for acts committed before taking office. There have been several pieces of legislation introduced in the New York State Assembly and Senate to have his political record repaired. None have been successful to date.
Sulzer's official portrait is one of several Governors of New York that do not hang in the "Hall of Governors," the main hallway leading to the Executive Chamber, located within the New York State Capitol in Albany.[7]
Sulzer was able to recover somewhat politically. He was subsequently elected as an independent to the New York State Assembly on November 4, 1913, just a month later. He stood as the Prohibition and American Parties' candidate for Governor in 1914, and in 1916 he declined the nomination for President of the United States by the American Party.
He engaged in the practice of law in New York City until his death there November 6, 1941, aged 78. He was interred at the Evergreen Cemetery in Hillside, New Jersey.
William Sulzer's story is said to be the basis for Preston Sturges film The Great McGinty (1940).
Political offices | ||
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Preceded by Robert P. Bush |
Speaker of the New York State Assembly 1893 |
Succeeded by George R. Malby |
United States House of Representatives | ||
Preceded by Amos J. Cummings |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 11th congressional district 1895 - 1903 |
Succeeded by William Randolph Hearst |
Preceded by Edward Swann |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 10th congressional district 1903 - 1912 |
Succeeded by Herman A. Metz |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by John Alden Dix |
Governor of New York 1913 |
Succeeded by Martin H. Glynn |
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