James Michael Curley said that the St. Patrick’s Day parade in South Boston was not the kind of event that “carried refinement to excess.” The same could be said for urban voting in early twentieth century Massachusetts.
“He did it for a friend.”
- Rallying cry to explain James Michael Curley’s stint in the Charles Street Jail
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- Mass Moments
The Rascal King
James Michael Curley has been called the “Rascal King.” He served two terms in Congress, four terms as Mayor of Boston, and two as Governor, as well as terms in prison for mail fraud and the county jail for impersonating a constituent on a Civil Service exam. A colorful campaigner, his rallies could include appearances from former heavy weight boxing champion John L. Sullivan, as well as novelties like piano smashing contests.
The house with the Shamrock Shutters.
Questions were raised about the financing of Curley’s Jamaica Plain home. He said that it was important to demonstrate what was possible in order to inspire his poor, largely Irish constituency.
- Courtesy of Jamaica Plain Historical Society
Questions were raised about the financing of Curley’s Jamaica Plain home. He said that it was important to demonstrate what was possible in order to inspire his poor, largely Irish constituency.
Courtesy of Jamaica Plain Historical Society
Voter Fraud
Curley founded the Tammany Club in apparent
admiration of New York’s corrupt Tammany Hall
machine. It was alledged that Tammany Hall stuffed
ballot boxes by using repeat voters.
James Michael Curley at home.
James Michael Curley at home.
- Courtesy of Jamaica Plain Historical Society
“The Mayor of the Poor.”
Curley expanded Boston City Hospital, made improvements at city beaches and recreational facilities in poorer neighborhoods, and provided long handled mops in city buildings to end the “hands and knees” floor scrubbing that his mother had experienced.
Massachusetts Archives
Out of Style
James Michael Curley dominated Boston
politics for forty years, but his “florid
style and flamboyant delivery were…
better suited to outdoor speeches,” wrote
historian Thomas H. O’Connor. The
advent of radio and especially television
required a less stilted delivery and shorter
time on the platform. In later years,
Curley was imprisoned for mail fraud. As
a young congressman, John F. Kennedy
did not sign a petition for his release –
seeking to change the image of Boston
Irish politicians.
Governor Curley at the Bunker Hill Day parade
Governor Curley at the Bunker Hill Day parade in Charlestown, 1936. His term has been described as “ludicrous part of the time, shocking most of the time, and tawdry all of the time.”
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