Thomas Dewey
| Thomas Dewey | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 47th Governor of New York | |
|
In office January 1, 1943 – December 31, 1954 |
|
| Lieutenant |
Thomas W. Wallace Joe R. Hanley Frank C. Moore Arthur H. Wicks (Acting) Walter J. Mahoney (Acting) |
| Preceded by | Charles Poletti |
| Succeeded by | W. Averell Harriman |
| District Attorney of New York County | |
|
In office January 1, 1938 – December 31, 1941 |
|
| Governor | Herbert H. Lehman |
| Preceded by | William C. Dodge |
| Succeeded by | Frank Hogan |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Thomas Edmund Dewey March 24, 1902 Owosso, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | March 16, 1971 (aged 68) Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Frances Eileen Hutt (1928–1970) |
| Children |
Thomas E. Dewey Jr. John Martin Dewey |
| Alma mater |
University of Michigan (B.A.) Columbia Law School (J.D.) |
| Religion | Episcopal |
| Signature |  |
Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician. He served as the 47th Governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. In 1944, he was the Republican candidate for President, but lost to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the closest of Roosevelt's four presidential elections. He was again the Republican candidate in 1948, but lost to President Harry S. Truman in one of the greatest upsets in presidential election history.
As a New York City prosecutor early in his career, Dewey was relentless in his effort to curb the power of the American Mafia and of organized crime in general. Most famously, he successfully prosecuted Mafioso kingpin Charles "Lucky" Luciano on charges of compulsory prostitution in 1936. Luciano was given a thirty-year prison sentence. Dewey almost succeeded in apprehending Jewish mobster Dutch Schultz as well, but not before Schultz was murdered in 1935 in a hit ordered by The Commission itself.
Dewey led the moderate or progressive faction of the Republican Party, in which he fought conservative Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft. Dewey was an advocate for the professional and business community of the Northeastern United States, which would later be called the "Eastern Establishment". This group consisted of internationalists who were in favor of the United Nations and the Cold War fight against communism and the Soviet Union, and it supported most of the New Deal social-welfare reforms enacted during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. In addition he played a large part in the election of Dwight D. Eisenhower as President in 1952. Dewey's successor as leader of the progressive Republicans was Nelson Rockefeller, who became governor of New York in 1959. The New York State Thruway is named in Dewey's honor.
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