James Farley

Life & Legacy

James Aloysius Farley (May 30, 1888 – June 9, 1976) was an American politician who simultaneously served as chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and postmaster general under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose gubernatorial and presidential campaigns were run by Farley.
Born and raised in Rockland County, New York, Farley entered politics at a young age and quickly rose to run the Rockland County Democratic Party. After short stints campaigning for governor Al Smith and serving in the state legislature, he befriended Roosevelt and worked to build an effective Democratic machine across the entire state. Following Roosevelt's victories in the gubernatorial elections of 1928 and 1930, he ran Roosevelt's 1932 and 1936 presidential campaigns. His campaign style was meticulous and involved massive amounts of correspondence with individual party members to gather information and coordinate strategy. The 1936 campaign, where he correctly predicted the outcome in every state, earned him particular recognition.
Working as the chairman of the Democratic national committee and postmaster general, Farley worked to settle factional disputes within the party during Roosevelt's first term, using his massive network of personal connections and patronage. Farley found himself in a transitional period in party politics, as Roosevelt and the New Deal coalition moved from a traditional party system built on local organizations and patronage to a national party system where parties campaigned on specific issues and relied on the support of auxiliary organizations. In Roosevelt's second term, Farley found himself sidelined by Roosevelt, and broke with the president over his attempts to influence Congressional primary elections in favor of pro-New Deal candidates. Farley mounted a failed campaign for president to prevent Roosevelt from winning a third term in 1940.
Following his defeat, Farley was hired by the Coca-Cola Export Corporation, where he worked to promote international sales from 1940 to 1973. He also remained active in New York politics and served on the Hoover Commission from 1953 to 1956.