A. Oakley Hall
Encyclopedia
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
from 1869 to 1872. He was alleged to have been part of the vilified "Tweed Ring". Hall, known as "Elegant Oakey", was said to be a front of serenity and respectability, although later historians have questioned the depiction of Hall as corrupt or as a front man for a corrupt political order.
Early life
He was born in Albany, New YorkAlbany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
. His childhood was marked by poverty after the death of his father, a New York merchant, when Hall was 3 years old. In 1840, he entered New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, and wrote for many newspapers to pay his way through school. He graduated in 1844 with Bachelor and Masters degrees. He attended Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
until 1845 before dropping out to apprentice to finish his legal education. Hall returned to New York in 1845, and worked in the law office of Charles W. Sandford. In 1846, he moved to New Orleans where he apprenticed at the law firm of Thomas & John Slidell
John Slidell
John Slidell was an American politician, lawyer and businessman. A native of New York, Slidell moved to Louisiana as a young man and became a staunch defender of southern rights as a U.S. Representative and Senator...
.
During this period, using the nom de plume of Hans Yorkel, he served as the New York correspondent of the New Orleans Commercial Bulletin. He returned to New York, where he practiced law and was admitted to the bar in 1851. In that year, Hall authored a book, The Manhattaner in New Orleans, or, Phases of "Crescent City" Life, in which he addressed the problems and challenges of large, ethnically diverse
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
port cities and provided important historical sketches of a young New Orleans. In 1857, he authored a formerly popular Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
poem and song, "Old Whitey's Christmas Trot".
Political career
In 1851, D.A. N. Bowditch BluntN. Bowditch Blunt
Nathaniel Bowditch Blunt was an American lawyer and politician from New York.-Life:...
appointed him Assistant New York County District Attorney
New York County District Attorney
The New York County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for New York County , New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws....
, and after Blunt's death in 1854, Hall offered to occupy the office until the end of the year reverting the D.A.'s wages to Blunt's widow and her eight children. However, Democrat Lorenzo B. Shepard
Lorenzo B. Shepard
Lorenzo Brigham Shepard was an American lawyer and politician from New York.-Life:Lorenzo B. Shepard was the son of David Brewster Shepard , a New York City lawyer....
was appointed by Gov. Horatio Seymour
Horatio Seymour
Horatio Seymour was an American politician. He was the 18th Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and from 1863 to 1864. He was the Democratic Party nominee for president of the United States in the presidential election of 1868, but lost the election to Republican and former Union General of...
to fill the vacancy. In November 1854, Hall was elected on the Whig ticket to succeed Shepard, and served his first term as New York County D.A. from 1855 to 1857. He was not reelected partly due to his unpopularity following the Burdell-Cunningham murder trial. As a Republican, Hall was elected again New York County D.A. in November 1861, and re-elected in 1864 and 1867. In November 1868, during his fourth term as D.A., Hall was elected Mayor of New York City
Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
. He was re-elected mayor in 1870, serving two terms from January 1, 1869 to December 31, 1872.
As mayor, Hall was unpopular for a myriad of reasons, partly due to the ongoing political clashes between Anglo
English American
English Americans are citizens or residents of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England....
"Nativists" and the Irish
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
population. While Tweed, Hall and other Tammany leaders were Anglo, their power base rested largely upon Irish immigrants. This conflict boiled over in 1869 when Hall attempted to stop the Irish Orange Order (Irish of Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
and Scots-Irish descent) from holding a parade, perhaps provocatively celebrating the historic Orangemen (Anglo Protestant Irish) victory over ethnic Irish Catholics. Fearing that either banning the march or allowing it to continue would both lead to violence and mayhem, Governor John Hoffman
John Hoffman
John Hoffman can refer to:*John Hoffman , American football defensive end*John Hoffman , American welterweight boxer, coach, trainer, and promoter...
overruled Mayor Hall and allowed it to continue with increased policing. Nevertheless, riots did occur, cementing Hall's negative image on both sides and severely compromising Hoffman's political career.
Additionally, Hall, a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, backed away from supporting candidates from his party because of widespread dislike of the Nativists within the Party. He was seen as attempting to have it both ways rather than finding a middle ground. In particular, Thomas Nast
Thomas Nast
Thomas Nast was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist who is considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He was the scourge of Boss Tweed and the Tammany Hall machine...
, who had old-line Republican leanings, took aim at "Elegant Oakey" whom he considered to be the worst of the Tweed politicians because of his high standing, education and open presidential ambitions. Nast also felt that Hall got off lightly in the affair because of his continued personal connections with reformer and prosecutor Samuel Tilden, though later historians have shown that Hall and Tilden were never very close in the 1860s and 1870s and that Hall did not receive any special assistance. In fact, Tilden was the chief opponent of Tweed, Hall, et al. Hall was tried three times and finally acquitted of all charges on the third trial.
Post-Mayoral Career
Some time after the last trial, Hall wrote and acted in his own play entitled The Crucible, where he played the lead part, a man falsely accused of stealing. The play was a flop, and Hall returned to his work as an attorneyLawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
. He subsequently suffered a nervous breakdown and lived for time in London without having knowledge of having done so.
Later life
After the nervous breakdown and returning to New York, Hall traveled between LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, involving himself in political issues, laws, writing and business. In London he became an ardent spokesperson for municipal reform. He also was a London correspondent for the New York Herald and the Morning Journal. Hall sued Viscount Bryce for defamation of character and libel, but the case was eventually dropped. His daughter Cara de la Montagnie Hall married Rear Admiral Thomas Holdup Stevens III, but maintained her name to honor her father.
In 1894, Hall defended Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing and speeches. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the twentieth century....
against charges of inciting to riot in New York City. He lost the case (she was sentenced to a year in prison), but she credited him with reducing the charges against her and providing her a platform to air her anarchist views. She described him as a great champion of free speech.
Hall died of heart disease on October 7, 1898 in New York City, and was buried at Trinity Cemetery located at 155th Street and Broadway in Manhattan.