New York City has had a long history of liberalism since the early 20th century, and Republicans found it more and more difficult as time passed by. There were some enclaves they had, and one of the foremost was the wealthy “silk stocking district”. This area elects Democrats now, but when it elected Republicans it often elected liberal Republicans, and the real first among the liberal Republicans to represent was Joseph Clark Baldwin (1897-1957). Baldwin’s rise to influence started after his service in World War I, becoming a political reporter for the New York Herald Tribune and getting active in the local Republican Party. In 1928, he was elected to the 95-member New York City Board of Aldermen, and from 1932 to 1934 he was the only Republican to serve on the board. Given his lonely position, he seemed to be a voice howling in the wilderness for investigating the corrupt administration of Mayor Jimmy Walker, but his voice was heard and the Seabury Investigation would expose the rot in the Walker Administration and result in numerous corruption prosecutions. In 1934, the Tammany Hall machine would be out of power with the election of liberal Republican Fiorello LaGuardia, a crusader for good government. From 1935 to 1936, Baldwin would be in the State Senate, followed by a return to New York City government, serving as city councilman from 1937 to 1941.

In 1941, opportunity grimly knocked when Representative Kenneth F. Simpson of the 17th Congressional district, the extremely wealthy “silk stocking district” of Manhattan, died of a heart attack after only 22 days in office. Baldwin ran to succeed him and won. Baldwin was a strong internationalist, and on February 13, 1943, he requested President Roosevelt send to Congress legislation to promptly enact the Atlantic Charter, stating, “Delay might prove fatal to the future peace of the world” (Independent). Baldwin was also socially liberal, being a consistent opponent of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. He also opposed legislation that aimed to curb the power of organized labor, including the Smith-Connally Act of 1943, the Hobbs Act, and the Case bill in 1946. He did oppose some New Deal programs, such as a work relief bill in 1942, but he sided more with liberals than conservatives throughout his time in Congress. Indeed, his DW-Nominate score was a -0.041, unusually low for a Republican. Despite his liberalism, Baldwin was most insistent in his brand of Republicanism. He was once quoted as having said, “I would rather die as a Republican than live as a mugwump” (The Waynesburg Republican).

Baldwin was a strong supporter of taking in Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany, and his sympathy for the plight of Jews led him to become the administrative chairman of Political Action Committee for Palestine, Inc. in 1946, with a goal of the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. In 1946, Baldwin sought to be reelected, be it whatever ticket he could, thus he cross-filed, running for reelection on the Republican, Democratic, and American Labor Party tickets. He was opposed in the Republican primary by State Senator R. Frederic Coudert, running to his right. Baldwin’s liberalism, which was going especially strong in how he was voting in 1946, was not playing well with the Republican base. He had voted liberal on nearly all major issues that year, including opposing every effort to weaken price control, being one of three Republicans to vote against returning U.S. Employment Service promptly to the states and he lost renomination. Baldwin also lost the Democratic nomination, but he won the American Labor Party nomination. Most of the district’s residents, however, stuck with their party rather than their representative, and Baldwin only won 8.3% of the vote. By contrast, in 1944 Baldwin had won reelection with 52.4% of the vote, with the American Labor candidate getting 8.3%. The Vicksburg Post (1946) noted the general conservative trend in the Republican primaries that year, “The defeat of Congressman Joseph C. Baldwin seeking renomination in the New York city primaries, follows the sensational overthrow of Senator Robert M. LaFollette, Jr., in Wisconsin. Both deviated from the orthodox party line to follow what is commonly known as the liberal viewpoint.”

Baldwin would never run for public office again, rather pursuing a career in public relations, serving as a representative for United Dye and Chemical Corporation and William Recht Co., Inc. He also authored the 1950 book Flowers for the Judge. Baldwin died on October 27, 1957 in the Manhattan Veterans Administration Hospital at the age of 60.

References

Atlantic Charter Legislation Wanted. (1943, February 14). Long Beach Independent, 5.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/717839923/

Baldwin, Joseph Clark. Voteview.

Retrieved from

https://www.voteview.com/person/388/joseph-clark-baldwin

J.C. Baldwin Dies; Ex-Legislator, 60. (1957, October 28). The New York Times.

Retrieved from

Quotes of the Week. (1946, August 8). The Waynesburg Republican, 7.

Retrieved from

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1147389959/

The New Party Trends. (1946, August 31). Vicksburg Post, 2.

Retrieved from

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1043238575/