# 3185b - 1998 32c Celebrate the Century - 1930s: Empire State Building
32¢ The Empire State Building
Celebrate the Century – 1930s
City: Cleveland, OH
Quantity: 12,533,000
Printed By: Ashton–Potter (USA) Ltd
Printing Method: Lithographed, engraved
Perforations: 11.5
Color: Multicolored
Birth Of Alfred E. Smith
Alfred Emanuel Smith was born on December 30, 1873, in New York City, New York.
Smith’s father was a Civil War veteran who had fought with the 11th New York Fire Zouaves. When Smith was 13, his father died, after which he dropped out of school to work at a fish market to help support the family.
Smith never returned to school but claimed he had learned a lot about people by studying them while working at the fish market. Smith was also a talented actor and found some success in amateur theater.
Smith was a staunch anti-prohibitionist and soon became known around the country for his progressive policies aimed at making the government more efficient and effective in meeting the needs of the people. Under his leadership, New York improved its laws on worker’s compensation, women’s pensions, and children and women’s labor.
In 1924, Smith ran for president with support from fellow New Yorker Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt called Smith “the Happy Warrior of the political battlefield.” However, Smith was unable to earn his party’s nomination, and immediately began plans for the 1928 election. In that election, he would win the party’s nomination but lose the election. Many people opposed Smith because he was a Roman Catholic and because he opposed prohibition. It was during this time that he also broke with Roosevelt, and would run against him in the 1932 election. In the coming years, Smith was highly critical of Roosevelt’s New Deal policies.
Smith died at the Rockefeller Institute Hospital on October 4, 1944. Many buildings in New York were later named in his honor, as well as parks, a fireboat, and a military installation.
32¢ The Empire State Building
Celebrate the Century – 1930s
City: Cleveland, OH
Quantity: 12,533,000
Printed By: Ashton–Potter (USA) Ltd
Printing Method: Lithographed, engraved
Perforations: 11.5
Color: Multicolored
Birth Of Alfred E. Smith
Alfred Emanuel Smith was born on December 30, 1873, in New York City, New York.
Smith’s father was a Civil War veteran who had fought with the 11th New York Fire Zouaves. When Smith was 13, his father died, after which he dropped out of school to work at a fish market to help support the family.
Smith never returned to school but claimed he had learned a lot about people by studying them while working at the fish market. Smith was also a talented actor and found some success in amateur theater.
Smith was a staunch anti-prohibitionist and soon became known around the country for his progressive policies aimed at making the government more efficient and effective in meeting the needs of the people. Under his leadership, New York improved its laws on worker’s compensation, women’s pensions, and children and women’s labor.
In 1924, Smith ran for president with support from fellow New Yorker Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt called Smith “the Happy Warrior of the political battlefield.” However, Smith was unable to earn his party’s nomination, and immediately began plans for the 1928 election. In that election, he would win the party’s nomination but lose the election. Many people opposed Smith because he was a Roman Catholic and because he opposed prohibition. It was during this time that he also broke with Roosevelt, and would run against him in the 1932 election. In the coming years, Smith was highly critical of Roosevelt’s New Deal policies.
Smith died at the Rockefeller Institute Hospital on October 4, 1944. Many buildings in New York were later named in his honor, as well as parks, a fireboat, and a military installation.