James Michael Curley Biography

James Michael Curley was a powerful Boston politician for more than 50 years. Curley, who served in many local positions, including mayor, used political patronage to solidify his Democratic Party constituency. However, he was convicted of political corruption in the 1940s and thereafter was unable to win further elected offices.

Curley was born on November 20, 1874, in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Irish immigrants. He worked as a salesman before becoming involved in the real estate and insurance business. However, Curley soon set his sights on political office. A gifted orator with good political instincts, Curley was elected to the Boston common council in 1901. In 1902, he was elected to the Massachusetts house of representatives but declined to stand for reelection. Instead, Curley was elected to Boston's board of aldermen in 1904, a position he held until 1909. Curley's political meandering continued for the next few years. He returned to the Boston city council in 1910 and then was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1911.

The real prize for Curley, however, was to become mayor of Boston. He achieved this goal in 1914 and served until 1918. During this period, political machines ran most large U.S. cities. Boston's Democratic machine, which was dominated by Irish politicians, was no exception. In a time when government itself did not provide social welfare programs, political machines used patronage to insure that loyal party members received city jobs and contracts. The darker side of these urban operations was that political bosses pocketed municipal funds or took kickbacks and bribes from those who sought favors or city contracts. Curley followed this pattern by centralizing patronage in his hands and dispensing public works jobs to his followers. However, his free spending on public parks and hospitals brought the city close to bankruptcy.

Curley lost in his 1918 and 1922 election efforts. He did not give up and won election again in 1926 and 1930. In 1934 he was elected governor of Massachusetts, but his restless ways led him to run unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1936. As governor, he relived his early years as mayor, spending federal aid on public works projects. After leaving the governor's office in 1937, Curley tried and failed to be elected mayor of Boston again in 1938 and 1942. Though many national Democratic Party leaders viewed Curley as a political embarrassment, he managed to become a member of the National Democratic Committee in 1941.

Curley's political fortunes changed with his election to Congress in 1942. Reelected in 1944, Curley left Washington, D.C. in 1946 and secured the Boston's mayoral office again. His old-time ways finally caught up with Curley in 1947, when he was convicted of federal mail fraud charges. He served five months in a federal prison but succeeded in remaining mayor during this period despite the efforts of Republicans to oust him. President Harry S. Truman pardoned Curley in 1950, but the corruption conviction destroyed his political career. He lost mayoralty elections in 1950 and 1954. Curley died on November 12, 1958 in Boston.