20 Facts About William Sulzer

William Sulzer, nicknamed Plain Bill, was an American lawyer and politician.

William Sulzer was the 39th governor of New York serving for 10 months in 1913, and a long-serving US representative from the same state.

William Sulzer broke with his sponsors at Tammany Hall, and they produced convincing evidence that Sulzer had falsified his sworn statement of campaign expenditures.

William Sulzer was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey on March 18,1863, the son of Lydia, who was Frisian, and Thomas Sulzer, a German immigrant.

William Sulzer was reared on his family farm and attended the public schools of Elizabeth.

William Sulzer returned to the family home a year later and became a clerk in a grocery store.

William Sulzer was admitted to the bar in 1884, and commenced practice in New York City.

William Sulzer was elected to the 54th United States Congress in 1894, and served as a US Representative in the eight succeeding Congresses, from March 4,1895, to December 31,1912, representing the 10th Congressional District.

William Sulzer opposed United States intervention in the Mexican Revolution, and proposed a unanimously supported bill to annul the Treaty of 1832 with Russia due to a Russian refusal to recognize the passports of Jewish-Americans.

William Sulzer resigned from Congress effective December 31,1912, having been elected Governor of New York in November 1912 for the term beginning on January 1,1913.

Critics claimed that William Sulzer was using the direct primary issue to build his own machine or to co-opt Tammany and assume control of it from Murphy, based on his populist appeal.

William Sulzer's refusal to work with Tammany on appointments was a major threat to the organization, which had since its foundation been dependent on Civil Service work to develop its power.

One of the appointments that Sulzer refused to make was that of James E Gaffney, owner of the 1914 "Miracle" Braves, to State Commissioner of Highways.

However, William Sulzer maintained that the proceedings against him were unconstitutional and refused to hand over power to Glynn.

William Sulzer called upon Louis Marshall to head his defense team; Marshall agreed but confided in his wife that he was not enthusiastic about the outcome.

The trial did not go well; William Sulzer did not even testify in his own defense.

William Sulzer came in third, behind Republican Charles S Whitman, who was elected governor, and Glynn, who was unseated.

William Sulzer thus claimed that the result was a moral victory, as the Democrats who had impeached him were swept out of power.

William Sulzer died in New York on November 6,1941, aged 78.

William Sulzer was buried at the Evergreen Cemetery in Hillside, New Jersey.