Patrick Nash

Infobox_Politician
name = Patrick A. Nash


width =
height =
birth_date = 1863
birth_place = Chicago, Illinois
death_date = October 6, 1943
death_place = Chicago, Illinois
residence = Chicago, Illinois
office =
order =
party = Democratic
religion = Catholic
spouse = Mary Byrnescite news | title = P.A. Nash Dies, Aged 80; Long Party Chief | work = Chicago Daily Tribune | pages = 1 | date = 1943-10-07 | accessdate = 2007-08-28]
children = John, Thomas, Mary Ross
website =

Patrick Nash (1863 – October 6, 1943) was a political boss in the early and mid-twentieth century in Chicago, which is in Cook County, Illinois, United States. He was in large part responsible for consolidating what became the Chicago Democratic political machine, which was regarded as the first political machine in Chicago. He evolved from a local sewage contractor to a political boss by carefully selecting his political allies. His prominence stems from the death of Anton Cermak and his political career is intertwined with that of Edward Joseph Kelly. Kelly was considered unusually progressive and Nash was considered unusually honest.Fact|date=October 2007 The success of this machine was attributed to its decision to be more inclusive than its predecessors. This meant that Nash had success at dealing with a variety of politicians such as William L. Dawson.

Early life

Nash was born on Chicago's Rush Street, near Delaware Place. When he was six, his family moved to the West side of Chicago. However, it is his final residential address for the King-Nash House at 3234 West Washington Boulevard where he lived from 1925 until 1943 that became a Chicago Landmark. [cite web|url=http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Landmarks/K/KingNashHouse.html|accessdate=2007-08-29|title=King-Nash House|publisher=City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Landmarks Division|year=2003]

He became a ward committeeman under under Roger Sullivan, an earlier Chicago political boss. At the same time he was dipping his feet into politics, Nash and his brother Richard formed Nash Brothers, a contractor company that specialized in sewer building. The company remained in place for more than 40 years and earned more than $14 million from work for the Chicago Sanitary district. Edward Joseph Kelly was the chief engineer of the Sanitary district in the 20s under the sponsorship of Nash.cite web|url=http://www.roosevelt.edu/chicagohistory/mod3-chap2.htm|accessdate=2007-08-29|title=History of Chicago from Trading Post to Metropolis (Module 3 Chapter 2-Chicago During the Great Depression)|publisher=Roosevelt University|year=2006]

In 1925, city contracts for Nash Brothers resulted in Nash having one of the ten highest incomes in the city of Chicago.cite book | last = Cohen | first = Adam | authorlink = Adam Cohen | coauthors = Elizabeth Taylor| title = American Pharaoh | publisher = Little Brown | year = 2000 | location = New York | pages = 53-54 | isbn = 0316834033]

Political rise

Nash was active in Chicago politics from the early twentieth century. He was first appointed to political office in 1915, when he served on the board of assessors. Three years later, he was elected to the board of review, which set tax valuations. He ran for reelection in 1924, supported by the Chicago teacher's union, but lost in an election in which the Democrats were swept from office by the Republicans, and never ran for public office again.cite book | last =Gottfried | first = Alex | authorlink = Alex Gottfried | title = Boss Cermak of Chicago: A Study of Political Leadership | publisher = University of Washington Press | year = 1962 | location = Seattle, WA | pages = 137] Nash did continue to run for Democratic party offices and served as a ward committeeman for the 14th Ward and later for the 28th Ward.

A close ally of Anton Cermak, when Cermak was elected Mayor of Chicago in 1931, he asked Nash to become Cook County Democratic Party Chairman.cite web | last = Green | first = Paul | authorlink = Paul Green | title = Kelly-Nash Machine | work = Encyclopedia of Chicago | publisher = Chicago Historical Society | year = 2005 | url =http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/686.html | accessdate = 2007-08-28 ] Nash was said to have represented the professional, and less narrowly ethnic, wing of the Irish contingent, which would help him to expand the party base. Nash held the position from 1931 until his death in 1943.

Kelly-Nash Machine

Stretching back to its early beginnings, Chicago had had a long two-party political history that prevented either party from developing a political machine. Republicans usually won at the national level, while Democrats usually won the majority of local contests. However, both political parties experienced enough internal struggles to be thwarted from establishing dominance because factionalism abounded in the party.cite web | author=Hirsch, Arnold R. | title = Democratic Party | work = Encyclopedia of Chicago | publisher = Chicago Historical Society | year = 2005 | url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/371.html | accessdate = 2007-09-03 ] Chicago's first political machines rose under Anton Cermak, a Chicagoan likened to a George Washington of the Chicago Democratic Machine, in 1928 after the death of George Brennan.cite web | author=Biles, Roger | title = Machine Politics | work = Encyclopedia of Chicago | publisher = Chicago Historical Society | year = 2005 | url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/774.html | accessdate = 2007-09-01 ]

Some sources claim that Chicago's first political machines rose before World War I under Roger C. Sullivan, for the Democrats, and William Lorimer for the Republicans.fact|date=December 2007 By the time of Sullivan's death, he was absolute ruler of the Chicago and Illinois Democratic Parties, and his organization was immense and stable. When Sullivan died in 1920, he was succeeded as boss by his chief lieutenant, George Brennan, who also helped elect during the 1920s, William Dever, generally a reformer as mayor.fact|date=December 2007 These sources claim that it wasAnton Cermak who became the organizations' third boss in 1928 after the death of George Brennan.

Nash's period of domination in Chicago began with Cermak's assassination in 1933.cite web | last = Pacyga | first = Dominic A. | authorlink = Dominic A. Pacyga | title = Bridgeport | work = Encyclopedia of Chicago | publisher = Chicago Historical Society | year = 2005 | url =http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/165.html | accessdate = 2007-08-28 ] When Cermak died, Nash helped promote Frank J. Corr to be the acting mayor of Chicago.cite news | title = Ald. F.J. Corr, Former Acting Mayor, Is Dead | work = Chicago Tribune | pages = 1 | date = 1934-06-04 | accessdate = 2007-08-28] Nash and other party leaders lobbied for a change in the city charter which called for a special election in the case of Mayoral death. With an expensive special election looming during the Great Depression, they struck a deal with the Republican led state legislature to grant the Chicago City Council the authority to appoint a permanent mayor. Subsequently, Nash turned down his own appointment and instead arranged to have Edward Joseph Kelly appointed mayor.cite news | title = Corr Acts to Hurry Mayor's Election | work = Chicago Tribune | pages = 1 | date = 1933-04-09 | accessdate = 2007-10-14] Although Nash chose Kelly because of Kelly's willingness to hand out sweetheart deals and patronage jobs, Kelly also turned out to be a progressive politician.

The political machine Nash built up with Kelly's help survived until four years after Nash's death. Unlike many political bosses, Nash was viewed by politicians as fair and scrupulously honest. [cite book | last =Green | first = Paul M. | authorlink = Paul M. Green | coauthors = Melvin G. Holli | title = The Mayors: The Chicago Political Tradition | publisher = Southern Illinois University Press | year = 2004 | location = Carbondale, IL | pages = 123 | isbn = 0809326124] Part of the success of their machine was the fact that they handed out jobs to ethnic groups across the European spectrum, rather than just to Chicago's Irish population. Nash and Kelly also began to integrate Blacks into Chicagos' political process. In 1942, William L. Dawson consolidated a black submachine that stayed loyal to the Democrats until his death in 1970. [cite web|url=http://southside.uchicago.edu/History/Politics.html|accessdate=2007-09-03|date=|title=Politics|publisher=University of Chicago] While Nash's financial resources provided the muscle to the machine and Kelly served as its front, Jacob Arvey, a man said to be the only man in the machine to have ever read a book, was its brains. Arvey would later succeed Nash and Kelly as Cook County Democratic Chairman.

In 1934 Raymond S. McKeough began the first of four terms as the Democratic Congressman from Illinois' 2nd District. He gained the support of Nash and the Cook County Democratic Organization for the original nomination.cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,773069-1,00.html|accessdate=2007-09-01|date=1942-03-02|title=The People Take a Beating|work=Time Magazine|publisher=Time Inc.]

In 1940, Nash offered his support to Louie Lewis, who was running for Lieutenant Governor in the Democratic primary. After Nash announced his support, a longtime friend of his, State Senator George Maypole, told Nash that he was planning on running against Lewis in the primary. Nash informed Maypole that as he had already given his word to Lewis, he would continue to support Lewis in the primary. Although Lewis defeated Maypole, he went on to lose in the general election and rumors persisted that Nash's support and efforts were not wholehearted. In an attempt to quell those rumors, Nash ordered that Maypole be "purged" when he was up for re-election in 1942 and Maypole lost to Norman Barry in that year's primary.

Following Nash's death in Chicago in 1943, he was succeeded as Cook County Democratic Chairman by Ed Kelly, [cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,888213-1,00.html|title=Call Me Jack|accessdate=2007-09-01|date=1946-07-22|work=Time Magazine|publisher=Time Inc.] who gave way to Jacob M. Arvey [cite book | last = Merriner | first = James L. | authorlink = James L. Merriner | title = Grafters and Goo Goos: Corruption and Reform in Chicago, 1833-2003 | publisher = Southern Illinois University Press | year = 2004 | location = Carbondale, IL | pages = 158 | isbn = 0809325713]

Personal life

Nash was a fan of horse racing, and owned a stables, Shannon Farm. In addition, he owned a horse farm in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky, where he raised horses to be raced.

References

Persondata
NAME=Patrick Nash
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=
DATE OF BIRTH=1863
PLACE OF BIRTH=Chicago, Illinois
DATE OF DEATH=October 6, 1943
PLACE OF DEATH=Chicago, Illinois