Edward I. Edwards | |
|---|---|
 Edwardsc. 1918 | |
| United States Senator fromNew Jersey | |
| In office March 4, 1923 – March 3, 1929 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph S. Frelinghuysen |
| Succeeded by | Hamilton Fish Kean |
| 37th Governor of New Jersey | |
| In office January 20, 1920 – January 15, 1923 | |
| Preceded by | Clarence Edward Case (acting) |
| Succeeded by | George Sebastian Silzer |
| Member of theNew Jersey Senate fromHudson County | |
| In office January 1, 1919 – January 20, 1920 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edward Irving Edwards (1863-12-01)December 1, 1863 Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | January 26, 1931(1931-01-26) (aged 67) Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Blanche Smith (1888-1928; her death) |
| Children | 2 |
| Signature | .png) |
Edward Irving Edwards (December 1, 1863 – January 26, 1931) was an American attorney, banker, andDemocratic Party politician who served as the 37thGovernor of New Jersey from 1920 to 1923 and represented the state in theUnited States Senate from 1923 to 1929.[1] He was a leading critic ofProhibition.
Edwards was born on December 1, 1863, inJersey City, New Jersey, the son of Emma J. (Nation) and William W. Edwards.[2]
Edwards attended Jersey City High School (since renamed asWilliam L. Dickinson High School) and attendedNew York University from 1880 to 1882.[3] He later studied law in the office of his brother, William David Edwards, who also represented Hudson County in the State Senate from 1887 to 1889.[2][4]
He engaged in banking and in the general contracting business. He later became president and chairman of the board of directors of the First National Bank of Jersey City.[1] As a businessman with an interest in politics and a State Senator for a brother, he attracted the attention of the powerful Hudson County Democratic machine.[2]
Edwards served as state comptroller from 1911 to 1917 and was elected to theNew Jersey Senate in 1918. He became a friend and close political ally of MayorFrank Hague, the boss of the Democratic machine.[2]
In the Democratic primary, his opponent was James R. Nugent, chair of theEssex County party and former state party boss. The campaign became a proxy forFrank Hague's struggle with Nugent for state power, and Edwards emerged victorious with 53.6 percent of the vote.[2] He carried fifteen counties and a huge majority inHudson County; Hague emerged as the undisputed leader of theNew Jersey Democratic Party, which he would dominate through the late 1940s.[2]
In the general election, Edwards facedNewton A.K. Bugbee. Despite Republican victories throughout the northeast in reaction to Wilson's unpopularity,nationwide labor and racial unrest, andanarchist terrorism, Edwards prevailed narrowly.[2] With the exception of a Camden trolly strike, the New Jersey campaign focused on the single issue of theprohibition of alcohol, following the ratification of theEighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in January 1919 and the passage of theVolstead Act over PresidentWoodrow Wilson's veto on October 28.[2] AnElizabeth daily newspaper dubbed Edwards's campaign the "Applejack Campaign," because although Edwards personally did not drink alcohol, he ran as an avowed "wet" opponent of prohibition.[2] His victory was attributed to an urban political revolt by Catholic and ethnic immigrants, overcoming those groups' dissatisfaction with Wilson's proposal for theLeague of Nations. Historian Warren E. Stickle has referred to the election as the "Edwards Revolution," as it significantly reshaped New Jersey politics for the twentieth century and served a prelude to theNew Deal coalition.[2]
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Edwards's time in office was defined by Republican domination of the state legislature; theState Senate, which then apportionedone vote per county, was dominated by rural and small-town interests which increasingly aligned with Republicans and against Edwards's urban base. Following the1920 Republican landslide, the General Assembly was also dominated by Republicans—only one Democratic member was elected to serve in the legislature of 1921–22.[2] Thus, Edwards played only a minor role in legislation as Governor; the Republican majorities frustrated much of his own program and repeatedly passed their own legislation over hisveto, including the establishment of thePort Authority (which Edwards later supported) and theNew Jersey State Police.[2]
On prohibition, Edwards did briefly succeed in passing a bill which permitted the sale and manufacture of beverages with less than 3.5 percent alcohol content, which he signed on March 2, 1920; it was repealed in January 1921 and laws for the enforcement of prohibition were passed over Edwards's veto.[2] With his legislative power cut off, Edwards instead exercised executive power by joining the state as a plaintiff inRhode Island v. Palma, a challenge to the constitutionality of prohibition policies.[2] He also called on Congress to modify the Volstead Act to permit the sale of light wines and beer.[2] Because of his aggressive public stance against Prohibition, his name was entered in the Illinois and New Jerseypresidential preference primaries in 1920; he won both.
Edwards also used his appointments power to fire the members of thePublic Utility Commission as part of a fight for reduced rates, but the Republican legislature established a new commission over his veto.[2] He also opposedblue laws which restricted activity on Sundays and supported the arrangement of boxing matches in the state against moral objections.[2]
With his term in office expiring in 1923, Edwards spent his final year as Governor running for theUnited States Senate against incumbent SenatorJoseph S. Frelinghuysen. Running on a slogan of "Wine, Women, and Song," Edwards ran against the Republican platform of "100-percent Americanism, blue laws, Sunday closing laws, compulsory English lessons, immigration restriction, and prohibition."[2] He carried the race over Frelinghuysen by a convincing margin, dramatically reversing President Harding's landslide victory by re-establishing and enlarging his 1919 coalition.[2] His victory also further established Frank Hague's domination over the party.[2]
In 1928, Edwards ran for re-election to the Senate, continuing to emphasize his opposition to Prohibition.[2] His opponent,Hamilton Fish Kean, however, came out publicly for modification of the Volstead Act and, in early October, declared himself as opposed to Prohibition as Edwards. Though the Anti-Saloon League revoked its endorsement of Kean, he won in a landslide, helped by a general feeling of prosperity associated with Republican President Calvin Coolidge and rural opposition to the more urban Democratic coalition.[2]
Edwards married Blanche Smith on November 14, 1888. They had two children, Edward Irving Jr. and Elizabeth Jule.[2] She died in 1928.[2]
He was a member of the Episcopal Church and a Freemason.[2]
Following his wife's death and his departure from office in March 1929, Edwards's fortunes continued to decline. He went broke in theWall Street Crash of 1929 and was implicated in anelectoral fraud scandal.[2] Politically, he broke with Frank Hague and threatened to join the reform coalition against Hague in the 1930 election. He initially sought to run for Governor in 1931, but found himself blocked by Hague's preferred choice,A. Harry Moore.[2]
Edwards was diagnosed withskin cancer andshot himself in his apartment at 131 Kensington Avenue inJersey City, New Jersey on January 26, 1931.[1] He was 67 years old. He was buried inBayview – New York Bay Cemetery in the plot of his older brother, William David Edwards, who died in 1916.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Clarence Edward Case Acting Governor | Governor of New Jersey January 20, 1920 – January 15, 1923 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 1) from New Jersey March 4, 1923 – March 4, 1929 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic Nominee forGovernor of New Jersey 1919 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic Nominee for theU.S. Senate (Class 1) fromNew Jersey 1922,1928 | Succeeded by |
| Proprietary Province |  | |
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| East New Jersey | ||
| West New Jersey | ||
| Dominion of New England (1688–89) | ||
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| State (since 1776) |
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* UnderN.J.S.A. 52:15-5 (as amended in 2005), an acting governor serving for 180 continuous days or more is conferred the title of Governor. | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
