Bernard "Barney" Samuel (March 9, 1880 – January 12, 1954) was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician who served as the 115th

Mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Jim Kenney. History The first mayor of Philadelphia, ...

from 1941 to 1952. He is to date the last Republican elected mayor of Philadelphia.

Political career

Ascension to the office of Mayor

Samuel first won election to city council in 1923. When in 1939 George Connell, then president of city council, became acting mayor upon the death of S. Davis Wilson, Samuel ascended to the position of president pro tempore. Upon the death in August 1941 of Mayor Robert Lamberton, however, Samuel assumed the mayoralty for the remainder of Lamberton's term.

Mayoral tenure

Samuel won re-election to the mayor's office in

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

and

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

, defeating Democrats William Bullitt and

Richardson Dilworth Richardson K. Dilworth (August 29, 1898 – January 23, 1974) was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the 91st mayor of Philadelphia from 1956 to 1962. He twice ran as the Democratic nominee for governor of Pennsylvania, in 1 ...

respectively, to become the first multi-term mayor since

William Stokley William Strumberg Stokley was an American politician from Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great L ...

, who served from 1872 through 1881. His mayoral tenure was the longest in Philadelphia's history. He supported the creation of a city sales tax and was instrumental in creating a city wage tax. In defending the political machine he served, Samuel prepared the city for reform by endorsing creation of Philadelphia's highly touted City Planning Commission and supporting 1947's Better Philadelphia Exhibition, which subjected the failures of a "corrupt and contented" Republican political machine to harsh scrutiny and made the elections of 1949 and 1951 for city controller and mayor, respectively, landmarks in the city's political history.

1944 transit strike

Samuel took an active role in trying to quell the 1944 transit strike that beset the city. He closed all alcohol-selling establishments, and

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Edward Martin followed suit and closed the state liquor stores in the area.Winkler, p. 82 The city deployed its full police force, with extra police officers posted at major intersections and other vital points. The

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

, as well as other black civic groups, worked energetically to maintain calm among the black people of Philadelphia. They distributed more than 100,000 posters in black sections of the city, which read "Keep Your Heads and Your Tempers! ... Treat other people as you would be treated". The six-day strike was triggered by the decision of the

Philadelphia Transportation Company The Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) was the main public transit operator in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1940 to 1968. A private company, PTC was the successor to the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT), in operation since 19 ...

(PTC), made under prolonged pressure from the federal government in view of significant labor shortages, to allow black employees of the PTC to hold non-menial jobs, such as motormen and conductors, that were previously reserved for white workers only. It represents one of the most high-profile instances of the federal government invoking the

Smith–Connally Act The Smith–Connally Act or War Labor Disputes ActMalsberger, ''From Obstruction to Moderation: The Transformation of Senate Conservatism, 1938-1952,'' 2000, p. 104. (50 U.S.C. App. 1501 et seq.) was an American law passed on June 25, 1943, over Pr ...

. The Act had been passed in 1943 over President Roosevelt's veto. Samuel was succeeded by

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

reformist mayors

Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, writer, and politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal polit ...

, later a

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

, and

, later a Democratic candidate for

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

.Sorensen, Theodore. ''Kennedy''. New York: Harper and Row, 1965.

Death and legacy

Samuel is buried at

Arlington Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

suburban

Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania Drexel Hill is a neighborhood and census-designated place (CDP) located in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. The population was 29,181 at the 2020 census, up from 28,043 at the 2010 census, and accounting for over a third of Upper Darby's population. G ...

. He remains the last

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samuel, Bernard 1880 births 1954 deaths Mayors of Philadelphia Pennsylvania Republicans Philadelphia City Council members Articles containing video clips 20th-century American politicians Burials at Arlington Cemetery (Pennsylvania)