Charles Henry Tuttle (April 21, 1879 – January 26, 1971) was an American lawyer, politician and civic activist. He was the 1930

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 ...

nominee for

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...

in the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

against

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

Early life and education

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on April 21, 1879, he was raised by his mother and his grandfather Isaac H. Tuttle following the death of his father H. Croswell Tuttle. Tuttle received a bachelor's degree from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1899. He received his law degree from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

in 1902, passed the bar and became an attorney.

Start of career

From 1902 to 1927 Tuttle was a lawyer with the New York City firm of Davies, Stone and Auerbach. He also became active in the New York City Republican party.

Service as U.S. Attorney

In 1927, President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

appointed Tuttle as

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in eight New York counties: New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess and Sullivan. Establishe ...

. During his three years as a prosecutor Tuttle earned a reputation as an anticorruption crusader, winning convictions of numerous public officials, including federal Judge Francis A. Winslow and Kings County Judge W. Bernard Vause. During Tuttle's investigation into

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

's connection to organized crime and corruption, he discovered that Vause was paid $190,000 in return for obtaining pier leases for a shipping company. In another Tuttle case, Judge Albert Vitale was accused of owing $19,600 to gangster

Arnold Rothstein Arnold Rothstein (January 17, 1882 – November 4, 1928), nicknamed "The Brain", was an American racketeer, crime boss, businessman, and gambler in New York City. Rothstein was widely reputed to have organized corruption in professional athleti ...

, and was investigated by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court for failing to explain how he accrued $165,000 over four years while receiving a total judicial salary of $48,000 during that same period. Vitale was removed from the bench and George Ewald, who succeeded him, was accused of paying Tammany Hall $10,000 in order to obtain the seat. In 1927 Tuttle led an investigation into price gouging by

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

ticket agencies. During his term as U.S. Attorney Tuttle also successfully prosecuted several crooked

bail bondsmen Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countries, ...

. Tuttle also successfully prosecuted the Moscahlades and Dachis Brothers

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

rings, organizations responsible for several for profit fires in New York City. In 1928 the British cruise ship Vestris sank and 111 passengers and crew were killed, including American tourists. Tuttle investigated, and his work led to major reforms in international maritime safety. In 1930 Tuttle sent Albany's Democratic political boss

Daniel P. O'Connell Daniel Patrick "Dan" O'Connell (November 13, 1885 – February 28, 1977) was a longtime leader of the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Party political machine in Albany County, New York, Albany County, New York (state), New York. O'Conne ...

to jail in New York City for

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...

. Tuttle was investigating illegal activities in Albany, including

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

, and O'Connell refused to answer his questions.

1930 campaign for New York Governor

Tuttle's high profile as U.S. Attorney made him a likely candidate for political office, and on September 17, 1930, he resigned as U.S. Attorney in anticipation of running 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 ...

. He won the

nomination at the state party's September 26 convention. Although he described himself personally as "dry" on the issue of

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

(in favor of keeping alcohol production and consumption illegal), Tuttle favored repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment and argued that individual states, not the federal government, should be free to regulate alcohol as they saw fit. He hoped to campaign on an anticorruption platform, but his opposition to federal prohibition drew fierce criticism from rural Drys. Deciding that he was not sufficiently in favor of Prohibition, the Drys fielded a third party candidate. The Drys argued that Tuttle was too weakly for prohibition, New York Democrats argued that Tuttle was a Wet (because he favored repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment. During the campaign, Democrats mocked the Republican ticket of Tuttle (an alleged Wet) and lieutenant governor nominee Caleb Baumes (a prominent Dry who supported the Eighteenth Amendment) as asking for votes by trying to please all sides on the Prohibition issue. On November 4 Tuttle lost to Roosevelt by what was then the largest plurality in New York State history. Roosevelt's victory was attributed to Tuttle's position on Prohibition, as well as the hard economic times of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, for which voters blamed Republicans. As a result of his landslide, Roosevelt became the frontrunner for the presidency in 1932.

Later career and civic activism

After losing the race for governor, Tuttle returned to practicing law as senior partner in the firm of Breed, Abbott & Morgan. He also served on the Metropolitan Rapid Transit Commission and maintained an active role in the Republican party. Tuttle was also active in numerous charities and civic causes. From 1913 to 1966 he was a member of the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

board of trustees. He chaired his local Selective Service Board during both

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. An advocate of racial integration, Tuttle helped draft New York State's law against discriminatory hiring. Active in the Episcopal church, he worked to advance tolerance and ecumenical unity with

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

leaders as a leader of the Greater New York Federation of Churches. In 1945 Tuttle received the Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre from the

Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem , image = , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Coat of arms , abbreviation = , type = , main_classification = , orientation = , scripture = ...

. Through the 1940s, Tuttle was one of only four Americans to have received the award, with the other three being Presidents

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...

, and

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

Retirement and death

After retiring from practicing law, Tuttle was counsel

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at Breed, Abbott & Morgan. He also maintained a summer home in Lake George and served for many years as counsel for the Lake George Association. Tuttle died in New York City on January 26, 1971, and was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Lake George, New York.

Personal

In 1907 Tuttle married Helene L. Wheeler of

Oswego, New York Oswego () is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in Upstate New York, about 35 miles (55km) northwest of Syracuse. It promotes itself as "The Port C ...

. Mrs. Tuttle was born on November 12, 1881, and died on October 6, 1968. They had four children, son H. Croswell Tuttle, and three daughters, Evelyn, Charlotte and Helene Jasmine.Obituary, Jasmine Tuttle Bryant
Syracuse Post-Standard, November 30, 2008

References

External links

*
Finding Aid to the Charles H. Tuttle Papers

New York State Library The New York State Library is a research library in Albany, New York, United States. It was established in 1818 to serve the state government of New York and is part of the New York State Education Department. The library is one of the largest ...

, accessed February 8, 2011
Film Clip, Charles H. Tuttle with family after winning gubernatorial nomination, September 30, 1930
Critical Past.com web site, accessed February 8, 2011
Profile page, Life Stories of a Celebrated Lawyer in New York and Lake George: The Memoirs of Charles H. Tuttle, Esq
Amazon.com, accessed February 8, 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuttle, Charles H. 1879 births 1971 deaths 20th-century American politicians 20th-century United States government officials American civil rights lawyers American people of World War I American people of World War II Burials in New York (state) City College of New York people Columbia Law School alumni Franklin D. Roosevelt Politicians from New York City New York (state) Republicans People from Manhattan People from Lake George, New York United States Attorneys for the Southern District of New York Activists from New York (state) Columbia College (New York) alumni