Smith’s radio appeals generated massive public pressure on legislators

Evidence

But “sacred constitutional property rights” and the price of office furnishings weren’t the issue to the steaming millions of New York City—or of the state’s other cities. Twice more before the session Smith took to the air to speak, twice more he pounded on the theme of the few against the many, of wealth, privilege and influence against the masses, of parks against the millionaires’ golf clubs. The mailboxes of legislators were situated in 1925 in the “midway,” the corridor between Senate and Assembly Chambers on the third floor of the capitol. Each morning, as reporters headed for the legislative chambers, they could see those mailboxes. After each of Smith’s speeches, the mailboxes were overflowing with letters and postcards supporting the Governor. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 865

Categorization

• SEED: The detail of legislative mailboxes ‘overflowing’ after radio appeals is a vivid case study for an essay on how mass-media direct appeal to constituents historically trumps inside lobbying — the forerunner of today’s email/phone-banking campaigns.
• XREF: Connects to Caro’s broader theme of Moses learning that public opinion is the decisive weapon against institutional opposition — which parallels how Smith himself used radio in the fight for the state park system. — connects to: Political pressure, not the court judgment alone, deterred an appeal — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up: Environmental…, 84

Broader Connections

• Political pressure, not the court judgment alone, deterred an appeal #corroborates (0.78) — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up, 84