Thomas C. Platt

Thomas C. Platt
Platt in 1903
United States Senator
from New York
In office
March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1909
Preceded byDavid B. Hill
Succeeded byElihu Root
In office
March 4, 1881 – May 16, 1881
Preceded byFrancis Kernan
Succeeded byWarner Miller
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York
In office
March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1877
Preceded byHorace B. Smith
Succeeded byJeremiah W. Dwight
Constituency27th district (1873–75)
28th district (1875–77)
Personal details
Born
Thomas Collier Platt

(1833-07-15)July 15, 1833
Owego, New York
DiedMarch 6, 1910(1910-03-06) (aged 76)
New York City, New York
Political partyRepublican
EducationYale College (did not graduate)
Signature

Thomas Collier Platt (July 15, 1833 – March 6, 1910), also known as Tom Platt[1] and Easy Boss,[2] was an American politician who was a two-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1873–1877) and a three-term U.S. Senator from New York in 1881 and 1897 to 1909. He is best known as the "political boss" of the Republican Party in New York State in the late 19th century and early 20th century.[3] Upon his death, the New York Times stated that "no man ever exercised less influence in the Senate or the House of Representatives than he," but "no man ever exercised more power as a political leader."[4] He considered himself the "political godfather" of many Republican governors of the state, including Theodore Roosevelt.[5]

Platt played a key role in the creation of the City of Greater New York, which incorporated together the boroughs of New York (Manhattan), Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, Richmond (Staten Island) and Bronx counties.

  1. ^ About the Vice President | Levi Parsons Morton, 22nd Vice President (1889-1893). United States Senate via Internet Archive. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  2. ^ August 24, 2016. Thomas Collier Platt. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  3. ^ Samuel P. Orth, The Boss and the Machine, 124 (1919).
  4. ^ "Progress and Fall of Platt, Easy Boss," New York Times, June 7, 1910 at p. 2.
  5. ^ Thomas C. Platt, "The Autobiography of Thomas Collier Platt" (1910).