Alfred (Al) E. Smith (1873-1944) was a New York governor nominated by the Democratic Party for president in 1928. He lost the general election in a landslide to Herbert Hoover. Although Smith’s membership in the Roman Catholic church probably gained some votes, it also stirred anti-Catholic sentiments that may have contributed to his loss.Letter by

Many vice presidents of the United States stay in the background and out of the limelight, but not unlike what he had done for President Dwight Eisenhower, President Richard M. Nixon’s vice president, Spiro T. Agnew, often played the role of an attack dog, mobilizing support for the president with his rhetoric.   Agnew, the son