PAF 9199
David Hoffman
Omar Douce
7-24-15
Notes on a NYC Mayoral Inaugural Address: John Lindsay 1966
When John Lindsay took office as Mayor of New York City in the mid 1960’s, the city was faced with numerous challenges. Some of these challenges included a transit and teacher union strike that occurred moments after taking office. John Lindsay was the first Republican to be elected Mayor of New York City since Fiorello La Guardia in 1941 and in order to get anything accomplished his mayoralty he had to work with the Democrats. Prior to his election of NYC Mayor, John Lindsay represented New York’s 17th Congressional District which at the time comprised mainly the upper east side of Manhattan. [i] Major legislation that John Lindsay advocated for or supported included Medicare and Civil rights.
The major themes in John Lindsay’s 1966 inaugural address that I picked up were unity, change, pragmatism and tolerance. [ii]While his predecessor Robert F. Wagner Jr. had established CUNY (City University of New York), public housing and appointed a large number of minorities to government positions, there were numerous tension that occurred during his final term. The assassinations of Catherine Genovese and Malcom X in 1964 and 1965 respectively, the Harlem riots of 1964 and the newspapers strikes of 1962-1963 were prime examples of some of the problems New York City was facing. John Lindsay believed that by working together we can solve any problem that New York City faces. The most important sentence that summons up his speech was this “Divided, we can do little to meet powerful challenges facing the city. United, there is little we cannot do.”
John Lindsay gave his inaugural address in City Hall Plaza. In his case, a transit strike was occurring moments before John Lindsay took the office[iii]. John Lindsay won in larger part because he campaigned against collective bargaining which was signed by Robert Wagner Jr. in 1958. Also, John Lindsay was the first Mayor of New York City not to be associated with Tammany Hall in any manner which marked a new generation of leadership. In regards to the transit strike that was taking place he said in his inaugural address “It is an act of defiance against eight million people. I shall not permit the public interest to be flaunted, no matter how sever the stress.” The contract between the Transit Workers Union and Amalgamated Transit Union with New York City expiredNew Year’s Eve in 1965. The President of TWU Mike Quill wanted a package increase on salary, health benefits etc.. Approximately a week after taking office John Lindsay met most of the demands of the Unions. The Taylor law was passed as a result. [iv]
In John Lindsay Inaugural address, I picked up plenty of key figurative terms. The language terms I recognized were alliteration, personification, metaphor and anaphora. For instance, near the climax of his address, I saw the phrases” we will” and “the fight”. John Lindsay was advocating for better employment, more efficient education, a cleaner environment and additional parks and recreation centers. For personification, one decent quote in his address was “New York symbolizes aspiration of man-power, fame and wealth.” If you work hard anything for anything and with the right connections you too can be successful. Overall, I felt that John Lindsay first inaugural address was point and made good of his promise of reforming New York City and being more transparent after the Tammany Hall era. One book I would recommend reading to get a better insight on John Lindsay’s Morality would be The Ungovernable Cityby Vincent Cannato.
[i]"New York’s 17th Congressional District." GovTrack.us. GovTrack Us, 4 Jan. 2015. Web. 27 July 2015.
[ii]Herezehorn, David. "They All Took the Oath. One Took a Bus.; Inaugural Styles Reflect Mayoral Personalities." The New York Times. The New York Times, 31 Dec. 2001. Web. 27 July 2015.
[iii]"The Transit Strike ...... Who's to Blame? | News | The Harvard Crimson." The Transit Strike ...... Who's to Blame? | News | The Harvard Crimson. The Harvard Crimson. Web. 27 July 2015.
[iv]"The Taylor Law." NYS PERB STATUTE. NYS PERB STATUTE, 12 Aug. 2013. Web. 27 July 2015.