Both were driven around in fancy cars, owned several homes, hosted lavish parties, and maintained a bevy of staffers to cater to their every need. But they both shared expensive tastes, most notably in the form of a fresh red carnation adorning their lapels. The real Nucky was tall and bald with a booming voice, contrasted with the fictional Nucky, who is smaller and quieter. Nucky Johnson, described in the book Boardwalk Empire as a “decadent monarch,” differed significantly in appearance from his fictional counterpart played by Steve Buscemi. This gave Nucky free rein to control Atlantic City. Despite the Commodore’s enduring popularity, Nucky essentially took over much of his power and kept The Commodore at bay by supporting him for City Commissioner. When The Commodore returned to Atlantic City, he found that Nucky had rapidly ascended as the local leader of the Republican Party. Enoch or “Nucky” as he would come to be known, made a name for himself at trial by arrogantly defying the Attorney General.Įnoch “Nucky” Johnson quickly emerged as The Commodore’s successor after The Commodore was sentenced to prison for one year. Despite being indicted, Enoch (and most others aligned with the Commodore) was acquitted thanks to friendly jurors. One name that came up during these investigations was that of the newly crowned sheriff, Enoch Johnson, the son of Smith Johnson. Unsurprisingly, a massive amount of damning evidence was accumulated that pointed directly to The Commodore as the orchestrator of widespread fraud. Lopsided electoral victories resulted in The Commodore having widespread political influence throughout the State of New Jersey.Īn investigation into election fraud was sparked by then-Governor Woodrow Wilson in 1911. Non-voters were often harassed until they went to the polls. This resulted in people voting multiple times. A member of the Republican Party, The Commodore would have his workers pay $2 per ballot to anyone who voted Republican. In addition to the genuine support he received from the community, The Commodore also empowered his political operation via bald-faced election fraud. Upgrades to the city’s infrastructure were good for business, making The Commodore a beloved figure among many (but not all) business owners. He more or less single-handedly broke up a telephone monopoly, rebuilt the boardwalk, paved the roads, improved utility services, and created a new public transportation system. It might seem surprising that anyone would tolerate this fundamentally undemocratic system of governance, but the plain reality was that The Commodore was extraordinarily effective at solving the city’s problems. In real life, much like in the show, The Commodore came to control the city’s business and political dealings to the extent that, as Johnson writes in his book, “every candidate, employee, city contract, and mercantile license required his nod of approval.” In Atlantic City’s early years, this boss was Louis Kuehnle, commonly known around town as “The Commodore.” Kuehnle served as the inspiration for Nucky Thompson’s mentor in Boardwalk Empire, also called The Commodore ( Dabney Coleman). This, in combination with the city’s “boss” system, resulted in the continuation of the illicit status quo.Ī “boss,” such as New York City’s William Tweed, is an individual with prominent business and political connections who serves as the sort of unofficial mayor of a city, albeit with far more power than the actual mayor. Virtually everyone in Atlantic City either directly profited from illegal business or knew people who did. Periodically, newspapers and politicians would become irate that so many brothels and gambling dens were known to operate in A.C., but it didn’t result in much reform. At this time, the city primarily served working-class customers from Philadelphia looking for a reprieve from their grueling jobs. Prior to Prohibition, Atlantic City already had the reputation of being a freewheeling, law-skirting seaside resort town.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |