Joseph Patrick Tumulty (pronounced TUM-ulty; May 5, 1879 – April 9, 1954) was an American attorney and politician from

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

. He was a leader of the Irish Catholic political community. He is best known for his service from 1911 until 1921 as the private secretary of U.S. President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

Background

Tumulty was born on May 5, 1879 in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark. He attended St. Bridget's School, and graduated from Saint Peter's College, New Jersey in 1901. Tumulty was active in Democratic state politics in New Jersey, serving in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

in 1907-1910.

Career

As a state legislator, Tumulty acted as an adviser to Woodrow Wilson in his 1910 gubernatorial campaign. He then served as Wilson's

private secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in ...

in 1911, when Wilson was

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...

, and in 1913-1921 when Wilson was

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

. This position would in later years become the White House Chief of Staff. During his time as Wilson's secretary, Tumulty filled many different roles including press secretary, public relations manager, campaign organizer for the Catholic and Irish vote, and adviser for minor patronage appointments. His relationship with Wilson was nearly terminated over his opposition to Wilson's marriage in December 1915 to

Edith Wilson Edith Wilson ( Bolling, formerly Galt; October 15, 1872 – December 28, 1961) was the first lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921 and the second wife of President Woodrow Wilson. She married the widower Wilson in December 1915, during hi ...

only a few months after the death of his first wife. Although Wilson declined Tumulty's offer to resign, their relationship was never again as close. Following Wilson's reelection in 1916, the president yielded to anti-Catholic sentiment from Edith Wilson and Wilson's adviser Col. Edward M. House and dismissed Tumulty. Though he was ultimately reinstated after intervention by his former student David Lawrence, Tumulty's relationship with Edith Wilson remained frosty. Wilson left office in March 1921. Though his influence in Washington was greatly diminished thereafter, Tumulty remained in the city as a practicing attorney until his death 33 years later.

Hiss Case involvement

Wilson and Tumulty (4322929472) (cropped)

In August–September 1948, Tumulty was one of many prominent lawyers who advised

Alger Hiss Alger Hiss (November 11, 1904 – November 15, 1996) was an American government official accused in 1948 of having spied for the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Statutes of limitations had expired for espionage, but he was convicted of perjury in co ...

on whether to file a defamation suit against

Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer-editor, who, after early years as a Workers Party of America, Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet Union, Soviet spy (1932–1938), defe ...

after Chambers stated on NBC Radio's ''

Meet the Press ''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television Sunday morning talk shows, news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the List of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running program on American television, though the curr ...

'' that Hiss had been a Communist. On August 31, 1948, Hiss wrote to his lifelong friend and fellow Harvard lawyer

William L. Marbury, Jr. William Luke Marbury Jr. (September 12, 1901 – March 5, 1988) was a prominent 20th-century American lawyer who practiced with his family's law firm of Marbury, Miller & Evans (later Piper & Marbury, Piper Marbury Rudnick & Wolfe, Piper Rudnick ...

I am planning a suit for libel or defamation... The number of volunteer helpers is considerable: Freddy Pride of Dwight, Harris, Koegel & Casking (the offshoot of young Charles Hughes' firm), Fred Eaton of Shearman and Sterling, Eddie Miller of Mr. Dulles' firm, Marshall McDuffie, now no longer a lawyer; in Washington Joe Tumulty, Charlie Fahy, Alex Hawes, John Ferguson (Mr. Ballantine's son-in-law) and others–but the real job is get general overall counsel and that fortunately is now settled, but we must move swiftly as so far the committee with its large investigating staff and considerable resources has been able to seize the initiative continuously and regularly. Everyone has been most helpful...

Views

A "conservative progressive" in his own words, Tumulty was a proponent of

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

and war-time censorship, and was a supporter of A. Mitchell Palmer's deportation of Red (Communist) aliens in 1919. Wilson's absence from active-day-to-day executive leadership in 1919-1920 during the negotiations at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

, and his later severe

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

and illness meant that a significant share of the work of the White House was done by Tumulty and Edith Wilson, who continued to lobby against him. Tumulty's support of Palmer, and of "wet" presidential candidate

James M. Cox James Middleton Cox (March 31, 1870 July 15, 1957) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 46th and 48th governor of Ohio, and a two-term U.S. Representative from Ohio. As the Democratic nominee for President of the United ...

, ultimately led to his final break with Wilson. In his approach to politics, Tumulty was a believer in the power of the state to tackle inequities in American society. This was demonstrated in June 1919 when (at a time of great industrial unrest in the United States) Tumulty had recommended to Wilson that he call on Congress to advocate reforms that met the needs of working people. These included such reforms as a federal employment agency, federal housing, old-age pensions, a federal minimum wage, equal pay, a profit-sharing plan, and health insurance. Wilson failed, however, to encourage Congress to enact the kinds of measures advocated by Tumulty, although nearly all of his proposals would eventually be realized under the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Con ...

program of future Democratic president

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

Personal and death

Tumulty died on April 9, 1954, in

Olney, Maryland Olney is a U.S. census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located in the north central part of the county, north of Washington, D.C. Olney was largely agricultural unti ...

. He is buried in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in

Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city that serves as the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, and is part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fifth-largest community in ...

Works

Tumulty published a memoir, ''Woodrow Wilson As I Know Him'' (1921). The book enraged Wilson, who made it known that his former private secretary would never again be admitted into his presence or inner circle.

References

External links

* *
"Joseph Patrick Tumulty Papers"

* Blum, John Morton, ''Joe Tumulty and the Wilson Era'', Houghton Mifflin, 195
Read at Google Books
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tumulty, Joseph Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly 1870 births 1954 deaths American biographers Lawyers from Washington, D.C. New Jersey lawyers Saint Peter's University alumni Personal secretaries to the President of the United States Politicians from Jersey City, New Jersey Writers from Jersey City, New Jersey Catholics from New Jersey