Nelson Johnson - Boardwalk Empire - The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City

36 Negroes are servants …W. E. B. Du Bois, Dark Water (Schocken Books, New York, 1920); reprint ed., 169, p. 115.

37 … artisans dwindled to only a handful. E. Franklin Frazier, The Negro in the United States (Macmillan, 1957), p. 165.

37 … 4 percent of that city’s population. E. Franklin Frazier, Ibid., p. 596.

37 By 1915, 50 years after the Civil War …H. J. Foster, Ibid., p. 60.

39 … highest paid at the time …H. J. Foster, Ibid., p. 101.

40 … “by the dump,” or “back of the hill” … The Negro in New Jersey , report of a survey by the Interracial Committee of the New Jersey Conference of Social Work in Cooperation with the NJ State Department of Institutions and Agencies, December 1932.

41 Unlike many other cities …H. J. Foster, Ibid., p. 141, note 12.

41 Time, time is the great cure-all …Samuel Lubbell, White and Black, Test of a Nation , (Harper & Row, 1964) p. 15.

43 “Down by the Sea Shore – Atlantic City,” Philadelphia Inquirer , July 23, 1900, p. 1.

45 The Negro Church … survived slavery. W. E. B. Du Bois, Some Efforts of American Negroes for Their Own Betterment (Schocken Books, 1898) p. 4.

45 … Du Bois argued … resentment of the stolen people. W. E. B. Du Bois, The Negro Church (Schocken Books, 1898) p. 5.

45 invisible institution …George F. Bragg, History of the Afro-American Group of the Episcopal Church (Schocken Books, 1922).

47 … shouting …E. Franklin Frazier, Ibid., p. 355.

48 A cornerstone of their church doctrine …H. J. Foster, Ibid., p. 198.

49 Among them were the Northside Board of Trade …H. J. Foster, Ibid., p. 202, citing U.S. Department of Commerce and Labor, Federal Writers Project.

50 Engine Company #9 … held the city record for efficiency six years in a row. Interview with Richard Jackson.

51 This young man is right. H. J. Foster, Ibid., p. 219.

52 … separate play yards …H. J. Foster, Ibid., p. 221.

52 The employment of colored teachers …Annual Report of the N. J. Board of Education, 1903, p. 93.

53 The few local Black physicians there were …H. J. Foster, Ibid., p. 201.

Chapter 4: Philadelphia’s Playground

Despite Atlantic City’s promotion of itself as the “World’s Playground,” Atlantic City was and is a creature of Philadelphia. Throughout its history, the Philadelphia Metropolitan Region has looked to Atlantic City as a place to go for a no-holds-barred good time. And in turn, Atlantic City has looked to Philadelphia not only as a prime source of patrons, but as the “big city,” where one would go to handle important matters, whether they be medical, financial, legal, or educational.

In some ways, Atlantic City was to Philadelphia what Coney Island was to New York. However, the relationship was and is more complex, and unlike Coney Island, Atlantic City was more remote geographically and had a very strong identity of its own. Coney Island was a resort within a city. Despite its dependence on Philadelphia, Atlantic City was a bustling little city all to itself.

55 What community would hail … Philadelphia Bulletin , August 2, 1890.

56 Do you gentlemen realize … Philadelphia Bulletin , August 10, 1890. Atlantic City was a favorite target of the Philadelphia Bulletin . The newspaper frequently published scolding editorials that began each summer season and trailed off with the coming of fall.

56 Excellent material on 19th-century Philadelphia and its emergence as a major industrial power and urban center is found in Philadelphia: A 300 Year History edited by Russell F. Weigley, (W.W. Norton & Company, 1981).

59 If the people who came to town had wanted Bible readings…Interview with Murray Fredericks, Esquire. Murray Fredericks’s family moved to the resort from New York City in 1905. As long-time associate in the practice of law (they were not “partners”) and adviser to Hap Farley, Murray knew where “the bones are buried.” It was a privilege to know him. I’m honored that he was so candid with me.

60 As to gambling houses … Philadelphia Bulletin , August 7, 1890.

61 “Newspaper is what you wrap fish in.”Interview with Richard Jackson.

61 It has been impossible to get indictments … Philadelphia Bulletin , August 13, 1908, pp. 1, 4.

61 Governor Fort’s “Proclamation” was published by the Philadelphia Bulletin on page 1, August 27, 1908.

62 The “Atlantic City Manifesto,” in reply to Governor Fort’s proclamation was printed by the Bulletin on September 8, 1908, p. 11.

65 The source of Kuehnle’s power …See “The Rise and Fall of Kuehnle,” Literary Digest , December 27, 1913, pp. 1285–93.

68 “the rawest ever known in the country”See Literary Digest, Ibid.

70 “The domination of politics by corporation-machine alliances had reached its full flower.”David W. Hirst, Woodrow Wilson, Reform Governor , (D. Van Nostrand Company, 1965) p. 33.

71 Harvey took it upon himself …D.W. Hirst, Ibid. p. 5.

72 The report of the Macksey Committee is discussed in the Literary Digest , Ibid.

75 entrapmentby “Mr. Franklin.” See Literary Digest , June 29, 1912.

77 The Commodore served his time without complaint.Interview with Mary Ill.

Chapter 5: The Golden Age of Nucky

79 There I am driving along …Interview with Joseph Hamilton, bus driver and backup chauffeur. I owe my chance opportunity of meeting him to my dear friend, Lou Testa, who provided physical therapy treatments to Mr. Hamilton prior to his death.

80 The personal sketches of Smith and Virginia Johnson are based on interviews with Mary Ill and Richard Jackson. By all accounts, Smith and Virginia were quite a force in early Atlantic City.

81 “Mabel Jeffries … Nucky just adored her.”Interview with Mary Ill.

82 “My father said … he was a changed man.”Interview with Mary Ill. Mary was the only person who possessed any reliable knowledge of Nucky’s relationship with Mabel. She claims Mabel was his one true love and that he would likely have been a very different man had she lived.

82 “Running for election was beneath a real boss.”Interview with Richard Jackson.

83 Nucky Johnson “owned” the Black vote …Interviews with Richard Jackson and Murray Fredericks.

83 “With Nucky … You paid or he shut you down.”Interview with Murray Fredericks, Esquire.

84 “Edge was a stuffed shirt, but he knew where to go … Nucky Johnson.”Interview with Joseph Messick, Professor of South Jersey History at Atlantic Community College. Joe was a wealth of information on the history of southern New Jersey. I had the privilege of serving with him on the Atlantic County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

85 “Can you imagine that …”Interview with Richard Jackson.

86 “I make my money by supplying a public demand.”John Kobler, The Life and World of Al Capone , (G. P. Putnam’s Sons 1971). See p. 157.