The Prince of Pawtucket: The Life and Times of Thomas P. McCoy

William J. Jennings Jr.

In his 1986 doctoral dissertation, William Jennings gave Thomas McCoy the title of “Prince of Pawtucket.” In this new book on the legendary mayor of Pawtucket, Jennings gives us a vivid picture of the politics of that city in the 1920s through the 1940s that shows why McCoy was so deserving of this sobriquet.

During his long, colorful, and tumultuous political career, Thomas P. McCoy played three distinct roles: first as the Democratic political and socioeconomic reformer in the General Assembly during the 1920s; then as the creator of the powerful local political machine, from which he launched numerous assaults against the Democratic state organization in the 1930s in an attempt to gain the gubernatorial nomination; and finally, in the 1940s as the city boss content to remain within the confines of his native Pawtucket, provided that the state Democratic leaders granted him the patronage, the legislation, and the recognition that he demanded as a commensurate return for his ability to deliver the vote on election day for the party.

A genuine reformer during the initial years of his political career, McCoy evolved into a machine boss after his party gained control of Pawtucket in 1933. During his final years, he devoted himself almost exclusively toward maintaining himself in power. At that point in McCoy’s career, Lord Acton’s famous aphorism, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” described the boss’s transformation. More than any other Rhode Island politician of his day, McCoy was the archetypal boss. This is his story, based on years of interviews and research.