Seth Low (January 18, 1850 – September 17, 1916) was an American public figure. He chronologically served as the 23rd mayor of Brooklyn from 1881 to 1885, the 11th president of Columbia University from 1890 to 1901, a diplomatic representative of the United States to the International Peace Conference at The Hague in 1899, and the 93rd mayor of New York City from 1902 to 1903. He was a leading municipal reformer fighting for efficiency during the Progressive Era.
Low was the son of Abiel Abbot Low and Ellen Almira Dow. Low's father was a leading trader in China, and his father's sister, Harriet Low, was one of the first young American women to live in China. The Low family was old Puritan New England stock, descended from Thomas Low of Essex County, Massachusetts. Low was named after his grandfather Seth Low (1782–1853) who moved with his son Abiel to Brooklyn to start a prosperous importing company. When Brooklyn was incorporated as a city in 1834, Seth the elder was one of the incorporators; he also served on the Board of Aldermen and was first President of the Board of Education. Seth the elder was also involved with charity and support work for the poor; on his deathbed, he admonished his three-year-old grandson and namesake: "Be kind to the poor."
Low's father was a Unitarian, and his mother was an Episcopalian. For years, Low wavered between the two faiths. Finally, at age 22, Low decided he would henceforth be an Episcopalian.
Low attended Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn and Columbia College. After graduating from Columbia in 1870, Low made a short trip abroad, and then entered the tea and silk house of A. A. Low & Brothers, which had been founded by his father in New York. In 1875, he was admitted a member of the firm, from which, upon its liquidation in 1888, he withdrew with a large fortune.
In the mid-1870s, Low began to lay the groundwork for his political career by supporting "welfare reform" and the elimination of food and coal disbursements for the poor which caused "starving people" to gather at "warehouses where food was stored" to beg for help. During this period, the reform movement, of which Low was a stalwart, denounced emergency assistance of potatoes and flour for the poor. The reduction in welfare assistance for the poor led many to seek shelter in "police station basements" and in city hospitals, and led many poor parents to bring "their children to asylums" and many men to beg on the streets for "charity or work."
On December 9, 1880, Low married Anne Wroe Scollay Curtis of Boston, daughter of Justice Benjamin R. Curtis of the United States Supreme Court. They had no biological children, but adopted two nieces and a nephew.
By 1881, Brooklyn had been governed for years by a corrupt Democratic political machine under Hugh McLaughlin. By this time, a wave of goo-goo (or "good government") sentiment had begun to gain favor, and public sentiment was starting to turn against the incumbent Democratic regime.
Brooklyn Republicans sensed an opportunity, but they were split between the "stalwart" candidate Benjamin F. Tracy and reform candidate Ripley Ropes. Low had no particular ambition to become mayor, but his name was brought forth as a compromise, because his wealth and old family name appealed to the "stalwarts" and his reformist views appealed to the reformers. He accepted the nomination at the Republican city convention, stating that he would not be a partisan mayor. He defeated the incumbent Democrat James Howell after a two-week campaign, 45,434 votes to 40,937.
Low's time in office was marked by a number of reforms:
Low's major achievement as mayor was to secure a degree of "home rule" of the city. Previously, the State Government dictated city policies, hiring, salaries, and other affairs. He also managed to secure an unofficial veto over all Brooklyn bills in the State Assembly.
Low instituted a number of educational reforms. He was the first to integrate Brooklyn schools. He introduced free textbooks for all students, not just those who had taken a pauper's oath. He instituted a competitive examination for hiring teachers, instead of giving teaching jobs to pay political debts. He set aside $430,000 for the construction of new schools to accommodate 10,000 new students.
Low introduced Civil Service Code to all city employees, eliminating patronage jobs.
German immigrants wanted to enjoy their local beer gardens on the Sabbath, in violation of state "dry" laws and the demands of local puritanical clergy. His compromise solution was that saloons could stay open as long as they were orderly. At the first sign of rowdiness, they would be closed.
Low served as a member of the board of the New York Bridge Company, the company that built the Brooklyn Bridge, and led an unsuccessful effort to remove Washington Roebling as the chief engineer on that project.
Low raised the tax rate from $2.33 of $100 assessed valuation in 1881 to $2.59 in 1883. He also went after property owners who had not paid back taxes. This increase in city revenue enabled him to reduce the city's debt and increase services. However, raising taxes proved extremely unpopular.
Low's tax increases and non-partisan governing policy lost him a measure of public support. By 1883, fellow Republicans were criticizing him openly, and the press was critical of his tax policy. Although the Democrats ran the weak, nearly unknown candidate Joseph C. Hendrix in 1883, Low beat him by a slimmer margin than his first election. While he had won his first term by 5,000 votes, he squeaked by for re-election with only a 1,548-vote margin.
In 1884, Low's mugwump support of Democrat Grover Cleveland in 1884 furthered the rift with his fellow Republicans. He declined to run for a third term in 1885, and refused to support Republican nominee General Isaac S. Catlin. Instead, he supported a reform candidate, General John B. Woodward. By this time, the public was losing their attraction to reform, and Democrat Daniel D. Whitney won election. With Whitney came the return of Democratic machine politics for another seven years. By 1892, some writers were looking back on Low's tenure as a "Golden Age" of clean government.
President of Columbia University