[2] Born in the Ottoman Empire to two native Greek parents, Alfange remained involved in Greek-American organizations for much of his life, as well as activist Zionist groups.

He ran for a number of offices, including Governor of New York, where his candidacy split the liberal vote, allowing Thomas E. Dewey to win the governorship.

After the war, he attended Hamilton College and graduated in 1922 with honors in philosophy, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa Society.

[2][3] Alfange remained active at the college, and when he received the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Award for his book The Supreme Court and the National Will, he donated the prize to Hamilton College, establishing the ongoing Dean Alfange Essay Award, given to two students each year for essays on American constitutional government.

[1] He criticized the United States Supreme Court for its treatment of New Deal programs, urging they adopt a more progressive attitude towards the policies.

[1] In 1940, Franklin Delano Roosevelt made Alfange chairman of the Democratic foreign-language speakers' bureau of his third election campaign.

[12] Alfange led a walkout against the American Labor Party in 1944, when pro and anti-Communist factions within the organization came into increased conflict.

[2][13] Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller named Alfange head of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board in the early 1970s.

[14] He also served as the chairman of the Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe, a group that sought to rescue victims of the then ongoing Holocaust.

It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say – 'This, with God's help, I have done.'