George Smathers
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| George Armistead Smathers | |
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| In office January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1969 |
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| Preceded by | Claude Pepper |
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| Succeeded by | Edward J. Gurney |
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| In office January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1951 |
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| Preceded by | Pat Cannon |
| Succeeded by | William C. Lantaff |
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Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Small Business
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| In office January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1969 |
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| Preceded by | John J. Sparkman |
| Succeeded by | Alan Bible |
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| Born | November 14, 1913 Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Died | January 20, 2007 (aged 93) Indian Creek, Florida |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | (1) Rosemary Townley (div.) (2) Carolyn Hyder |
| Profession | Lawyer |
George Armistead Smathers (November 14, 1913 – January 20, 2007) was an American lawyer and politician who represented Florida in the United States Senate for eighteen years, from 1951 until 1969, as a member of the Democratic Party.
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[edit] Early life
Smathers was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey (his uncle, William H. Smathers, was a U.S. senator representing New Jersey). His family moved to Miami, Florida in 1919, and he attended the University of Florida for his undergraduate degree and law school education. At Florida, he was president of his fraternity (Sigma Alpha Epsilon), captain of the basketball team, president of the student body, and a member of Florida Blue Key; he was later named to the University of Florida Hall of Fame. After completing his LL.B. in 1938, Smathers returned to Miami, where he served as Assistant United States Attorney from 1940 to 1942. During World War II, he served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps.
At Harvard Law School, Smathers was a classmate of Philip Graham, a fellow Floridian, and both were acolytes of Professor Felix Frankfurter. Graham (1915-1963) would later become Publisher of The Washington Post. Graham would support his friend's political ambitions; at Harvard Law, the two were thought of by classmates as being "future president and chief justice" of the United States.
[edit] Political career
After the war, Smathers was elected to serve two terms in the United States House of Representatives, representing Florida's Fourth Congressional District from 1947 to 1951. He established a reputation for being a moderate who was resolutely anti-communist. The handsome politician was known as "Gorgeous George" by his enemies[1]
[edit] Election to Senate
In 1950 President Harry Truman called Smathers into a meeting at the White House and reportedly said "I want you to do me a favor. I want you to beat that son-of-a-bitch Claude Pepper."[1] Pepper had been part of an unsuccessful 1948 campaign to "dump Truman" as the Democratic presidential nominee. Smathers challenged the incumbent United States Senator Claude Pepper in the Democratic primary, and won by a margin of over 60,000 votes. The race was marked by echoes of the Red Scare: Smathers repeatedly attacked Pepper for having Communist sympathies, pointing out his pro-civil rights platform and campaign for universal health care as well as his travels to the Soviet Union in 1945 where, after meeting Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, declared he was "a man Americans could trust."[1]
However, the race is most famous for a speech Smathers never gave.[2] A reporter made up a hoax that Smathers gave a speech to a rural audience using fancy words to create the implication that Pepper was sinister. Smathers reportedly had said, "Are you aware that Claude Pepper is known all over Washington as a shameless extrovert? Not only that, but this man is reliably reported to practice nepotism with his sister-in-law, and he has a sister who was once a thespian in wicked New York. Worst of all, it is an established fact that Mr. Pepper before his marriage habitually practiced celibacy,"[3] While it is sometimes said that Time magazine reported these items, the magazine actually referred to the quote as a "yarn."[4] The leading reporter who actually covered Smathers said he always gave the same hum-drum speech. No Florida newspapers covering the campaign ever reported such remarks contemporaneously. Smathers offered $10,000 to anyone who could prove he said it, and there were no takers before his death.[5][1]
Smathers served as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for six years.
[edit] Stand on Civil Rights
Smathers denounced the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education rulings as a "clear abuse of judicial power." In 1956, Smathers signed the infamous Southern Manifesto condemning the Supreme Court decision to desegregate the public school system.
In the Seante, Smathers voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and tried to water-down other equal rights measures that President Lyndon Baines Johnson put through Congress. He opposed Johnson's elevation of Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme Court.
[edit] Relationship With JFK
Smathers befriended John F. Kennedy and attended his wedding, speaking on beahlf of JFK at the wedding dinner rehearsal.[2] During the 1960 presidential campaign, Smathers was a favorite son candidate for the Democratic nomination. He later managed John F. Kennedy's campaign in the Southeast.
It was leaked to the press that an emerging scandal involving the corrupt activities of Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson aide Bobby Baker, prompted President John F. Kennedy to privately offer Smathers the second spot on the 1964 presidential ticket and a plan to drop Johnson as his running mate.[citation needed]
[edit] Retirement from Politics
In 1968, Smathers declined to run for re-election and retired from politics. He continued to keep his hand in the game, though, as a lobbyist.
[edit] Later life
Soon after leaving the Senate, Smathers divorced his first wife, Rosemary Townley Smathers. In addition to lobbying, Smathers became a successful businessmen, involved in a wide variety of interests, including automobile dealerships and orange groves. He sold a house on Key Biscayne to JFK's old nemesis, Richard Nixon, when Nixon was looking for a residence in Florida.
The former Senator became a rich man as both a lobbyist and businessman. His business interests made him wealthy enough that he was able to make substantial gifts to the University of Miami and the University of Florida. In 1991, Smathers gave a $20 million gift to the University of Florida library system, now known as the George A. Smathers Libraries. He later also gave a $10 million gift to the University of Miami.
Smathers resided in exclusive Indian Creek Island off of Miami Beach and was father to two sons, John (b. 1941) and Bruce Smathers (b. 1943) (Florida Secretary of State 1975-78) from his marriage to Townley.
[edit] Other Notable Facts
- The current senior US Senator from Florida, Bill Nelson, was an intern during the summers of 1961 & 1962 in Smathers' Washington office.[6]
- During his life, Smathers personally knew eleven United States Presidents, starting with FDR. He was a close friend of both John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. When asked to contrast these two very different men, Smathers said that although he was very fond of both, Kennedy was a lot more "fun".
- Smathers was reported to be the only non-Kennedy/Bouvier family member to have been in the highly publicized 1953 wedding in Newport (RI) and was co-bestman with Robert Kennedy.
- Smathers introduced close friend and Key Biscayne neighbor Charles Rebozo to Richard Nixon. Smathers had recommended Key Biscayne as a vacation destination to Nixon. While Nixon was vacationing in Key Biscayne, Smathers had Rebozo take Nixon deep sea fishing. Smathers later sold Nixon his Key Biscayne home which became famous as the Florida White House.
- Smathers Beach, a popular Key West destination, is named after the senator.
- Smathers served as a guest panelist on episode #360 of the television game show What's My Line?, which originally aired on April 28, 1957, and in 1957, appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and was frequently a guest on Larry King Live and other news programs.
- Smathers was the last surviving senatorial signer of the Southern Manifesto and was the last living member of congress from the 1940s.
- Smathers often attended "Church by the Sea", the United Church of Christ church in Bal Harbour, Florida where his funeral was held. [3]
- Smathers remains are located in Arlington National Cemetery.
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Pat Cannon |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 4th congressional district 1947 – 1951 |
Succeeded by William C. Lantaff |
| United States Senate | ||
| Preceded by Claude Pepper |
United States Senator (Class 3) from Florida 1951 – 1969 Served alongside: Spessard Holland |
Succeeded by Edward J. Gurney |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by John Sparkman |
Chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee 1967 – 1969 |
Succeeded by Alan Bible |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Thomas Hennings |
Secretary of Senate Democratic Conference 1960 – 1967 |
Succeeded by Robert Byrd |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by Russell B. Long |
Most Senior Living U.S. Senator (Sitting or Former) May 9, 2003 – January 20, 2007 |
Succeeded by Robert Byrd |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Brian Lewis Crispell. Testing the Limits: George Armistead Smathers and Cold War America (1999), the standard scholarly biography
- ^ a b c Fund, John, PoliticalJournal "George Smathers, RIP", January 24, 2007
- ^ Crispell 66-67
- ^ ABC News: ABC News
- ^ Anything Goes - TIME
- ^ State: A born winner, if not a native Floridian
- ^ Palm Beach Post, October 22, 2006.
[edit] External links
- 1962 Democratic Fundraiser Footage; Kennedy commentary on Smathers
- Interviews with Smathers
- Newspaper Article
- Miami Sun Sentinel, report of death
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