George Smathers

"Senator Smathers" redirects here. For other uses, see Senator Smathers (disambiguation).

George Smathers
Chair of the Senate Small Business Committee
In office January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1969
Preceded by	John Sparkman
Succeeded by	Alan Bible
Chair of the Senate Aging Committee
In office January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1967
Preceded by	Patrick V. McNamara
Succeeded by	Harrison A. Williams
Secretary of Senate Democratic Conference
In office September 13, 1960 – January 3, 1967
Leader	Lyndon B. Johnson Mike Mansfield
Preceded by	Thomas Hennings
Succeeded by	Robert Byrd
United States Senator from Florida
In office January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1969
Preceded by	Claude Pepper
Succeeded by	Edward Gurney
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 4th district
In office January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1951
Preceded by	Pat Cannon
Succeeded by	Bill Lantaff
Personal details
Born	George Armistead Smathers (1913-11-14)November 14, 1913 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	January 20, 2007(2007-01-20) (aged 93) Indian Creek, Florida, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Rosemary Townley (Divorced) Carolyn Hyder
Children	2, including Bruce
Education	University of Florida (BA, LLB)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Marine Corps
Battles/wars	World War II

George Armistead Smathers (November 14, 1913 – January 20, 2007) was an American lawyer and politician who represented the state of Florida in the United States Senate from 1951 until 1969 and in the United States House from 1947 to 1951, as a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life, education and military service

Smathers was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the son of Lura Frances (Jones) and Benjamin Franklin Smathers. The Smathers Family moved to New Jersey from western North Carolina. Frank Smathers served as a state judge in New Jersey and his brother, William H. Smathers, represented New Jersey in the United States Senate. Frank Smathers moved his family to Miami, Florida, when George Smathers was six. Smathers attended Miami High School before earning his bachelor’s and law degree at the University of Florida. At Florida, Smathers was captain of the basketball team, a member of the track team, a member of the theatre group, and captain of the debate team. He joined the Sigma Alpha Epsilon social fraternity and was tapped for Florida Blue Key, a campus leadership and service organization. He was elected as President of the Student Body without opposition in 1936. Smathers was inducted into the University’s Student Hall of Fame and later into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame. After completing his LL.B. in 1939, Smathers married Rosemary Townley from Atlanta and returned to Miami, where he served as Assistant United States Attorney from 1939 to 1942.  During World War II, he volunteered for the U.S. Marine Corps and served with Marine Light Bomber Squadron 413 for 19 months in the South Pacific. He survived a crash landing when his light bomber was damaged by enemy fire. Smathers returned to Miami after the war and quickly started his political career.

Political career

Smathers with John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and other congressional freshmen in 1947

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 except for his anti-communism.

House of Representatives

In 1946, Smathers defeated four-term incumbent Congressman Pat Cannon by a margin of over two-to-one. Smathers served two terms in the United States House of Representatives, representing Florida’s Fourth Congressional District from 1947 to 1951. He established a reputation as a southern liberal and a rising Democratic leader. He was best known for his strong support for President Truman and the Truman Doctrine to contain Soviet and Communist aggression. He fought to make Miami a gateway to Latin American commerce and cultural exchange. Congressman Smathers sponsored legislation to create the Florida Everglades National Park and supported the 24^th Constitutional Amendment outlawing the poll tax in federal elections.

1950 Senate Democratic Primary

Main article: 1950 United States Senate election in Florida

Congressman Smathers' district included the "Winter White House" of President Harry Truman in Key West, Florida. Smathers was invited by Truman to fly with him from Washington to Key West, establishing a key relationship with President Truman and members of his Cabinet. In 1949, President Truman called Smathers into a meeting at the White House and said, "I want you to do me a favor. I want you to beat that son-of-a-bitch Claude Pepper." Senator Pepper had been a strong critic of President Truman and the Truman Doctrine and had taken a prominent and visible role in the unsuccessful effort to "dump Truman" in the weeks leading up to the 1948 Democratic Party Convention.

Senator Pepper was a strong supporter of Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal and recognized as a leading southern liberal. As one of the most effective orators of his era, Pepper was considered unbeatable by most Florida observers. In attempting to become a national figure, though, Senator Pepper promoted an internationalist platform of post-war, peaceful cooperation with the Soviet Union. In his praise for Joseph Stalin, the Red Army, and the Soviet Union, Pepper developed one the most vulnerable records in Congress. Those positions, as well as his advocacy for sharing nuclear weapons technology with the Soviets, lost him the support of Florida's and the nation's press.

Smathers' campaign attacked Pepper on his vulnerable international record, his support for universal health care and his changing stands on the Federal Employment Practices Commission. He charged that Pepper was out-of-touch with his Florida constituency and his positions contrary to national interests. Smathers defeated Pepper in the Democratic primary by over 63,000 votes and won handily in the November general election.

Significance of 1950 Election

While earlier interpretations stressed anti-communism, race-baiting and red-baiting as the dominant reasons for Pepper's defeat, more recent scholarship has focused on Pepper's vulnerable voting record. Historians also contrasted the two candidates' campaign styles as a factor in the outcome. Finally, Smathers was the first candidate from south Florida to be popularly elected as United States Senator breaking the political monopoly of north and central Florida on the highest statewide offices. His victory marked the emergence of southeast Florida's significant economic and political power. For the first time in Florida history an incumbent United States Senator went down to defeat. Pepper's loss also broke the Florida tradition dating to 1845 of always electing one United States Senator from north Florida.

Stand on civil rights

The Civil Rights movement dominated southern politics during Smathers’ time in Congress. Smathers publicly opposed federal intervention in racial matters except to support voting rights. He also stressed the rule of law and the need for southern states to comply with any federal legislation. Privately, Smathers rejected many of the doctrines and tenets of white supremacy and believed that, over time, whites would change their views on race relations. Smathers, though, fell into line with other southern senators by signing the 1956 Southern Manifesto, an attack on the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision. The signatories accused the Supreme Court of a "clear abuse of judicial power" and promised to use "all lawful means to bring about a reversal of this decision which is contrary to the Constitution and to prevent the use of force in its implementation." As Johnson’s lieutenant in the Senate, he helped craft the Senate version of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. He publicly predicted the defeat of the southern filibuster of the bill and voted for its passage in the Senate. The bill was then referred to a conference committee and Smathers voted against the final version. After the chaos surrounding James Meredith’s entry into the University of Mississippi in 1962, Smathers wrote “Federal law must be obeyed … so that force does not have to be used to bring compliance.”

Smather’s contradictory positions on racial matters as a private individual and a Florida senator responsive to his conservative state were never more evident than after Johnson became president. Smathers urged Johnson to act quickly to pass national civil rights legislation, stating “…Now that you’re the President, I should think they would agree that the sooner we get a civil rights bill over with … the better the South would be, the better the North would be, the better everybody would be.” Smathers privately strategized with Johnson on the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act telling Johnson, “I hope that he (Mansfield) has done his counting and that he has the votes.”

Yet, as a Florida senator, when the bill came before the Senate, he voted against it. Likewise, Smathers supported federal involvement in upholding voting rights, believing that through the ballot African Americans would gain a seat at the table at all levels of local, state and federal government. In his words, “franchise and freedom are inseparable in America.”  However, while publicly praising the objectives of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, he opposed the Senate version of the bill. Nonetheless, he supported the final, amended voting rights measures, which enforced the voting rights provisions of the 14th and 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, while outlawing all literacy tests.

Other work in the Senate

Smathers also helped pass bills to create Medicare, the Small Business Administration and Everglades National Park. He pushed for federal holidays to be moved to Mondays, essentially creating the modern three-day weekend, and he ardently supported the war in Vietnam.

In January 1964, Smathers released a statement calling for the creation of a "Freedom University of the Americas" with the purpose of instructing Latin Americans on combating communism in their countries. Financing was intended to come from the voluntary contributions of Americans from Americans willing to participate in the funding of a project intended to eradicate communism in the Western Hemisphere and Smathers said he would soon introduce legislation creating a special commission that President Johnson would have to appoint for the studying on how to form the proposed institution.

Relationship with JFK

Smathers befriended John F. Kennedy, speaking on behalf of Kennedy at his wedding dinner rehearsal and reception. During the 1960 presidential campaign, Smathers was a favorite son candidate for the Democratic nomination. He later managed Kennedy's campaign in the Southeast.

Journalist Roger Mudd recalls being the network representative in the press pool boat that tried to follow the presidential yacht with Smathers aboard in the early 1960s. "Smathers was probably John Kennedy's best friend in the U.S. Senate. Together or singly, they were wolves on the prowl, always able to find or attract gorgeous prey.... It was a joke, our pretending to be covering the president, bobbing around in the ocean, squinting through binoculars to find out who was coming and going but always having our view blocked by a Secret Service boat just as another long-legged Palm Beach beauty climbed aboard."

It was leaked to the press that an emerging scandal involving the corrupt activities of Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson's aide Bobby Baker prompted Kennedy to give a private offer to Smathers of the second spot on the 1964 presidential ticket and a plan to drop Johnson as his running mate.

Retirement from politics

In 1968, Smathers declined to run for re-election to a fourth Senate term and retired from politics. He remained active in politics after his retirement from the Senate as a lobbyist.

Later life

Smathers Library, formerly known as Library East, at the University of Florida

Soon after leaving the Senate, Smathers divorced his first wife, heiress Rosemary Townley Smathers. In addition to lobbying, Smathers became a successful businessman, involved in a wide variety of interests, including automobile dealerships and orange groves. He sold his house on Key Biscayne to Richard Nixon, when Nixon was looking for a house in Florida.

The former senator became a rich man as both a lobbyist and businessman. Smathers made substantial gifts to the University of Florida. In 1991, Smathers gave a $24 million gift to the University of Florida library system, now known as the George A. Smathers Libraries.

Smathers lived in Indian Creek Island off Miami Beach and was father to two sons, John (born 1941) and Bruce Smathers (born 1943) (Florida Secretary of State 1975–78) from his marriage to Townley.

Smathers often attended "Church by the Sea", the United Church of Christ in Bal Harbour, Florida. His funeral was held here after his death at age 93. Smathers's remains are located in Arlington National Cemetery. At the time of his death, he was the earliest-serving former congressman as well as the last one to have served during the 1940s.

Relations

Smathers was personally acquainted with every President of the United States to serve in the office in between, and including, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Bill Clinton. He was particularly close to both of the 1960 major party presidential nominees, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. All three became congressmen in 1947. All three had been young senators together in the early 1950s. Smathers was the only member of the wedding party at the 1953 Newport wedding of John Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier who was a member of neither the Kennedy nor Bouvier families.

It was through Smathers that Richard Nixon met his best friend and longtime companion, "Bebe" Rebozo. Smathers arranged for Rebozo, his Key Biscayne neighbor, to take Nixon deep sea fishing. It was Smathers's former Key Biscayne home, which he eventually sold to Nixon, which became famous as the Florida White House during Nixon's presidential administration.

Smathers's connections in politics continued for many years. Bill Nelson, who was U.S. Senator from Florida from 2001 to 2019, was a summer intern in Smathers's office, 1961–1962.

Smathers was a childhood friend of Philip Graham, a fellow Floridian who would later become the publisher of The Washington Post.

In popular culture

• Smathers Beach, a popular Key West destination, is named after the senator.
• The handsome politician was known as "Gorgeous George" (after the famous professional wrestler who appeared under that moniker) by his detractors.[1]
• Part of American political lore is the Smathers "redneck speech," which Smathers reportedly delivered to a poorly-educated audience. The comments were recorded in a small magazine, picked up in Time and elsewhere, and etched into the public's memories. Time Magazine, during the campaign, claimed that Smathers said this: "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, he has a brother who is a known homo sapiens, 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." The leading reporter who actually covered Smathers said he always gave the same humdrum 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.
• Smathers appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and as a panelist on What's My Line?, and was frequently a guest on Larry King Live and other news programs.
• In Bryce Zabel's Surrounded By Enemies: What If Kennedy Survived Dallas, Smathers is mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate for President John F. Kennedy in the 1964 presidential election.

See also

• Florida Gators
• List of Levin College of Law graduates
• List of Sigma Alpha Epsilon members
• List of University of Florida alumni
• List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members

Bibliography

• Crispell, Brian Lewis, Testing the Limits: George Armistead Smathers and Cold War America, University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia (1999). ISBN 0-8203-2103-6.

External links

• 1962 Democratic Fundraiser Footage; Kennedy commentary on Smathers
• Interviews with Smathers
• St. Petersburg Times newspaper article
• Washington Post, report of death
• UF Special Collections bio.
• George A. Smathers Digital Collection from the University of Florida Digital Collections
• A film clip "Longines Chronoscope with George A. Smathers" is available for viewing at the Internet Archive