George Smathers

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George Smathers

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.

1 Early life
2 Political career
3 Later life
4 Other Notable Facts
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Early life

Smathers was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey (his uncle, William Howell 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 U.S. district attorney from 1940 to 1942. During World War II, he served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps.

[edit] Political career

After the war, Smathers was elected to serve two terms in the United States House of Representatives, from 1947 to 1951. 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 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 Joe 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 reported 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]

In 1956, Smathers signed "The Southern Manifesto", condemning the U.S. Supreme Court decision to desegregate the public school system.

Smathers served as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for six years. During the 1960 presidential campaign, Smathers was a candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination. He later managed John F. Kennedy's campaign in the southeastern U.S.

It was leaked to the press that an emerging scandal involving Bobby Baker's corrupt activities, an aide to Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, prompted President John F. Kennedy to privately offer Senator Smathers the second spot on the 1964 presidential ticket and a plan to drop Johnson as his running mate.^{[citation needed]}

In 1968, Smathers declined to run for re-election and retired from politics.

[edit] Later life

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 substantial $10 million gift to the University of Miami.

Smathers resided in Miami Beach and was father to two sons, John (b. 1941) and Bruce Smathers (b. 1943) (Florida Secretary of State 1975-78).

Until his death, Smathers was the United States' longest surviving former Senator, having entered the Senate in 1951. He is followed distantly by West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd, who entered the Senate in 1959, and who continues to serve today.

[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 Key Biscayne 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 has frequently been 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. [1]

Preceded by Pat Cannon	United States Representative for the 4th Congressional District of Florida 1947–1951	Succeeded by William C. Lantaff
Preceded by Claude Pepper	United States Senator (Class 3) from Florida 1951–1969	Succeeded by Edward J. Gurney
Preceded by Russell B. Long	Most Senior Living U.S. Senator (Sitting or Former) May 9, 2003-January 20, 2007	Succeeded by Robert Byrd