A Guide to the George A. Smathers Papers   Finding aid created by John Nemmers, Jess Campbell, Nicole Milano, Alex Rudnick, and Katie Walters University of Florida Smathers Libraries - Special and Area Studies Collections August 2007

Descriptive Summary
	Creator:	Smathers, George A. (George Armistead), 1913-2007
	Title:	George A. Smathers Papers
	Dates:	1934-1994
	Abstract:	The papers of George A. Smathers (Democrat - Florida) documenting his service in the U.S. Senate.
	Extent:	184 Linear feet. 347 boxes.
	Identification:	Ms 91
	Language(s):	English
	Access:	Researchers should consult with Special Collections staff before using the collection because there are access restrictions. See the Access note for more information.

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Biographical/Historical Note

George Armistead Smathers was born on November 14, 1913 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Because his family had a lengthy history of political involvement, Smathers was groomed for politics at an early age. He was named for his father's uncle, George H. Smathers, who had served as the President of the North Carolina State Senate. His father, Benjamin Franklin Smathers, began his political career as a page for that uncle and later was appointed as a county judge. Additionally, Benjamin's younger brother, Bill, served as a U.S. Senator from New Jersey from 1937-1943.

Smathers moved with his parents to Miami, Florida, when he was six. He grew up in Magnolia Park, and was successful in both academics and sports while a pupil in Dade County Public Schools. He graduated in the top quarter of his class at Miami High School and served as the captain of the track and basketball teams. He was elected Senior Class President and named Outstanding Athlete of Dade County in 1931. He hoped to play college football at the University of Illinois, but his father refused, arguing that if George was to enter politics he needed to attend the University of Florida in order to meet boys from all over Florida who were enrolled at the state university. At UF, Smathers was the captain of both the basketball and track teams, and played a short-lived football career. He also was the captain of the debate team, president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, president of the student body, and campus manager for Claude Pepper's 1938 Senate reelection campaign.

Smathers graduated with a law degree in 1938, and returned home to Miami. He practiced law for six months in his father's firm before he was appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney. He was married in 1939 to Rosemary Townley, who gave birth to their first son, John, in 1941. During World War II Smathers served in the United States Marine Corps from 1942-45, including an 18-month rotation overseas in the South Pacific. His second son, Bruce, was born in 1943 while Smathers was overseas.

In 1946, Smathers was elected as a Democrat to the first of two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating long-standing incumbent Pat Cannon. While in the House, Smathers traveled extensively to Europe and Latin America, developing an interest in Latin American countries that would later become a central focus of his Senatorial career. Smathers also became friends with many people who would become prominent politicians, including John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, and Gerald Ford. He became particularly close to Kennedy; they had adjacent offices while in the House together, and he served as a groomsman in Kennedy's wedding to Jacqueline Bouvier.

Smathers ran for the U.S. Senate in 1950 in a historic race against the incumbent, Claude Pepper. The 1950 Democratic primary election has long been considered one of the dirtiest campaigns in U.S. history because of the mudslinging and character attacks carried out against both candidates. Smathers campaigned against Pepper's New Deal liberalism, focusing on Pepper's pro-Labor stance and his foreign policy, particularly regarding communism. Smathers also criticized Pepper heavily for his support of Civil Rights legislation and his support of universal health care, which cost Pepper the support of Florida's segregationists and the medical profession. Smathers supporters and the other anti-Pepper groups labeled Pepper as "Red Pepper." Exemplifying the dirty nature of the campaign, it was widely reported that Smathers gave a speech in which he misrepresented Pepper's character by using language that might sound negative to uneducated voters. For example, Smathers reportedly stated that Pepper was known to be a "shameless extrovert" and that Pepper had previously practiced "nepotism." Smathers denied ever making the infamous speech, even offering a reward to any one who could prove it, and most historians agree that the speech was a bit of fiction created by reporters trying to capture the mean-spirited nature of the campaign in a humorous manner. Smathers defeated Pepper handily and entered the Senate in 1951.

Smathers served as the junior Senator from Florida for three terms until his retirement in 1968. Throughout his Senatorial career, he was recognized for his involvement with Latin American and Cuban issues. Smathers is credited as one of the first to push for U.S. involvement in Latin American countries as a preventative measure for stopping the spread of communism into the Western Hemisphere. He also was one of the first to raise alarms about Fidel Castro's government and Cuba's ties to the Soviet Union. Smathers sought to provide aid for the improvement of the infrastructure and quality of life in Latin American and Caribbean countries, arguing that their well-being and stability was beneficial to the U.S.

Although he was more moderate in many respects than other Southern Democrats, and despite his close friendships with Kennedy and other northern Democrats, Smathers did vote faithfully with the Southern bloc on most of the divisive social issues in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1956, Smathers signed the so-called "Southern Manifesto," which denounced the U.S. Supreme Court decision to integrate public schools racially. He voted consistently against meaningful civil rights legislation, and spoke in favor of segregation and states rights.

Smathers was known to friends and opponents as "Gorgeous George," and he was known as much for his ability to make friends and connections as he was for his work on the floor of the Senate. Although he was not a high-ranking member of any of the major Senate committees during this service, Smathers was successful in using his positions on committees such as Foreign Relations, Finance and Taxation, and Commerce to protect and expand Florida interests. He was a powerful advocate for the Florida sugar and citrus industries, particularly pertaining to trade and competition with Latin America. Smathers also served as chair of the Democratic Campaign Committee. In this capacity, he traveled around the country soliciting contributions to be used for various Senatorial campaigns.

During the 1960 presidential election, Smathers was placed in an interesting position when his majority leader in the Senate, Johnson, and his best friend in the Senate, Kennedy, both decided to run. Rather than having the two men potentially split the Florida vote, Smathers urged both men not to campaign in Florida and he entered the race as a candidate for the nomination. He was named as Florida's "favorite son" and received the votes of the Florida delegation at the National Democratic Convention during the first round of voting. When it became clear that Kennedy would get the nomination, he quickly bowed out and urged the delegation to vote for Kennedy. During the subsequent campaigning, Smathers managed Kennedy's campaign in the Southeast.

Smathers retired from politics in 1969, at the end of this his third term in the Senate. He resumed practicing law in Miami and Washington, D.C. He died on January 20, 2007.

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Scope and Content

The Senatorial Papers of George Smathers date from 1934 to 1994, primarily covering his eighteen years in the U.S. Senate. In addition to correspondence and legislative files, which make up the majority of the papers, the collection also includes speeches, press releases and media files, campaign material, news clippings and photographs. His papers provide an interesting perspective on the major historical events and political figures of the 1950s and 1960s. As with all political collections of significant size, the materials cover a wide range of subjects. Prominent people and subjects include John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, the civil rights movement, Latin America, Cuba, the space race, communism, the Cold War, the citrus industry, Interama, the Cross Florida Barge Canal, and the Everglades.

The collection is arranged into nine series, or groups, of documents. The Correspondence and Legislative Files make up the bulk of the collection. These files consist of correspondence, legislation, reports, news clippings, memoranda, and subject files. Smathers' Senate office staff originally organized his files according to the File Code of the U.S. Senate, and this arrangement has been maintained as much as possible (for more information, please refer to the series description for the Correspondence and Legislative Files).

The Speech and Reference Files series consists of speeches, statements, Congressional Record inserts, notes, and reference material such as news clippings. The Press Releases and Media Files include official releases, recorded statements, and statements made in television, radio and print media. The Campaign Files are sub-divided into four groups, one for each of the elections in 1950, 1956, 1960 and 1962. There final four series, which are smaller in size, include Latin America and Cuba Materials, News Clippings, Photographs, and a Miscellaneous series.

Although the papers are grouped into these logical series, according to function or format, it should be noted that information on particular topics can be dispersed throughout the collection and researchers may find relevant materials in several series. For example, information pertaining to Latin America can be found throughout the collection because there are legislative files, speeches, press releases, and other materials on that subject.

With the exception of the Correspondence and Legislative Files, which are filed according to the Senate filing scheme, the files in each series are arranged alphabetically and/or chronologically.

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Access or Use Restrictions

Access

The collection is open for research. The presence of constituent mail in this collection requires mediated access. Researchers must consult with Special Collections staff before using the collection and must agree in writing to the following conditions: Congressional constituent mail is considered a type of privileged correspondence. Reproduction of constituent mail in any format is prohibited. Further, researchers using constituent mail must agree not to divulge the names or addresses of constituents or provide information that could conceivably identify constituents.

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Related or Separated Material

The Spessard Holland Papers at the University of Florida will be of use because Smathers and Holland were fellow Senators for the entirety of Smathers' tenure.

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Administrative Information

Alternate Form of Finding Aid

Due to its large size this descriptive finding aid has been broken into several pages, available at http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/pkyonge/Smathers.htm.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], George A. Smathers Papers, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

Acquisition Information

The Smathers Papers were donated to the University of Florida by George A. Smathers.

Processing Notes

The collection originally was processed in the 1980s by department staff. In 2006-07, further processing was completed in order to improve access and create a detailed finding aid to the materials. Additional materials were added to the collection in 2008-2010.

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