Reed Smoot | |
|---|---|
 Smootc. late 1910s | |
| 28thDean of the United States Senate | |
| In office March 4, 1931 – March 3, 1933 | |
| Preceded by | Furnifold McLendel Simmons |
| Succeeded by | William Edgar Borah |
| United States Senator fromUtah | |
| In office March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1933 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph L. Rawlins |
| Succeeded by | Elbert D. Thomas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1862-01-10)January 10, 1862 Salt Lake City, Utah Territory |
| Died | February 9, 1941(1941-02-09) (aged 79) St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 7 |
| Relatives | Abraham O. Smoot (father) |
| Education | University of Utah Brigham Young Academy |
| Signature | .png) |
| Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | |
| April 8, 1900 – February 9, 1941 | |
| Called by | Lorenzo Snow |
| LDS ChurchApostle | |
| April 8, 1900 – February 9, 1941 | |
| Called by | Lorenzo Snow |
| Reason | Death ofFranklin D. Richards |
| Reorganization at end of term | Harold B. Lee ordained |
Reed Smoot (January 10, 1862 – February 9, 1941) was an American politician, businessman, andapostle ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). ARepublican who was first elected to theU.S. Senate by theUtah State Legislature in 1902, he served from 1903 to 1933.[1] Smoot is primarily remembered as the co-sponsor of the 1930Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act, which increased almost 900 American import duties. Criticized at the time as having "intensified nationalism all over the world" byThomas Lamont ofJ.P. Morgan & Co.,[2] Smoot–Hawley is widely regarded as one of the catalysts for the worseningGreat Depression.[3]
Smoot was a prominent leader of the LDS Church,called to serve as an apostle and member of theQuorum of the Twelve in 1900. His role in the church, together with rumors of a secret church policy continuingpolygamy and asecret oath against the United States,[4] led to a four-year controversy after he was elected to the Senate. A Senate committee investigated his eligibility to serve, known as theReed Smoot hearings, and recommended against him, but the full Senate voted to seat him.[4]
Smoot continued to be reelected to successive terms until he lost his seat in the 1932 elections. Smoot returned to Utah in 1933. Retiring from politics and business, he devoted himself to the church. At the time of his death, he was third in the line of succession to lead the church.[1]
Smoot was born inSalt Lake City,Utah Territory on January 10, 1862, the son ofAbraham O. Smoot, who served as mayor of the city from 1856 to 1862 and Anne Kristina Morrison Smoot, also known as Anne Kirstine Mauritzen before her marriage. Anne was Abraham Smoot's fifth wife of six plural marriages, and he was the father of 27 children, three of whom he adopted.[5]: 99–102
The family moved toProvo, Utah, when Abraham Smoot was called byBrigham Young as thestake president. Smoot attended theUniversity of Utah and graduated from Brigham Young Academy, nowBrigham Young University, in 1879. After completing his education, Smoot served as amissionary for the church in England. After returning to Utah, he married Alpha M. Eldredge of Salt Lake City on September 17, 1884. They were the parents of six children.[1] Eldredge died in 1928.[6]
Smoot became a successful businessman in the Provo and Salt Lake City areas, with interests including dry goods stores, mining, banking, railroads, lumberyards, raising livestock, coal sales, and manufacturing woolens. Beginning in 1895, he became increasingly involved in the hierarchy of the LDS Church. On April 8, 1900, he was ordained an apostle and member of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.[1]
Smoot joined the Republican Party and took part in several campaigns beginning in the late 1880s.[7][8][9] In February 1892, he was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for mayor of Provo.[10] Beginning in 1892, he was a delegate to several Utah County Republican conventions.[11][12] He began serving as a member of the state Republican executive committee in the mid-1890s.[13]
After becoming an apostle in 1900, Smoot received the approval ofLDS Church presidentJoseph F. Smith to run for office. In 1901, he ran for the U.S. Senate, and was defeated in the state legislative election byThomas Kearns.[14]: 12 Smoot was elected by the Utah legislature to the United States Senate in the58th Congress on January 20, 1903.[15] When he took his oath of office, Kearns provided his formal introduction to the senate.
Smoot's election sparked a bitter four-year battle in the Senate on whether Smoot was eligible and should be allowed to serve. Many Americans were suspicious of the LDS Church because of its earlier polygamous practices. In addition, some senators thought Smoot's position as an apostle would disqualify him from representing all his constituents. Many were convinced that his association with the church disqualified him from serving in the United States Senate. Only a few years earlier, another prominent Utah Latter-day Saint,B. H. Roberts, had been elected to theHouse of Representatives. He was denied his seat on the basis that he practicedplural marriage (polygamy), which was illegal in Utah as well as all other states of the Union.[14]: 13–20
The LDS Church had officially renounced future plural marriages in an1890 Manifesto, before Utah was admitted as a state. However, theSalt Lake Tribune reported that church leaders continued to approve secretly of new, post-Manifesto plural marriages.[16]: 377 Because of the controversy, the Senate began an investigation into Smoot's eligibility.[14] TheSmoot Hearings began on January 16, 1904. The hearings included exhaustive questioning into the continuation of plural marriage within the state of Utah and the LDS Church, and questions on church teachings, doctrines, and history. Although Smoot was not a polygamist, the charge by those opposed to his election to the Senate was that he could not swear to uphold the United States Constitution while serving in the highest echelons of an organization that sanctioned law breaking.[4]
Some opponents claimed thattemple-attending Latter-day Saints took an "oath of vengeance" against the United States for past grievances. As a leader of the LDS Church, Smoot was accused of taking this oath, which he denied. Although the majority of the investigative committee recommended that Smoot be removed from office, on February 20, 1907, the two-thirds majority required to expel Smoot failed, and he was allowed to keep his seat.[4]
Senator Smoot (Republican, Ut.)
Is planning a ban on smut.
Oh rooti-ti-toot for Smoot of Ut.
And his reverend occiput.
Smite, Smoot, smite for Ut.,
Grit your molars and do your dut.,
Gird up your l__ns,
Smite h_p and th_gh,
We'll all be Kansas
By and by. ...
In 1908, Smoot was reelected and continued to be reelected to successive terms until 1932, serving in the Senate until March 1933. A constitutional amendment mandated the popular election of U.S. senators after 1913. He was defeated in the 1932 election.[1]
In 1916,William Kent was the lead sponsor in the House of Representatives of legislation to establish theNational Park Service. Smoot sponsored the similar Senate bill. The legislation passed the House of Representatives on July 1, 1916, passed the Senate on August 5, and was signed byU.S. PresidentWoodrow Wilson on August 25, 1916. The agency was placed within the cabinet Department of Interior.[18]
Time magazine in December 1926 describedCharles Curtis and Smoot as the two leading senators, stating that the Chairman of theSenate Finance Committee spoke "with a dry holy passion for financial soundness".[19] Smoot led the committee from 1923 to 1933, and served on the Senate Appropriations Committee.[20]: 5 He became active in the national Republican Party and served as a delegate to the Republican national convention every four years between 1908 and 1924. He was Chairman of the 1928 Resolutions Committee at the 1928 Republican National Convention and Chairman of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee.[5]
Smoot was a co-sponsor of theSmoot–Hawley Tariff Act in 1930, which raised U.S. import tariffs on over 20,000 dutiable items to record levels. Many historians believe that it exacerbated theGreat Depression. U.S. PresidentHerbert Hoover signed the act into law on June 17, 1930.[2]
Smoot served five terms before being defeated in the 1932 election byDemocratElbert D. Thomas. After his unsuccessful reelection campaign, Smoot moved back to Salt Lake City. He retired from active business and political pursuits to dedicate his remaining years as an apostle for the LDS Church. Smoot died on February 9, 1941, during a visit toSt. Petersburg, Florida.
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Quorum of the Twelve Apostles 1900–1941 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Utah 1903–1933 Served alongside:Thomas Kearns,George Sutherland,William H. King | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Patents Committee 1907–1909 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Public Lands Committee 1912–1913 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Public Lands Committee 1919–1923 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Finance Committee 1923–1933 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| First | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromUtah (Class 3) 1914,1920,1926,1932 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Dean of the United States Senate 1931–1933 | Succeeded by |
| Most senior living U.S. senator (Sitting or former) 1940–1941 | Succeeded by | |
| Class 1 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
| Public Lands (1816–1921) | | |
|---|---|---|
| Public Lands and Surveys (1921–1947) | ||
| Interior and Insular Affairs (1947–1977) | ||
| Energy and Natural Resources (1977–) | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
