M. Hoke Smith

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Michael Hoke Smith

Michael Hoke Smith (born September 2, 1855 in Newton , Catawba County , North Carolina , †  November 27, 1931 ) was an American politician , Secretary of the Interior of the United States from 1893 to 1896, and twice governor of Georgia .

Youth and political advancement

Young Hoke (as he was called) was raised primarily by his father, a university professor at the University of North Carolina . Smith passed the bar exam in 1873 and was admitted to the bar. That same year, he opened a law firm in Atlanta , Georgia. He specialized in claims for damages for injured railroad workers and passengers. His law firm soon gained a reputation throughout Georgia. From 1882 he also involved his brother Burton in the firm. The two brothers worked together successfully for the next ten years. Since the 1880s, Hoke was on the Atlanta School Board, whose president he was from 1896 to 1907. In 1887 he acquired the Atlanta Journal and became a newspaper publisher. During the 1892 presidential campaign, Smith used his newspaper to support Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland . After his election victory, Smith was rewarded with the post of US Secretary of the Interior.

Home Secretary under President Cleveland

Between March 6, 1893 and September 1, 1896, Smith served as Secretary of the Interior in President Cleveland's Cabinet . The focus of his work was the review of land grants to the railways, a reform of the bureau for Indian affairs and an improvement in economic development in the south of the country. In September 1896, he resigned from office because he was faced with a dilemma with regard to the next elections: Although he stood behind the Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan , he did not support the party's election manifesto.

From home secretary to governor of Georgia

In the presidential election, Smith stood up for Bryan and Thomas E. Watson , who was his Georgia candidate for the vice presidency. The general mood in the country was mostly against the duo Bryan / Watson. As a result, they lost the election and Republican William McKinley was elected President. Smith returned to his Atlanta law firm. Politically, he was still allied with Thomas Watson, who gave him decisive support in the 1907 election as governor of Georgia. However, he had to buy this support at the expense of the black population by discrediting blacks' right to vote in order to please Watson. As governor, he advocated railway reform and fell out with the previous railway commissioner Joseph M. Brown , whom he dismissed from office. In the meantime, Smith had lost the support of Watson, which led to his loss to his rival Brown in the next election.

The feud with Joseph Brown

In the years that followed, Brown and Smith waged an ongoing feud. Brown remained governor from 1909 to 1911. In 1910 Smith was able to prevail in the party primaries and replace Brown. Shortly after taking office in 1911, however, Smith was elected US Senator to succeed the late Alexander S. Clay . But he continued the feud with Brown. Brown had been re-elected governor in 1912-13. In 1914 he ran against Smith for his seat in the Senate. After his defeat, Brown gave up and never ran for public office again.

End of life and death

Smith remained as a Senator in the US Congress until 1921 . After being voted out of office, he returned to practice as a lawyer in both Washington and Atlanta. He died in 1931 as the last member of Cleveland's cabinet.

Smith had been married to Marion Cobb, the daughter of a Southern general, since 1883. The couple had five children. After his wife's death in 1919, he married Mazie Crawford in 1924.

literature

  • James F. Cook: The Governors of Georgia, 1754-2004. 3rd edition, Mercer University Press, Macon (Georgia) 2005. Revised and Expanded edition 2010. ISBN 978-0865549548
  • Dewey W. Grantham: Hoke Smith and the Politics of the New South . Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge 1958 and 1967. ISBN 978-0807101186 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Smith, M. Hoke
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Smith, Michael Hoke (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH September 2, 1855
PLACE OF BIRTH Newton , North Carolina
DATE OF DEATH November 27, 1931