# James Smith Jr.

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{{short description|American politician}}

{{Infobox officeholder
|name                = James Smith Jr.
|image               = James Smith Jr.jpg
|jr/sr               = United States Senator
|state               = [New Jersey](/source/New_Jersey)
|term_start          = March 4, 1893
|term_end            = March 3, 1899
|predecessor         = [Rufus Blodgett](/source/Rufus_Blodgett)
|successor           = [John Kean](/source/John_Kean_(New_Jersey))
|birth_date          = {{birth date|1851|6|12}}
|birth_place         = [Newark](/source/Newark%2C_New_Jersey), [New Jersey](/source/New_Jersey), U.S.
|death_date          = {{death date and age|1927|4|1|1851|6|12}}
|death_place         = [Newark](/source/Newark%2C_New_Jersey), [New Jersey](/source/New_Jersey), U.S.
|party               = [Democratic](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States))
}}
'''James Smith Jr.''' (June 12, 1851{{spaced ndash}}April 1, 1927) was a newspaper publisher and [U.S. Senator](/source/United_States_Senate) from [New Jersey](/source/New_Jersey).  A leader of the Irish Catholic community, he was the Democratic party boss who sponsored [Woodrow Wilson](/source/Woodrow_Wilson) to the governorship in 1910. <ref>John Milton Cooper, ''Woodrow Wilson'' (2009) pp 120–121.</ref>

== Biography ==
Born in [Newark, New Jersey](/source/Newark%2C_New_Jersey), Smith attended private schools and [St. Mary's College](/source/St._Mary's_College_(Delaware)), in [Wilmington, Delaware](/source/Wilmington%2C_Delaware).  He was engaged in the dry-goods and importing business, and later became a manufacturer of leather in Newark. He owned two Newark newspapers, the Northern Star and the Evening Star (predecessors to [The Star-Ledger](/source/The_Star-Ledger)), from 1895 to 1915.<ref name=obit>"James Smith, Ex-Senator of New Jersey, Dead," Syracuse Herald, 1927-04-02.</ref>

He was a member of the Newark Common Council from 1883 to 1887. He declined the nomination for [mayor of Newark](/source/Mayor_of_Newark%2C_New_Jersey) in 1884. He also served as president of Newark's first works board.

Smith was elected as a [Democrat](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) to the [United States Senate](/source/United_States_Senate) and served from March 4, 1893 to March 3, 1899, but did not seek re-election when his term ended. He had been the Chairman of the [Committee on the Organization, Conduct and Expenditures of Executive Departments](/source/Committee_on_the_Organization%2C_Conduct_and_Expenditures_of_Executive_Departments) (in the [Fifty-third United States Congress](/source/Fifty-third_United_States_Congress)). After his political career, Smith returned to running his businesses, including banking, and raised his son. He served as receiver of the short-lived [United States Shipbuilding Company](/source/United_States_Shipbuilding_Company) following its collapse.

Smith was credited with giving [Woodrow Wilson](/source/Woodrow_Wilson) his political start.<ref name=obit/> In 1910, he engineered the nomination of Wilson (then President of [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University)) as [Governor of New Jersey](/source/Governor_of_New_Jersey), the position Wilson held when elected [President of the United States](/source/President_of_the_United_States) in 1912.<ref name=obit/>  However, Smith broke with Wilson in late 1910, when Wilson did not support Smith's Senate bid, but instead supported [James Edgar Martine](/source/James_Edgar_Martine).  Martine had won the Democratic preference primary, but Smith and his supporters refused to abide by the outcome of the primary, where few men voted.<ref name=obit/>  After failing to persuade Smith to withdraw, Wilson threw his support to Martine, who was in 1911 chosen by the [New Jersey Legislature](/source/New_Jersey_Legislature).  Thereafter, The ''Star's'' newspaper editorials were consistently critical of Wilson.<ref name=obit/><ref>John Milton Cooper, ''Woodrow Wilson'' (2009) pp 126–129.</ref>

In 1915, Smith's financial interests collapsed, and he became insolvent, leaving his creditors only six cents for each dollar of debt.<ref name=obit/> He sold his newspapers that year, leaving [Paul Block](/source/Paul_Block_(newspaper_publisher)) as their President.

He died in Newark, aged 75, and was interred in [Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, East Orange](/source/Holy_Sepulchre_Cemetery%2C_East_Orange). He was survived by four sons and two daughters.<ref name=obit/>

== References ==
{{reflist}}
==Further reading==
* Link, Arthur S. ''Wilson: The Road to the White House'' (1947).

{{CongBio|S000561}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-sen}}
{{U.S. Senator box
|state=New Jersey
|class=1
|before=[Rufus Blodgett](/source/Rufus_Blodgett)
|after=[John Kean](/source/John_Kean_(New_Jersey))
|alongside=[John R. McPherson](/source/John_R._McPherson), [William J. Sewell](/source/William_Joyce_Sewell)
|years=1893&ndash;1899}}
{{s-end}}

{{USSenNJ}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, James, Jr.}}
Category:1851 births
Category:1927 deaths
Category:St. Mary's College (Delaware) alumni
Category:Politicians from Newark, New Jersey
Category:New Jersey Democrats
Category:Democratic Party United States senators from New Jersey
Category:Burials at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery (East Orange, New Jersey)
Category:Businesspeople from Newark, New Jersey
Category:19th-century United States senators

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [James Smith Jr.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Smith_Jr.) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Smith_Jr.?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.