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Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies
University of Georgia Libraries
Athens, GA 30602-1641 | russlib@uga.edu
| Comments to: adamsabi@uga.edu | Copyright © University of Georgia. All rights reserved.

George L. Smith II Papers, 1956-1974
26 boxes, 13 linear feet, 2 microfilm reels

Administrative Information

- Access Restrictions
- User Restrictions
- Processing Notes
- Copyright Information
- Preferred Citation

Biographical Note

Scope and Content

Home

Organization and Arrangement

Related Collections

- In Russell Library
- In other repositories


Series Descriptions


Access Points

Folder List
 

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Access Restrictions: None.

User Restrictions: Library acts as “fair use” reproduction agent.

Processing Notes: Newspaper clippings and thermofax papers have been copied onto bond paper for protection of content. Oversized materials and photographs have been separated for preservation purposes. Scrapbooks were copied to microfilm.

Copyright Information: Before material from collections at the Richard B. Russell Library may be quoted in print, or otherwise reproduced, in whole or in part, in any publication, permission must be obtained from (1) the owner of the physical property, and (2) the holder of the copyright. It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain both sets of permission. Persons wishing to quote from materials in the Russell Library collection should consult the Director. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original.

Preferred Citation: George L. Smith II Papers, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia.


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BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL NOTE:

One of Georgia's most politically skilled leaders, George Leon Smith, II was born in Stillmore, Georgia on November 27, 1912. After graduating from Swainsboro High School, Smith followed in his father and grandfather's footsteps and entered the University of Georgia. He studied law and was a member of Delta Tau Delta, Blue Key, Gridiron and Sphinx. He was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1932 and returned to Swainsboro to practice law. In 1937, Smith was elected as Solicitor of Swainsboro City Court. Later, in 1941, he became the City Attorney.

Smith's legislative career began with his election to the Georgia House of Representatives for the 91st District in 1944. After his 1948 re-election, Smith ran unopposed for the next fourteen years. He was a proponent of eleven year schools, as well as the addition of kindergarten to the school system. Smith argued that Georgia's schools should be funded by the state rather than by the local government.

Under Governor S. Ernest Vandiver, Smith was named as Speaker of the House in 1959 and remained in that position until Governor Carl Sanders was elected in 1962. Sanders chose George T. Smith as Speaker and made George L. Smith the Democratic Party Whip and president of the National Conference of Legislative Leaders.

In 1966, Smith resurrected his rise to legislative power by leading the House's declaration of independence from the executive branch. He became the first independently elected Speaker of Georgia in 1967. Smith continued in his effort to consolidate the Speaker's power by refusing to allow the administration's floor leader to sit as an ex-officio member of the Rules, Ways and Means, Appropriations or State of Republic Committees. He also changed the House rules, giving the Speaker control over committee appointments and chairmanships.

Also in 1967, Smith was offered a seat on the Georgia Supreme Court but rejected the position saying, "my life is legislation." True to his calling, then, Smith continued his legislative career, winning his thirteenth term in 1968. He remained Speaker until his death on December 9, 1973.

During his eleven years as Speaker of the House, George L. Smith, II dominated Georgia politics. He controlled the House of Representatives with great agility and his legislative skill was legendary. Governors came to him in order to insure that their legislation would be passed. Smith was Speaker during the 1966 election controversy in which no candidate received a majority of the votes and the election was decided in the legislature. He pushed for plurality votes in general elections so that the "people of Georgia can be assured of their right to choose their governor." In addition to his activities in the House, Smith was also a member of the Georgia State Democratic Committee.

Smith married Francis McWhorter Mobley on December 29, 1937 and had one daughter, Sally.

 


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SCOPE AND CONTENT:


The George L. Smith II Papers consist of manuscripts, newsclippings, memorabilia, and scrapbooks from Smith's career as a representative from Emanuel County in the Georgia House (1944-1973) as well as his tenure as Speaker of the House (1956-1962, 1967-1973). The years represented are 1956 to 1974 and activities documented are political (local and state).



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ORGANIZATION AND ARRANGEMENT

The Papers are divided into five series: I. Personal, II. Legislative, III. Speech and Press, IV. Scrapbooks, V. Photographs, and VI. Artifacts. The bulk of the collection is organized in reverse chronological order, with the exception of the Series II, D (Georgia General Assembly Committee Reports) which was a later addition to the collection. This collection was originally housed in the Hargrett Rare Books and Manuscript Library where the papers were was processed and organized. In 2000, alterations were made to the arrangement including the renaming of some series to provide a more clear description and the division and renaming of items at the folder level.

 

 

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RELATED COLLECTIONS IN THIS REPOSITORY:

Clifford Hodges Brewton Collection of Lester G. Maddox Speech and Press Research Files, 1965-1975
Braswell D. Deen, Jr. Papers, 1925-1997, bulk 1965-1990
Charles L. Gowen Papers, 1946, 1954-1958
Herman E. Talmadge Collection, 1945-1987
Augustus Turnbull Collection of Carl Sanders Speech/Press Files, 1963-1967
S. Ernest Vandiver Papers, 1954-1998
Carl E. Sanders Papers
Howard H. "Bo" Callaway Papers
Richard B. Russell, Jr. Collection
Roy V. Harris Papers

 

 

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RELATED COLLECTIONS IN OTHER REPOSITORIES:

Thomas Murphy Papers, State University of West Georgia, Carollton, Georgia



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SERIES DESCRIPTIONS:

I. Personal
1 box, .5 linear foot
Collection of personal letters and manuscripts that represent Smith's life outside his office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

A. General
Includes personal letters, programs, calendars, and other manuscripts. Arrangement is in reverse chronological order.

B. European Trip Files
Includes itinerary and brochures for Smith's 1970 trip to Europe.

C. Sunday School Lessons
These are lectures prepared by Smith for his adult Bible Studies Class at Methodist Church. Many of the lessons concentrate on Biblical law and are derived from a publication entitled International Lesson Series for Adults. The arrangement (not chronological according to the accompanying lesson plan) preserves the original order of the notebooks containing the lesson plans.

II. Legislative
17 boxes, 8.5 linear feet
Legislative files from Smith's service in the Georgia General Assembly as a representative from Emanuel County and as Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives includes materials that assisted Smith with monitoring legislative issues, researching and writing legislation, as well as supervising committees and members of the Georgia House of Representatives. Constituent mail concerning items of legislation is included in this series.

A. Correspondence
2 boxes, 1 linear foot
1. Emanuel County
Includes constituent correspondence concerning legislation from Smith's representative district. Arrangement is chronological.
2. Correspondence with Individuals
Letters to and from Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Calhoun Bank President Bert Lance, Senator and Governor Herman Talmadge, and Governor Jimmy Carter concerning legislative matters. Arranged in chronological order.

B. Research Files
2 boxes, 1 linear foot
Collected reports, directories, and articles from Smith's two terms as Speaker of the House (1959-1962 and 1966-73). Topics include a wide variety of legislative matters from taxes to executive pay raises. The arrangement is reverse chronological.

C. Legislative Appointment Files
2 boxes, 1 linear foot
Smith kept notebooks listing each senator alphabetically and the committees they were a member of; he also kept listings of each committee alphabetically and their members. Included in this series are those lists for the years 1969-1970 and 1971-1972. Also included in this series are lists of chaplains and legislative pages as well as various daily schedules and legislator records.

D. Georgia General Assembly Committee Reports 1962-1974
11 boxes, 5.5 linear feet
This subseries consists chiefly of committee reports by the House and/or Senate of the Georgia General Assembly from the years 1962 to 1974. 1971 reports are absent. The collection is divided by years into eleven boxes and separated by committee name. The listing under "Content" in the finding aid refers to the name of the committee. Subcommittees are kept together in a single folder under the general committee name. Many folders contain several duplicate copies of reports. There are also some miscellaneous items including Governor Carl Sander's 1966 State of the State Address, materials from the Atlanta Commission on Crime and Juvenile Delinquency, the Georgia Municipal Association, the State Board of Probation and the composite status for the State House of Representatives for the years 1969-70.


III. Speech and Press
7 boxes, 3.5 linear feet
The Speech and Press series includes files which document the activities of communicating information about Smith's view on various issues and positions through speeches, press releases, and newspaper columns. The bulk of this series concentrates on Smith's second term as Speaker of the House of Representatives (1967-1973).

A. General Speeches
3 boxes, 1.5 linear feet
Includes speeches that Smith delivered to various civic organizations, local governments, business associations, church groups, and school organizations in Georgia and elsewhere. The topics chiefly pertain to the Georgia General Assembly and current legislative issues. Organization of the undated speeches is alphabetical while the following dated speeches are arranged in reverse chronological order.

B. General Assembly Speeches
2.5 boxes, 1.25 linear feet
These are speeches which Smith delivered while in office as Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives for the years 1973, 1972, 1969, 1967, 1963, 1962, and 1961. Included are acceptance speeches for election as Speaker, speeches to open and close House sessions, and Legislative Session Overviews and topic-centered Floor Summaries. Topics of note include the 1966 Governor's election controversy (found in the 1967 Floor Summary speeches under "Plurality") and desegregation, which Smith addresses in terms of "open schools" (found in the 1960-1961 and 1961 "Legislative Topics"). Arrangement is reverse chronological.

C. Collected Speeches By Others
.5 boxes, .25 linear foot
Included are speeches by former Georgia Governor Carl Sanders, former University of Georgia Dean of Students William Tate, former Tennessee Governor Bufford Ellington, and a speech about Smith by Shell E. Hartley.

D. News releases
.5 boxes, .25 linear foot
From the office of Speaker Smith, these press releases detail the activities of the Georgia House from 1970 to 1973. Included are some articles which Smith wrote for his hometown newspapers, the Swainsboro Forest Blade and the Peoples Voice. Arrangement is reverse chronological.

E. News Clippings
.5 boxes, .25 linear foot
Included are political cartoons as well as newspaper and magazine clippings which focus primarily on the last few years of Smith's life and career, 1968-1973. Arrangement is reverse chronological.


IV. Scrapbooks
2 microfilm reels
Contains newspaper clippings, pictures, brochures, cartoons, certificates, and letters concerning political career of Smith. The 25 original scrapbooks were mircrofilmed on to 2 reels and then returned to the family.

V. Photographs
52 items
This series consists of candid and formal portraits and group shots of George L. Smith, II during his career in the Georgia House of Representatives. In several photographs, Smith is pictured with Lester Maddox or former Governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter.

VI. Artifacts
8 items
This series includes eight items from Smith's years as a representative. Objects such as business cards, stickers, a "Legislator" car tag, calendars, and Smith's Speaker of the House gavel are included.

 


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ACCESS POINTS

Carter, Jimmy, 1924-
Maddox, Lester, 1915-
Sanders, Carl Edward, 1925-
Georgia. General Assembly. House of Representatives.

Legislators --Georgia.
Georgia --Politics and government --1951-
Legislative records.



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FOLDER LIST

Not available at this time. Please contact Russell Library for more information.


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