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Clyde Smith

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Clyde H. Smith
Clyde Smith LOC portrait 1939.png
Former U.S. Representative from Maine's 2nd Congressional District
From: January 3, 1937 – April 8, 1940
Predecessor Edward C. Moran, Jr.
Successor Margaret Chase Smith
Former State Senator from Maine's 8th District
From: January 3, 1923 – January 2, 1929
Predecessor LeRoy R. Folsom
Successor Blin W. Page
Former State Representative from Maine
From: 1919–1923
Predecessor ???
Successor ???
Sheriff of Skowhegan, Maine
From: 1905–1909
Predecessor ???
Successor ???
Former State Representative from Maine
From: 1899–1903
Predecessor ???
Successor ???
Information
Party Republican
Spouse(s) Margaret Chase Smith

Clyde Harold Smith (June 9, 1876 – April 8, 1940) was an entrepreneur[1] and Maine Republican who served as a U.S. representative from the state's 2nd congressional district until his death. He was the late husband of Margaret Chase Smith, who succeeded him in the House and later elected to the Senate for four terms.

Smith was previously a sheriff and state legislator.

Political career[edit]

During his tenure in the State Senate, Smith vigorously opposed the Maine Ku Klux Klan[2] as well as Gov. Ralph Owen Brewster, who had no record of public racist bigotry yet nonetheless refused to denounce the KKK.[3]

U.S. House of Representatives[edit]

Smith ran for the House in 1936 and narrowly won the GOP primary among a slate of half a dozen candidates with a plurality polling 27.8%.[4] He handily won the general election[5] and was re-elected the following election cycle in the 1938 Midterms.[6]

Clyde H. Smith (Maine Congressman).jpg

Consistent with his opposition towards the Klan, Smith voted for the anti-lynching bills of 1937[7] and 1940,[8] respectively the Gavagan-Wagner Act and the Gavagan-Fish Act. He was also considered a conservative in terms of overall ideology.[2]

Death in office[edit]

Smith died in office on August 8, 1940, prior to which he advocated the congressional district's constituents to elect his wife, the former Margaret Chase, to the House seat:[1]

“ I know of no one else who has the full knowledge of my ideas and plans or is as well qualified as she is, to carry on these ideas or my unfinished work for the district. ”

Margaret Chase Smith won the special election and later was elected to the United States Senate, where she was known for being a foe of Joseph McCarthy, who exposed communist infiltration of the State Department and the U.S. Army. She established a reputation as a Moderate Republican while her late husband was considered a conservative.[2]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Representative Clyde Harold Smith of Maine. US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 FascinatingPolitics (October 18, 2020). The True Senate Female Firsts: Hattie Caraway, Margaret Chase Smith, and Maurine Neuberger. Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  3. ↑ Burnham, Emily (July 6, 2020). This Maine governor never publicly embraced the Klan, but he never disavowed its support. Bangor Daily News. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  4. ↑ ME District 2 - R Primary Race - Jun 15, 1936. Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  5. ↑ ME District 2 Race - Sep 14, 1936. Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  6. ↑ ME District 02 Race - Sep 12, 1938. Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  7. ↑ TO PASS H. R. 1507, AN ANTI-LYNCHING BILL.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  8. ↑ TO PASS H.R. 801, A BILL TO MAKE LYNCHING A FEDERAL CRIME.. GovTrack.us. Retrieved August 20, 2021.

External links[edit]

  • Profile at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
  • Profile via Maine: An Encyclopedia
  • Profile at Find a Grave

Further information[edit]

  • Resources via Social Networks and Archival Context
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 | Source: https://www.conservapedia.com/Clyde_Smith
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