Gerald L. K. Smith
Encyclopedia
Gerald Lyman Kenneth Smith (February 27, 1898 – April 15, 1976) was an American clergyman and political organizer, who became a leader of the Share Our Wealth
movement during the Great Depression
and later the Christian Nationalist Crusade
. He founded the America First Party
in 1944, for which he was a presidential candidate in the election that year.
on February 27, 1898 to Sarah and Lyman Z. Smith. He had one sister. The family moved and the children grew up in Viroqua, Wisconsin
. He graduated from Valparaiso University
in Indiana
in 1918 with a degree in biblical studies.
The descendant of three generations of Disciples of Christ
ministers, he followed his father into the ministry, becoming ordained in 1916. He first ministered in the Midwest: Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana.
Smith married Elna Sorenson in 1922. They adopted their only child, whom they named Gerald L. K. Smith Jr.
in 1928 because his wife contracted tuberculosis
, and facilities in Shreveport
had a good reputation for helping those with the disease. Smith served as a minister in Shreveport, making radio
broadcasts attacking local utility
companies and corruption, while supporting trade unions.
Smith met Senator Huey P. Long in 1929 and became his national organizer during the Great Depression
, when he launched the Share Our Wealth
society. This movement proposed minimum and maximum limits on household wealth and income. Smith resigned his ministry to work full-time recruiting members to the society.
After Long was assassinated
in 1935, Smith directed the society for a short time. He became an ally of Francis Townsend
, Father Charles Coughlin
and Huey Long followers to form the Union Party
. It nominated William Lemke
as its presidential
candidate in the 1936 election
.
Unlike Long, who had been relatively tolerant on racial issues, Smith took the Share Our Wealth movement in the direction of white supremacy
. As European tensions rose with the ascendancy of the Nazi party in Germany, Smith tried to form an alliance with the non-interventionist America First Committee
, but its leaders spurned him because of his anti-Semitism
and racism.
In 1944 Smith formed the America First Party
, essentially appropriating the name. He became a member of William Dudley Pelley
's pro-Nazi Silver Shirts organization, which was patterned after Hitler's brown shirts
.
Smith was one of 30 co-defendants in the Great Sedition Trial of 1944. The case against all the defendants was dismissed when a mistrial was declared, following the death of the presiding judge. Pelley was later convicted for violation of the Alien Enemies Act, but Smith escaped conviction for violations of the Smith Act
.
Having moved to Michigan, Smith ran for the United States Senate
as a Republican
from there but he lost in the primary
. He ran as the America First Party candidate in the 1944 Presidential election, winning 1,781 votes (1530 in Michigan
, 281 in Texas
). In 1948, with running mate Harry Romer on the Christian Nationalist Party ticket, he received 48 votes. Smith's only other run for the presidency was in 1956, when he received eight write-in votes in California
.
After World War II, Smith continued to be active on the political right. He lobbied for decades for the release of all Nazi war criminals convicted at the Nuremberg Trials
. His activities led to his being shunned by most politician
s, including conservative figures such as Strom Thurmond
of South Carolina
, who distanced his States' Rights Democratic Party from Smith.
In the early 1950s, at the time of the trial of the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
, the Anti-Defamation League
published an article that attributed the attacks on the Rosenbergs' loyalty to "professional anti-Semites and lunatic nationalists," including the "Jew-baiting cabal of John Rankin
, Benjamin Freedman
and Gerald Smith."
In 1956, Smith joined a strong campaign against the Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act
. He was among such opponents as those who nicknamed it the "Siberia
Bill" and denounced it as being part of a communist
plot to hospitalize and brainwash Americans. It was a bipartisan, federal effort to improve mental health care to residents of Alaska, which was still a territory, and passage was aided by the support of the conservative senator Barry Goldwater
.
, where he bought and renovated a mansion as a retirement home. In 1964, he began construction of a planned religious
theme park
on his own property, to be called "Sacred Projects". Smith's biographer, Glen Jeansonne, in Gerald L. K. Smith: Minister of Hate, says that Smith only had $5,000 to his name at the end of 1963 and yet raised $1,000,000 by the spring of 1964 to commission and construct the "Christ of the Ozarks" project.
Although the park was never fully developed, in 1966 the centerpiece, the Christ of the Ozarks
statue, was completed on Magnetic Mountain at an elevation of 1,500 feet, from where it overlooked the town. Emmet Sullivan
, the sculptor, had worked under Gutzon Borglum
as one of the sculptors of Mount Rushmore
.
Smith's original plans were for a life-size recreation of ancient Jerusalem in the hills near Eureka Springs; no construction of this portion took place. He did initiate an annual outdoor Passion Play
, inspired by that of Oberammergau
, Germany
. It is staged in an amphitheater located near the statue for several nights each week from late April through late October.
Smith died on April 15, 1976 of pneumonia
. With his wife, he is buried adjacent to the Christ of the Ozarks statue, where hymn
s are continuously played near the graves.
Share Our Wealth
Share Our Wealth was a movement begun during the Great Depression by Huey Long, a governor and later United States Senator from Louisiana.-Major provisions of "Share Our Wealth":The key planks of the Share Our Wealth platform included:...
movement during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and later the Christian Nationalist Crusade
Christian Nationalist Crusade
Christian Nationalist Crusade was an antisemitic organization which operated out of P.O. Box D-4, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Its founder was Gerald L. K. Smith. It sold and distributed, inter alia, The International Jew, and subscribed to the antisemitic views embodied in the Protocols of the Elders...
. He founded the America First Party
America First Party (1944)
The America First Party was an isolationist political party which was founded on January 10, 1943. Its leader, Gerald L. K. Smith, was the party's presidential candidate in the 1944 U.S...
in 1944, for which he was a presidential candidate in the election that year.
Early life and family
He was born in Pardeeville, WisconsinPardeeville, Wisconsin
Pardeeville is a village in Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,982 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Pardeeville is located at ....
on February 27, 1898 to Sarah and Lyman Z. Smith. He had one sister. The family moved and the children grew up in Viroqua, Wisconsin
Viroqua, Wisconsin
Viroqua is the county seat of Vernon County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,079 at the 2010 census. The city is located within the Town of Viroqua.-History:...
. He graduated from Valparaiso University
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso University, known colloquially as Valpo, is a regionally accredited private university located in the city of Valparaiso in the U.S. state of Indiana. Founded in 1859, it consists of five undergraduate colleges, a graduate school, a nursing school and a law school...
in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
in 1918 with a degree in biblical studies.
The descendant of three generations of Disciples of Christ
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
The Christian Church is a Mainline Protestant denomination in North America. It is often referred to as The Christian Church, The Disciples of Christ, or more simply as The Disciples...
ministers, he followed his father into the ministry, becoming ordained in 1916. He first ministered in the Midwest: Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana.
Smith married Elna Sorenson in 1922. They adopted their only child, whom they named Gerald L. K. Smith Jr.
Louisiana and politics
Smith moved his family to LouisianaLouisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
in 1928 because his wife contracted tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, and facilities in Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
had a good reputation for helping those with the disease. Smith served as a minister in Shreveport, making radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
broadcasts attacking local utility
Utility
In economics, utility is a measure of customer satisfaction, referring to the total satisfaction received by a consumer from consuming a good or service....
companies and corruption, while supporting trade unions.
Smith met Senator Huey P. Long in 1929 and became his national organizer during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, when he launched the Share Our Wealth
Share Our Wealth
Share Our Wealth was a movement begun during the Great Depression by Huey Long, a governor and later United States Senator from Louisiana.-Major provisions of "Share Our Wealth":The key planks of the Share Our Wealth platform included:...
society. This movement proposed minimum and maximum limits on household wealth and income. Smith resigned his ministry to work full-time recruiting members to the society.
After Long was assassinated
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
in 1935, Smith directed the society for a short time. He became an ally of Francis Townsend
Francis Townsend
Dr. Francis Everett Townsend was an American physician who was best known for his revolving old-age pension proposal during the Great Depression. Known as the "Townsend Plan," this proposal influenced the establishment of the Roosevelt administration's Social Security system...
, Father Charles Coughlin
Charles Coughlin
Father Charles Edward Coughlin was a controversial Roman Catholic priest at Royal Oak, Michigan's National Shrine of the Little Flower church. He was one of the first political leaders to use radio to reach a mass audience, as more than thirty million tuned to his weekly broadcasts during the...
and Huey Long followers to form the Union Party
Union Party (United States)
The Union Party was a short-lived political party in the United States, formed in 1936 by a coalition of radio priest Father Charles Coughlin, old-age pension advocate Francis Townsend, and Gerald L. K. Smith, who had taken control of Huey Long's Share Our Wealth movement after Long's assassination...
. It nominated William Lemke
William Lemke
William Frederick Lemke was a United States politician.-Life and career:He was born in Albany, Minnesota, and raised in Towner County, North Dakota, the son of Fred Lemke and Julia Anna Klier, pioneer farmers who had accumulated some of land...
as its presidential
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
candidate in the 1936 election
United States presidential election, 1936
The United States presidential election of 1936 was the most lopsided presidential election in the history of the United States in terms of electoral votes. In terms of the popular vote, it was the third biggest victory since the election of 1820, which was not seriously contested.The election took...
.
Unlike Long, who had been relatively tolerant on racial issues, Smith took the Share Our Wealth movement in the direction of white supremacy
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
. As European tensions rose with the ascendancy of the Nazi party in Germany, Smith tried to form an alliance with the non-interventionist America First Committee
America First Committee
The America First Committee was the foremost non-interventionist pressure group against the American entry into World War II. Peaking at 800,000 members, it was likely the largest anti-war organization in American history. Started in 1940, it became defunct after the attack on Pearl Harbor in...
, but its leaders spurned him because of his anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
and racism.
In 1944 Smith formed the America First Party
America First Party (1944)
The America First Party was an isolationist political party which was founded on January 10, 1943. Its leader, Gerald L. K. Smith, was the party's presidential candidate in the 1944 U.S...
, essentially appropriating the name. He became a member of William Dudley Pelley
William Dudley Pelley
William Dudley Pelley was an American extremist and spiritualist who founded the Silver Legion in 1933, and ran for President in 1936 for the Christian Party.-Family:...
's pro-Nazi Silver Shirts organization, which was patterned after Hitler's brown shirts
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
.
Smith was one of 30 co-defendants in the Great Sedition Trial of 1944. The case against all the defendants was dismissed when a mistrial was declared, following the death of the presiding judge. Pelley was later convicted for violation of the Alien Enemies Act, but Smith escaped conviction for violations of the Smith Act
Smith Act
The Alien Registration Act or Smith Act of 1940 is a United States federal statute that set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of the U.S...
.
Having moved to Michigan, Smith ran for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
from there but he lost in the primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
. He ran as the America First Party candidate in the 1944 Presidential election, winning 1,781 votes (1530 in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, 281 in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
). In 1948, with running mate Harry Romer on the Christian Nationalist Party ticket, he received 48 votes. Smith's only other run for the presidency was in 1956, when he received eight write-in votes in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
After World War II, Smith continued to be active on the political right. He lobbied for decades for the release of all Nazi war criminals convicted at the Nuremberg Trials
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
. His activities led to his being shunned by most politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
s, including conservative figures such as Strom Thurmond
Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...
of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, who distanced his States' Rights Democratic Party from Smith.
In the early 1950s, at the time of the trial of the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg and Julius Rosenberg were American communists who were convicted and executed in 1953 for conspiracy to commit espionage during a time of war. The charges related to their passing information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union...
, the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
published an article that attributed the attacks on the Rosenbergs' loyalty to "professional anti-Semites and lunatic nationalists," including the "Jew-baiting cabal of John Rankin
John E. Rankin
John Elliott Rankin was a Democratic congressman from the U.S. State of Mississippi who supported racial segregation and, on the floor of the United States House of Representatives, voiced racist views on African Americans and Jews and even accused Albert Einstein of being a communist agitator.In...
, Benjamin Freedman
Benjamin H. Freedman
Benjamin Harrison Freedman, was an American antisemitic and anti-Zionist activist. Freedman was a partner in a dermatological institute and in small business. He converted from Judaism to Roman Catholicism,-Biography:...
and Gerald Smith."
In 1956, Smith joined a strong campaign against the Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act
Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act
The Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act of 1956 was an Act of Congress passed to improve mental health care in the United States territory of Alaska. It became the focus of a major political controversy after opponents nicknamed it the "Siberia Bill" and denounced it as being part of a communist...
. He was among such opponents as those who nicknamed it the "Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
Bill" and denounced it as being part of a communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
plot to hospitalize and brainwash Americans. It was a bipartisan, federal effort to improve mental health care to residents of Alaska, which was still a territory, and passage was aided by the support of the conservative senator Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
.
Retirement
He eventually moved to Eureka Springs, ArkansasEureka Springs, Arkansas
Eureka Springs is a city in Carroll County, Arkansas, United States. Along with Berryville, it is one of the two county seats for the county. It is located in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 2,350...
, where he bought and renovated a mansion as a retirement home. In 1964, he began construction of a planned religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
theme park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
on his own property, to be called "Sacred Projects". Smith's biographer, Glen Jeansonne, in Gerald L. K. Smith: Minister of Hate, says that Smith only had $5,000 to his name at the end of 1963 and yet raised $1,000,000 by the spring of 1964 to commission and construct the "Christ of the Ozarks" project.
Although the park was never fully developed, in 1966 the centerpiece, the Christ of the Ozarks
Christ of the Ozarks
Christ of the Ozarks statue is a monumental sculpture of Jesus located near Eureka Springs, Arkansas, atop Magnetic Mountain. It was erected in 1966 as a "Sacred Project" by Gerald L. K. Smith. He briefly led the Share Our Wealth movement initiated by Huey P. Long during the Great...
statue, was completed on Magnetic Mountain at an elevation of 1,500 feet, from where it overlooked the town. Emmet Sullivan
Emmet Sullivan
Emmet Sullivan, was an American sculptor. He was born in Powder River, Montana, and worked on Mount Rushmore, and later created the five dinosaurs in Dinosaur Park in Rapid City, South Dakota in 1934, his first large scale project...
, the sculptor, had worked under Gutzon Borglum
Gutzon Borglum
Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum was an American artist and sculptor famous for creating the monumental presidents' heads at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, the famous carving on Stone Mountain near Atlanta, as well as other public works of art.- Background :The son of Mormon Danish immigrants, Gutzon...
as one of the sculptors of Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore near Keystone, South Dakota, in the United States...
.
Smith's original plans were for a life-size recreation of ancient Jerusalem in the hills near Eureka Springs; no construction of this portion took place. He did initiate an annual outdoor Passion Play
Passion play
A Passion play is a dramatic presentation depicting the Passion of Jesus Christ: his trial, suffering and death. It is a traditional part of Lent in several Christian denominations, particularly in Catholic tradition....
, inspired by that of Oberammergau
Oberammergau
Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. The town is famous for its production of a Passion Play, its woodcarvers, and the NATO School.-Passion Play:...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is staged in an amphitheater located near the statue for several nights each week from late April through late October.
Smith died on April 15, 1976 of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. With his wife, he is buried adjacent to the Christ of the Ozarks statue, where hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s are continuously played near the graves.
See also
- Meade McClanahanMeade McClanahanMeade McClanahan was an industrial engineer and businessman who was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 1945 but was ousted by voters in 1946 based upon his support for controversial preacher and political organizer Gerald L.K...
, Los Angeles City Council member recalled from office because of his association with Smith, 1946
Further reading
- Jeansonne, Glen. Gerald L.K. Smith: Minister of Hate, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988/1997.
- Jeansonne, Glen. "Gerald L. K. Smith: From Wisconsin Roots to National Notoriety", Wisconsin Magazine of History, vol. 86, no. 2 (Winter 2002-03), pp. 18–29.
- Ribuffo, Leo P. The Old Christian Right: The Protestant Far Right From the Great Depression to the Cold War, Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1983.
External links
- Gerald L K Smith in 1956
- "Gerald Lyman Kenneth Smith", Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture
- Gerald L.K. Smith, American Jewish Committee, 1953