Payson Smith (February 11, 1873 – March 11, 1963) was an American educator. He served as Superintendent of Schools of Maine from 1907 to 1917 and in that same role (Commissioner of Education) in Massachusetts from 1917 to 1935. He also served on the faculty of the Graduate School of Education at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

Early life

Born in Portland, Maine, Smith was the son of John Parker and Margaret (Bolton) Smith. His father was a well-known barber in a city hotel. As a child, Smith studied in Portland Public Schools, Westbrook Seminary and

Tufts College Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

. He earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from Tufts in 1903. He also earned an L.L.D. from the University of Maine in 1908.

Teaching career

Maine

After teaching classics at Westbrook Seminary for two years, he was hired to be school principal and then superintendent of schools in the small town of

Canton, Maine Canton is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,125 at the 2020 census. Located beside Lake Anasagunticook, Canton is a summer recreational area. History Canton Point was the site of Rockemeka, village of the Ana ...

. In 1896 at the age of 23, he was elected superintendent of schools for Rumford and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Seven years later, in November 1903, Smith left that position when he was hired as superintendent of

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

public schools after the resignation of Bertram C. Richardson. In 1906, he was elected president of the

Maine Teachers' Association Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

and in so doing became the organization's youngest leader at the age of 33. In May 1907, Smith was appointed by Governor William T. Cobb as Maine State Superintendent of Education, replacing William Wallace Stetson. Prior to become state superintendent, Smith was the highest-paid official in the city of Auburn. In that role, he was very actively involved with the

National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stude ...

, which at the time included primarily educational administrators. Smith was replaced in the role of Maine's top educator by

Augustus O. Thomas Augustus Orloff Thomas (February 21, 1863January 30, 1935) was an American educator. Born in Mercer County, Illinois, he served as the first president of the Nebraska State Normal School at Kearney (1905–1913) and a hall is named for him ...

Massachusetts

On July 1, 1916, Smith replaced David Snedden as Commissioner of Education for Massachusetts. The salary was $6,500 per year with a term of five years. In 1932, he was elected as to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

. He was a vocal opponent of the

Massachusetts Teachers' Oath The Massachusetts Teachers' Oath was a loyalty oath required to teach in Massachusetts from 1935 to 1967. Passage In response to political radicalism during the Great Depression, several states passed legislation that required public school teache ...

, a

loyalty oath A loyalty oath is a pledge of allegiance to an organization, institution, or state of which an individual is a member. In the United States, such an oath has often indicated that the affiant has not been a member of a particular organization or ...

which required educators to submit signed oaths of loyalty to the state and federal Constitutions. Smith spoke against the oath before it became law but enforced it in his role as Commissioner of Education. Despite this, Democratic Governor

James Michael Curley James Michael Curley (November 20, 1874 – November 12, 1958) was an American Democratic politician from Boston, Massachusetts. He served four terms as mayor of Boston. He also served a single term as governor of Massachusetts, characterized ...

replaced Smith with oath-supporter James G. Reardon in December 1935.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Payson 1873 births 1963 deaths Tufts University alumni State superintendents of public instruction of the United States School superintendents in Maine School superintendents in Massachusetts Harvard University faculty University of Maine faculty State Superintendent of Schools of Maine