James Smith Jr. (June 12, 1851April 1, 1927) was a newspaper publisher and U.S. Senator from

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. A leader of the Irish Catholic community, he was the Democratic party boss who sponsored

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

to the governorship in 1910.

Biography

Born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, Smith attended private schools and St. Mary's College, in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. 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 ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

), from 1895 to 1915."James Smith, Ex-Senator of New Jersey, Dead," Syracuse Herald, 1927-04-02. He was a member of the Newark Common Council from 1883 to 1887. He declined the nomination for mayor of Newark in 1884. He also served as president of Newark's first works board. Smith was elected as a Democrat to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

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 (in the 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 following its collapse. Smith was credited with giving

his political start. In 1910, he engineered the nomination of Wilson (then President of

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

) as

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

, the position Wilson held when elected

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

in 1912. However, Smith broke with Wilson in late 1910, when Wilson did not support Smith's Senate bid, but instead supported 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. After failing to persuade Smith to withdraw, Wilson threw his support to Martine, who was in 1911 chosen by the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...

. Thereafter, The ''Star's'' newspaper editorials were consistently critical of Wilson.John Milton Cooper, ''Woodrow Wilson'' (2009) pp 126–129. In 1915, Smith's financial interests collapsed, and he became insolvent, leaving his creditors only six cents for each dollar of debt. He sold his newspapers that year, leaving Paul Block as their President. He died in Newark, aged 75, and was interred in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, East Orange. He was survived by four sons and two daughters.

Biography

References

Further reading