Claude Pepper
Encyclopedia
Claude Denson Pepper was an American
politician of the Democratic Party, and a spokesman for left-liberalism and the elderly. In foreign policy he shifted from pro-Soviet in the 1940s to anti-Communist in the 1950s. He represented Florida
in the United States Senate
from November 4, 1936, to January 3, 1951, and the Miami area in the United States House of Representatives
from January 3, 1963 until his death on May 30, 1989.
In 2000, the United States Postal Service issued a 33¢ Distinguished Americans series
postage stamp honoring Pepper.
, in a shack belonging to poverty-stricken sharecroppers, Pepper attended school in Camp Hill
and became a schoolteacher in Dothan
. He then worked in an Ensley steel mill before beginning studies at the University of Alabama
. While in college he joined the Army
for World War I
and served in the Student Army Training Corps, with the war ending before he could see active service. After graduating in 1921 Pepper attended Harvard Law School
, receiving his degree in 1924. He briefly taught law at the University of Arkansas
and then moved to Perry, Florida
, where he opened a law practice. He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives
in 1929. After being defeated for reelection he moved his law practice to Tallahassee, the state capital.
in 1934, but won in a 1936 special election following the death of Senator Duncan Fletcher
.
In the Senate, Pepper became a leading New Deal
er and close ally of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was unusually articulate and intellectual, and, collaborating with labor unions, he was often the leader of the liberal-left forces in the Senate. His reelection in a heavily fought primary in 1938 solidified his reputation as the most prominent liberal in Congress.
He sponsored the Lend-Lease Act. Because of the power of the Conservative Coalition
, he usually lost on domestic policy. He was, however, more successful in promoting an international foreign policy based on friendship with the Soviet Union. He gave lukewarm support to Harry S. Truman
in 1948, saying the Democrats should nominate Dwight D. Eisenhower
instead; but he did not support his friend Henry A. Wallace
that year. He was re-elected in 1944, but lost his bid for a third full term in 1950 by a margin of over 60,000 votes. Ed Ball, a power in state politics who had broken with Pepper, financed his opponent, U.S. Representative George A. Smathers. A former supporter of Pepper, Smathers repeatedly attacked "Red Pepper" for having far-left sympathies, condemning both his support for universal health care
and his alleged support for the Soviet Union
. Pepper had traveled to the Soviet Union in 1945 and, after meeting Soviet leader Joseph Stalin
, declared he was "a man Americans could trust."
At a speech made on November 11, 1946, before a pro-Soviet group known as Ambijan, which supported the creation of a Soviet Jewish republic in the far east of the USSR
, Pepper told his listeners that "Probably nowhere in the world are minorities given more freedom, recognition and respect than in the Soviet Union [and] nowhere in the world is there so little friction, between minority and majority groups, or among minorities." Democracy was "growing" in that country, he added, and he asserted that the Soviets were making such contributions to democracy "that many who decry it might well imitate and emulate rather than despair."
Two years later, on November 21, 1948, speaking to the same group, he again lauded the Soviet Union, calling it a nation which has recognized the dignity of all people, a nation wherein discrimination against anybody on account of race is a crime, and which was in fundamental sympathy with the progress of mankind.
After his defeat in 1950, Pepper returned to law practice in Miami and Washington, failing in a comeback bid to regain a Senate seat in the 1958 Democratic primary in which he challenged his former colleague, Spessard Holland
. However, Pepper did carry eleven counties, including populous Dade County
, where he later staged a remarkable comeback.
from a newly created liberal district around Miami and Miami Beach established due to population growth in the area, becoming one of very few former United States Senators in modern times (the only other examples being James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr.
and Alton Lennon) to be elected to the House after their Senate careers. He remained there until his death in 1989, rising to chair of the powerful Rules Committee in 1983. At this stage Pepper was staunchly anti-Communist and anti-Castro; he supported aid to the Nicaraguan "Contra" rebels.
In the early 1970s, Pepper chaired the Joint House-Senate Committee on Crime; then, in 1977, he became chair of the new House Select Committee on Aging, which became his base as he emerged as the nation's foremost spokesman for the elderly, especially regarding Social Security
programs. He succeeded in strengthening the Medicare
. In the 1980s he worked with Alan Greenspan
in a major reform of the Social Security system that maintained its solvency by slowly raising the retirement age, thus cutting benefits for workers retiring in their mid-60s, and in 1986 he obtained the passage of a federal law that abolished most mandatory retirement ages.
Pepper became known as the "grand old man of Florida politics". He was featured on the cover of Time Magazine
in 1938 and 1983. Republicans often joked that he and Tip O'Neill
were the only Democrats who really drove President Reagan crazy.
On May 26, 1989, Pepper was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom
by President George H. W. Bush
.
When he died, his body lay in state for two days under the Rotunda of the United States Capitol
; he was the 26th American so honored.
A number of places in Florida are named for Pepper, including the Claude Pepper Center at Florida State University
(housing a think tank
devoted to intercultural dialogue in conjunction with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations
and an institute on aging)) and the Claude Pepper Federal Building in Miami, as well as several public schools. Large sections of US 27
in Florida are named Claude Pepper Memorial Highway. Since 2002, the Democratic Executive Committee (DEC) of Lake County
has held an annual "Claude Pepper Dinner" to honor Pepper's tireless support for senior citizens.http://www.lakedemocrats.com/home.html He also has the Claude Pepper Building No. 31 http://www.nih.gov/about/almanac/images/2007photos/2007_cc_townhall_hi.jpg named for him at the National Institutes of Health, Located in Bethesda, Maryland.
Pepper's wife Mildred was well known and respected for her humanitarian work as well. She was also honored with a number of places named in Florida.
After Pepper's death, Bradenton, Florida
actor Kelly Reynolds portrayed Pepper in several performances held at area schools, libraries and nursing homes.
into a meeting at the White House
and reportedly said "I want you to do me a favor. I want you to beat that son-of-a-bitch Claude Pepper." Pepper had been part of an unsuccessful 1948 campaign to "dump Truman
" as the Democratic presidential nominee, and George Smathers had been his manager and pupil. Smathers broke with Pepper and ran against him in the Democratic primary (which at the time in Florida was tantamount to election
, the Republican Party still being in infancy there). The contest was extremely heated, and revolved around policy issues, especially charges that Pepper represented the far left and was too supportive of Stalin. Pepper's opponents circulated widely a 49-page booklet titled The Red Record of Senator Claude Pepper.
Part of American political lore is the Smathers "redneck speech," which Smathers reportedly delivered to a poorly educated audience. The "speech" was never given; it was a hoax dreamed up by one reporter. Time Magazine, during the campaign, falsely claimed that Smathers said this:
The Smathers campaign denied his having made the speech, as did the reporters who covered his campaign, but the hoax followed Smathers to his death.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician of the Democratic Party, and a spokesman for left-liberalism and the elderly. In foreign policy he shifted from pro-Soviet in the 1940s to anti-Communist in the 1950s. He represented Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
in 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...
from November 4, 1936, to January 3, 1951, and the Miami area in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from January 3, 1963 until his death on May 30, 1989.
In 2000, the United States Postal Service issued a 33¢ Distinguished Americans series
Distinguished Americans series
The Distinguished Americans series is a set of definitive stamps issued by the United States Postal Service which was started in 2000 with a 10¢ stamp depicting Joseph Stilwell...
postage stamp honoring Pepper.
Early life
Born in Chambers County, AlabamaChambers County, Alabama
Chambers County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of Henry H. Chambers, who served as a United States Senator from Alabama. As of 2010 the population was 34,215. Its county seat is Lafayette...
, in a shack belonging to poverty-stricken sharecroppers, Pepper attended school in Camp Hill
Camp Hill, Alabama
Camp Hill is a town in Tallapoosa County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 1,273. It is part of the Alexander City Micropolitan Statistical Area. Camp Hill is the home to Lyman Ward Military Academy...
and became a schoolteacher in Dothan
Dothan, Alabama
Dothan is a city located in the southeastern corner of the US state of Alabama, situated approximately west of the Georgia state line and north of Florida. It is the seat of Houston County, with portions extending into nearby Dale County and Henry County...
. He then worked in an Ensley steel mill before beginning studies at the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
. While in college he joined the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
for World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and served in the Student Army Training Corps, with the war ending before he could see active service. After graduating in 1921 Pepper attended Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, receiving his degree in 1924. He briefly taught law at the University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
and then moved to Perry, Florida
Perry, Florida
Perry is a city in Taylor County, Florida, United States. The population was 7,017 at the 2010 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 7,017....
, where he opened a law practice. He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives
Florida House of Representatives
The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The House is composed of 120 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 156,677.The House convenes at...
in 1929. After being defeated for reelection he moved his law practice to Tallahassee, the state capital.
U.S. Senate
Pepper lost in the Democratic primary for the United States SenateUnited 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...
in 1934, but won in a 1936 special election following the death of Senator Duncan Fletcher
Duncan U. Fletcher
Duncan Upshaw Fletcher was an American lawyer and politician of the Democratic Party. Senator Fletcher was the longest serving U.S. Senator in Florida's history.-Early life and career:...
.
In the Senate, Pepper became a leading New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
er and close ally of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was unusually articulate and intellectual, and, collaborating with labor unions, he was often the leader of the liberal-left forces in the Senate. His reelection in a heavily fought primary in 1938 solidified his reputation as the most prominent liberal in Congress.
He sponsored the Lend-Lease Act. Because of the power of the Conservative Coalition
Conservative coalition
In the United States, the conservative coalition was an unofficial Congressional coalition bringing together the conservative majority of the Republican Party and the conservative, mostly Southern, wing of the Democratic Party...
, he usually lost on domestic policy. He was, however, more successful in promoting an international foreign policy based on friendship with the Soviet Union. He gave lukewarm support to Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
in 1948, saying the Democrats should nominate Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
instead; but he did not support his friend Henry A. Wallace
Henry A. Wallace
Henry Agard Wallace was the 33rd Vice President of the United States , the Secretary of Agriculture , and the Secretary of Commerce . In the 1948 presidential election, Wallace was the nominee of the Progressive Party.-Early life:Henry A...
that year. He was re-elected in 1944, but lost his bid for a third full term in 1950 by a margin of over 60,000 votes. Ed Ball, a power in state politics who had broken with Pepper, financed his opponent, U.S. Representative George A. Smathers. A former supporter of Pepper, Smathers repeatedly attacked "Red Pepper" for having far-left sympathies, condemning both his support for universal health care
Universal health care
Universal health care is a term referring to organized health care systems built around the principle of universal coverage for all members of society, combining mechanisms for health financing and service provision.-History:...
and his alleged support for the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Pepper had traveled to the Soviet Union in 1945 and, after meeting Soviet leader Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, declared he was "a man Americans could trust."
At a speech made on November 11, 1946, before a pro-Soviet group known as Ambijan, which supported the creation of a Soviet Jewish republic in the far east of the USSR
Birobidzhan
Birobidzhan is a town and the administrative center of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Trans-Siberian railway, close to the border with the People's Republic of China....
, Pepper told his listeners that "Probably nowhere in the world are minorities given more freedom, recognition and respect than in the Soviet Union [and] nowhere in the world is there so little friction, between minority and majority groups, or among minorities." Democracy was "growing" in that country, he added, and he asserted that the Soviets were making such contributions to democracy "that many who decry it might well imitate and emulate rather than despair."
Two years later, on November 21, 1948, speaking to the same group, he again lauded the Soviet Union, calling it a nation which has recognized the dignity of all people, a nation wherein discrimination against anybody on account of race is a crime, and which was in fundamental sympathy with the progress of mankind.
After his defeat in 1950, Pepper returned to law practice in Miami and Washington, failing in a comeback bid to regain a Senate seat in the 1958 Democratic primary in which he challenged his former colleague, Spessard Holland
Spessard Holland
Spessard Lindsey Holland was an American lawyer, politician and elected officeholder. He was the 28th Governor of Florida from 1941 until 1945, during World War II. After finishing his term as governor, he was a United States Senator from Florida from 1946 until 1971...
. However, Pepper did carry eleven counties, including populous Dade County
Dade County
Dade County can refer to the following places:*Miami-Dade County, Florida, in the southeastern part of the state*Dade County, Georgia, the state's northwestern-most, bordering Alabama and Tennessee*Dade County, Missouri, in the southwestern part of the state...
, where he later staged a remarkable comeback.
U.S. House
In 1962 Pepper was elected to the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from a newly created liberal district around Miami and Miami Beach established due to population growth in the area, becoming one of very few former United States Senators in modern times (the only other examples being James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr.
James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr.
James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. was a U.S. Republican politician from New York. He was the son of New York State Comptroller James Wolcott Wadsworth, Sr., and the grandson of Union General James Samuel Wadsworth, Sr.-Biography:...
and Alton Lennon) to be elected to the House after their Senate careers. He remained there until his death in 1989, rising to chair of the powerful Rules Committee in 1983. At this stage Pepper was staunchly anti-Communist and anti-Castro; he supported aid to the Nicaraguan "Contra" rebels.
In the early 1970s, Pepper chaired the Joint House-Senate Committee on Crime; then, in 1977, he became chair of the new House Select Committee on Aging, which became his base as he emerged as the nation's foremost spokesman for the elderly, especially regarding Social Security
Social Security (United States)
In the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program.The original Social Security Act and the current version of the Act, as amended encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs...
programs. He succeeded in strengthening the Medicare
Medicare (United States)
Medicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over; to those who are under 65 and are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability; or to those who meet other...
. In the 1980s he worked with Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan is an American economist who served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States from 1987 to 2006. He currently works as a private advisor and provides consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC...
in a major reform of the Social Security system that maintained its solvency by slowly raising the retirement age, thus cutting benefits for workers retiring in their mid-60s, and in 1986 he obtained the passage of a federal law that abolished most mandatory retirement ages.
Pepper became known as the "grand old man of Florida politics". He was featured on the cover of Time Magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
in 1938 and 1983. Republicans often joked that he and Tip O'Neill
Tip O'Neill
Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill, Jr. was an American politician. O'Neill was an outspoken liberal Democrat and influential member of the U.S. Congress, serving in the House of Representatives for 34 years and representing two congressional districts in Massachusetts...
were the only Democrats who really drove President Reagan crazy.
On May 26, 1989, Pepper was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
by President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
.
When he died, his body lay in state for two days under the Rotunda of the United States Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
; he was the 26th American so honored.
A number of places in Florida are named for Pepper, including the Claude Pepper Center at Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
(housing a think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
devoted to intercultural dialogue in conjunction with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations
Alliance of Civilizations
The Alliance of Civilizations is an initiative proposed by the Prime Minister of the Government of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, at the 59th General Assembly of the United Nations in 2005. It was co-sponsored by the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan...
and an institute on aging)) and the Claude Pepper Federal Building in Miami, as well as several public schools. Large sections of US 27
U.S. Route 27
U.S. Route 27 is a north–south United States highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus is at US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 in Fort Wayne, Indiana...
in Florida are named Claude Pepper Memorial Highway. Since 2002, the Democratic Executive Committee (DEC) of Lake County
Lake County, Florida
Lake County is a county located in the state of Florida, United States. As of the 2000 Census, the population was 210,528. The Census Bureau estimated the population in 2008 to be 307,243. Its county seat is Tavares...
has held an annual "Claude Pepper Dinner" to honor Pepper's tireless support for senior citizens.http://www.lakedemocrats.com/home.html He also has the Claude Pepper Building No. 31 http://www.nih.gov/about/almanac/images/2007photos/2007_cc_townhall_hi.jpg named for him at the National Institutes of Health, Located in Bethesda, Maryland.
Pepper's wife Mildred was well known and respected for her humanitarian work as well. She was also honored with a number of places named in Florida.
After Pepper's death, Bradenton, Florida
Bradenton, Florida
Bradenton is a city in Manatee County, Florida, United States. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's 2007 population to be 53,471. Bradenton is the largest Principal City of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2007 estimated population of 682,833...
actor Kelly Reynolds portrayed Pepper in several performances held at area schools, libraries and nursing homes.
Red Accusations and hoax "Redneck Speech" in 1950
In 1950 President Harry Truman called George SmathersGeorge Smathers
George Armistead Smathers was an American lawyer and politician who represented the state of Florida in the United States Senate for eighteen years, from 1951 until 1969, as a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life:...
into a meeting at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
and reportedly said "I want you to do me a favor. I want you to beat that son-of-a-bitch Claude Pepper." Pepper had been part of an unsuccessful 1948 campaign to "dump Truman
United States presidential election, 1948
The United States presidential election of 1948 is considered by most historians as the greatest election upset in American history. Virtually every prediction indicated that incumbent President Harry S. Truman would be defeated by Republican Thomas E. Dewey. Truman won, overcoming a three-way...
" as the Democratic presidential nominee, and George Smathers had been his manager and pupil. Smathers broke with Pepper and ran against him in the Democratic primary (which at the time in Florida was tantamount to election
Tantamount to election
"Tantamount to election" is a phrase to describe a situation in which one political party so dominates the demographics of a voting district, that the person winning the party nomination for a race will virtually be assured of winning the general election...
, the Republican Party still being in infancy there). The contest was extremely heated, and revolved around policy issues, especially charges that Pepper represented the far left and was too supportive of Stalin. Pepper's opponents circulated widely a 49-page booklet titled The Red Record of Senator Claude Pepper.
Part of American political lore is the Smathers "redneck speech," which Smathers reportedly delivered to a poorly educated audience. The "speech" was never given; it was a hoax dreamed up by one reporter. Time Magazine, during the campaign, falsely claimed that Smathers said this:
-
- Are you aware that Claude Pepper is known all over Washington as a shameless extrovert? Not only that, but this man is reliably reported to practice nepotismNepotismNepotism is favoritism granted to relatives regardless of merit. The word nepotism is from the Latin word nepos, nepotis , from which modern Romanian nepot and Italian nipote, "nephew" or "grandchild" are also descended....
with his sister-in-law, he has a brother who is a known homo sapiens, and he has a sister who was once a thespianThespianThespian may refer to:* An actor * A citizen of the ancient Greek city of Thespiae* A member of the International Thespian Society, an honor society that promotes excellence in high school theater...
in wicked New York. Worst of all, it is an established fact that Mr. Pepper, before his marriage, habitually practiced celibacyCelibacyCelibacy is a personal commitment to avoiding sexual relations, in particular a vow from marriage. Typically celibacy involves avoiding all romantic relationships of any kind. An individual may choose celibacy for religious reasons, such as is the case for priests in some religions, for reasons of...
.
- Are you aware that Claude Pepper is known all over Washington as a shameless extrovert? Not only that, but this man is reliably reported to practice nepotism
The Smathers campaign denied his having made the speech, as did the reporters who covered his campaign, but the hoax followed Smathers to his death.