21st Alabama Governor. He served as the governor of Alabama during the Reconstruction Era from 1868 to 1870, as the state's first Republican governor. During the American Civil War, as a Union sympathizer, he opposed secession. Leaving Georgia, his family came to Randolph County, Alabama in 1839. Smith received an academic education, studied law with John T. Heflin, passed the bar in 1850, and partnered with James Aiken in a law practice. Besides being a lawyer, he was a plantation owner, using his slaves as the workforce. He theorized that freeing the enslaved would cause them more harm than good. From 1855 to 1859 Smith served in the Alabama House of Representatives while his thoughts changed from one of "States' Rights" to "Unionist." He was presidential elector in 1860. He made an unsuccessful bid for the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States in 1861. At the dawn of the American Civil War, as a Union sympathizer, he opposed secession. In 1862, he escaped the war in Alabama, going north, and spent the rest of the war recruiting soldiers for the 1st Alabama Union Cavalry Regiment. His father followed him north and his two brothers served in the Union Army. In 1867 after the war and a Presidential Pardon, he was appointed a judge in the 10th judicial circuit, but resigned from the bench six months later to become active in the first Republican convention in Alabama. He was considered to be honest and sincere, yet most of the citizens of the state did not trust him as he did not side with the Confederacy. Although elected governor on February 4, 1868, he refused to take office until the State of Alabama's 1868 Constitution had been ratified by voters. He was installed as Governor of Alabama by the U.S. Congress in July of 1868. As governor, he supported the return of voting rights to former Confederate soldiers, who had been temporarily disenfranchised. The 14th and 15th Amendment to the Federal Constitution were ratified during his term, giving civil rights to the former enslaved population, yet they were intimidated from voting at the polls. Violence ran rampant throughout the state with lynchings. He let local law enforcement handle any problems caused by the Klu Klux Klan. The University of Alabama reopened and the state elected United States senators to represent Alabama. The counties of Geneva, Escambia, and Chilton were created and Colbert and Lamar Counties were reestablished. He promoted economic and railroad development, for the South was behind in investing in infrastructure. He was a gubernatorial candidate for reelection in 1870, but was defeated in a narrow victory by Democrat Robert B. Lindsay. Refusing to turn over the governor's seat, he held on to his office for three weeks following Lindsay's inauguration with the support of the United States military. The second judicial court ordered Smith to leave office, and he finally did so on November 26, 1870. He was appointed as a Circuit Judge in 1873 by Governor Lewis. He was the 6th Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, serving in the post from 1875 to 1878. Serving northern and middle Alabama, he served from 1881 to 1885 as a Federal District Attorney under President James Garfield. His son was an unsuccessful candidate for governor in 1902.