legislator, U.S. secretary of the interior (1893–96), and progressive figure in Georgia politics.

Admitted to the bar in 1873, Smith practiced law in Atlanta and became active in local Democratic politics. He published the Atlanta Journal (1887–1900), which he used as a forum to champion virtually all progressive measures of the period, with the notable exception of civil rights for blacks.

In 1893 he was appointed secretary of the interior by Pres. Grover Cleveland. During his three years in that post, he proved a capable administrator. It was at Smith's urging that Congress created the National Forest Commission, its members selected by the National Academy of Sciences, to determine the status of American forests in 1896. In that year Smith resigned from the Cabinet to support the presidential campaign of William Jennings Bryan.

As governor of Georgia (1907–09) Smith improved education, transportation, and prison conditions. After an unsuccessful bid for his party's nomination in 1908, he was reelected to the governorship in 1910 but resigned early in his second term to fill a vacant seat in the U.S. Senate. Smith continued to promote progressive legislation as a senator (1911–21); however, he opposed unreserved U.S. participation in the League of Nations.