Reed Smoot and the League of Nations: Duty to Church and Party

Authors

Brandon Hellewell, Brigham Young University

Keywords

Reed Smoot, League of Nations, LDS Church

Abstract

Senator Reed Smoot (R-UT) lived his life with two great devotions, the Republican Party and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1919, he held high positions in both. At that time, and in his seventeenth year as a senator, Smoot served as a member of the Senate Finance Committee. He also served as an Apostle of the LDS Church. These two parts of Smoot's life created tensions at several junctures, including 1919 when the Republican Party and LDS Church took opposing sides in the battle over United States membership in the League of Nations. The Church supported League membership, commending President Woodrow Wilson's program as the answer for peace. The Republican Party believed membership in the League would sacrifice portions of American sovereignty. For over a year, from February 1919 to March 1920, what contemporaries called "the League fight" raged across the United States and especially in Utah. The treaty ultimately failed to reach the necessary two-thirds majority for ratification for a second and final time on March 19, 1920.

Recommended Citation

Hellewell, Brandon (2013) "Reed Smoot and the League of Nations: Duty to Church and Party," The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing: Vol. 42: Iss. 1, Article 4.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/thetean/vol42/iss1/4