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Title: Earl E. T. Smith papers
Date (inclusive): 1941-1991
Collection Number: 2011C14
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
5 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize box
(2.5 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Collection contains materials relating to American relations with Cuba and to the Cuban revolution of 1959. Includes drafts
of the memoir by Earl E. T. Smith,
The Fourth Floor: An Account of the Castro Communist Revolution (New York, 1962).
Creator:
Smith, Earl E. T.
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Box 6 may not be used without permission of the Archivist. The remainder of the collection is open for research; materials
must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection,
they must be reformatted before providing access.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2011.
[Identification of item], Earl E. T. Smith papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Earl Edward Tailer Smith was born in Newport, R.I., on July 8, 1903. He graduated from Yale in 1926, having won acclaim as
a polo player and the champion boxer of his class.
A member of the New York Stock Exchange for more than sixty years, Smith founded the brokerage firm Paige, Smith & Remick
in 1929 and was senior partner until 1937. He later served as director of various corporations, including the New York Central
Railroad, the New York Dock Corporation, Lionel Corporation, Sotheby's, and the United States Sugar Corporation.
Active in state and national politics, he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention four times and a member of
the Republican Platform Committee in 1960 and 1980. He served as finance chairman of the Republican State Committee in Florida
and a member of the Republican National Finance Committee from 1954 to 1956.
As the U.S. ambassador to Cuba from 1957 to 1959, Smith was an eyewitness to the collapse of the government of Cuban strongman
Fulgencio Batista and the advent of communist leader Fidel Castro. Appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in June 1957,
he arrived in Havana the following month. Shortly after his arrival, he found himself at the center of controversy. During
a trip to the eastern city of Santiago, he witnessed the brutal dispersal of a group of antigovernment demonstrators by the
police; when he remarked on the event during a subsequent press conference, he was sharply criticized by the Cuban government,
who called for his immediate dismissal. He had, however, the unequivocal support of Secretary of State John Foster Dulles
and thus remained at his post until January 1959, when he submitted his letter of resignation following Castro's revolution.
He subsequently lent his support to John F. Kennedy, a close friend, during the 1960 presidential campaign and sought to advise
the newly elected president on options for overthrowing Castro. In the following years, Smith wrote and spoke often about
Cuba, including in his memoir,
The Fourth Floor: An Account of the Castro Communist Revolution (New York, 1962).
A resident of Palm Beach, Florida, for more than fifty years, he was mayor of the city from 1971 to 1977. At the time of his
death, he was board chairman of the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach and was honored in 1989 with the dedication of the
Earl E. T. Smith Park. He died in 1991 at his home in Palm Beach.
Source: "Earl Smith, 87, Ambassador to Cuba in the 1950's" by Marvine Howe,
New York Times, February 17, 1991. Accessed May 25, 2011
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection relates to the life of Smith. The material particularly documents American relations with Cuba and the Cuban
revolution of 1959.
The collection includes a small amount of biographical information on Smith, an alphabetical correspondence file, speeches,
congressional testimony on communism, drafts of Smith's memoir
The Fourth Floor: An Account of the Castro Communist Revolution and other writings.
The Cuba file contains a set of alphabetical files with collected material on Cuba and the Cuban revolution, including a variety
of material such as correspondence, dispatches, memoranda, reports, and printed matter. In addition, the collection contains
a few photographs, sound recordings, and memorabilia.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Diplomats -- United States
Cuba -- Foreign relations -- United States
United States -- Foreign relations -- Cuba
Cuba -- History -- Revolution, 1959