Smith, Ellison DuRant

Smith, Ellison DuRant (“Cotton Ed”)

(1866–1944) U.S. senator; born near Lynchburg, S.C. Himself a cotton planter, he would devote his long political career to fighting high tariffs and Northern business/financial interests. He served in the U.S. Senate (Dem., S.C.; 1904–44), and after opposing Republican administrations he at first welcomed President Franklin Roosevelt; but he soon opposed the New Deal policies and agencies that he believed were inimical to the Southern way of life. He was also an outspoken white supremacist and during World War II he opposed the national mobilization efforts.