Gerald Smith

Gerald Smith
 			
1st Speaker of the House 			
Term: March 4, 1789 - March 4, 1793 			
Preceded By: Office Established 			
Succeeded By: Jonathan Banks Jr. 			
U.S. Representative from New Jersey 			
Term: March 4, 1789 - Present 			
Preceded By: Office Established 			
Succeeded By: N/A 			
2nd & 6th Governor of New Jersey 			
Term: October 26, 1781 - October 27, 1788 			
Preceded By: William Livingston / Linda Banks			
Succeeded By: Elisha Lawrence / John Lambert 			
Personal Details 			
Born: April 20, 1755 			
Death: N/A 			
State: New Jersey 			
Party: Party for Democracy 			
Alma Mater: N/A 			
Gerald Smith is a Representative of New Jersey representing the Party for Democracy. Gerald Smith has previously held the role of Speaker of the House and Governor of New Jersey. Gerald Smith was also well known as a Founding Father, and the founder of the Party for Democracy, the oldest and first political party.
==Political Career==
===State Legislator/Continental Congress===
Smith would be appointed as a Delegate to the Continental Congress in 1777, and Gerald Smith would become a State Legislator in 1778, being the youngest ever to assume both of the roles. In 1778 Smith helped pass major legislation allowing all males who own property to vote in the state, this would later be changed to anyone who owned property in the 1780s. 
===Governorship===
Gerald Smith would be appointed Governor in 1780 by the State Legislator, Smith had been a major supporter of democratization, and would make the Governorship an elected position which was elected every 3 years. 
Smith would support ratification in 1787, being one of the first few states to ratify the United States Constitution. Smith would decide not to run for a 4th term in office in 1788, citing that the term limit was 3, even though he legally was able since he only served 2 terms since the change was made. 
===House of Representatives===
Gerald Smith won election to the House of Representatives in 1788, being one of the most energetic and influential people immediately upon joining the House. Smith would win the first ever Speaker nomination process, becoming the first Speaker, under him many of the foundational laws and amendments were passed which we think of as fundamental to this day, including the Bill of Rights.
In 1793 Smith stepped down as Speaker, his successor, Jonathan Banks Jr., would infamously start a civil war after being removed from his office for improper conduct. Smith has remained in the House throughout it all, being the currently longest serving Speaker in history.
==Personal Life==
Gerald Smith was born on April 20, 1755. Gerald Smith would apprentice a a black smith at a young age, becoming a full fledged one, and making weapons in the early Revolutionary War, in 1777 after an awe-inspiring speech he was nominated for the Continental Congress, moving to the border areas of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Category:Representative
Category:Speaker of the House
Category:Governor
Category:Founding Father