College in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, from which he received his medical degree in 1848. He was the second African American to graduate from a medical school in the United States, after David J. Peck, who graduated from Rush Medical College in 1847. He then returned to the newly independent Liberia, working for the ACS as a doctor. Politics Smith served as Secretary of State from 1856 to 1860 and was later elected as a senator from Grand Bassa County from 1868 to 1869. In the 1869 presidential election, Smith was elected vice president under President Edward James Roye. The two were the first True Whig politicians to hold their respective offices. On October 26, 1871, President Roye was forcibly removed from office after unconstitutionally extending his term, leading Smith to serve the remaining two months of Roye's term as president. Smith's tenure as president remains the shortest in Liberian history. After stepping down as president, Smith returned to Buchanan and served as Superintendent of Grand Bassa County from 1874 to 1884. Smith's son, James Skivring Smith Jr., later became a successful politician in Liberia, also serving as Superintendent of Grand Bassa County and as vice president from 1930 to 1944. References Year of death uncertain 1825 births 1892 deaths 19th-century American physicians 19th-century Liberian politicians 19th-century Liberian physicians African-American physicians Americo-Liberian people American emigrants to Liberia Berkshire Medical College alumni Members of the Senate of Liberia Foreign Ministers of Liberia People from Buchanan, Liberia Physicians from South Carolina Politicians from Charleston, South Carolina Presidents of Liberia Vice presidents of Liberia True Whig Party politicians 19th-century African-American people