Summary
In an unnamed state in the west, a man named Hubert, nicknamed "Happy" Hopper, needs to find a replacement for a senator, Sam Foley, who has recently died. Senator Joseph Paine calls Happy in the middle of the night and gives him the news as the film opens, telling him that it could not have happened at a worse time. Happy calls a man named Jim Taylor, his boss, to give him the news. Jim says he's saddened to hear the news, and gives him instructions, all of which Happy accepts. When Happy hangs up the phone, his wife sarcastically mentions, "I suppose you'd drop dead if you ever said no to him."
At the statehouse, people argue about what needs to happen next and mention the fact that Hopper is probably taking all his cues from Taylor. In his office, Hopper tells an associate, Chick McGann, that he has to go speak to the citizens, who are in a state of panic, before going to speak to Jim Taylor about the decision. In the next room, Jim Taylor tells him that they will be ready with a decision soon and Hopper obediently goes back into his own office without putting up a fight. "That's telling him, Happy old boy!" says Chick sarcastically.
Jim Taylor speaks to Joseph Paine, who tells him that whoever takes Foley's place has to be somewhat docile—someone who won't ask any questions about an upcoming dam project. Taylor wants to put Horace Miller in because he will take orders. Meanwhile, Paine expresses doubts about the dam project. Taylor persuades him that it is in their interest to go ahead with the project, saying, "It'll be like taking candy from a baby," and showing Paine the promotional materials he is making to endorse Paine in the upcoming election.
Taylor insists that if they delay or drop the dam project, there will be an investigation that will reveal their corruption. Hearing this, Paine agrees that Taylor ought to appoint Miller, "if you're sure he'll take orders." Taylor goes into Hopper's office and tells him that they're going to appoint Miller. "Why, Horace'll perform like a trained seal!" says Chick McGann, and Hopper begins to protest, but Taylor tells him it has to be Miller and all the men leave.
Hopper makes an announcement to the citizens that Horace Miller is his new appointment and they break out in protest, calling Miller a "party man" and a "stooge."
That night, Hopper tells Taylor and McGann that the citizens named their own candidate, Henry Hill, to run against Horace Miller. While Taylor tries to nip it in the bud, Hopper insists that the citizens want Henry Hill, a reformer. "I won't send Horace Miller," says Hopper, standing up for himself, but Taylor still will not take no for an answer.
Hopper sits down to dinner with his family that night. His children all ask him what he's going to do about the new appointment, and some of his sons tell him that he ought not to put Horace Miller in the seat, and that he shouldn't let Taylor call the shots. When Hopper tells his wife that he doesn't want to be told what to do by his own children, his wife insists, "Why don't you listen to your children for a change?"
In an overwhelming chorus of appreciation, Hopper's children endorse Jefferson Smith to run against Horace Miller. They tell him that Smith is the head of the Boy Rangers and is an expert on wild game, animals, and the outdoors. They go on to tell their father that Smith recently put out a large forest fire and is a true American. Hopper flees the room, overwhelmed by the responsibility of making this decision.
In the next room, Hopper flips a coin to decide between Miller and Hill. The coin lands on its side, leaned up against a newspaper with a large headline about Jefferson Smith's heroism. "That's good enough for me," he says and goes to Smith's house to talk to him.
When Hopper rings the doorbell at Smith's, a rousing patriotic anthem plays and he flees the porch in fear. However, a woman answers the door and invites him into the house. Inside, a band plays the anthem in Smith's crowded living room. Suddenly we see a newspaper headline that tells of Hopper's appointment of Smith to the Senate.
The scene shifts to Taylor scolding Hopper about appointing a Boy Ranger to the Senate. Hopper assures Taylor and Paine that because Smith is so naive and country-loving, he will be easy to manipulate. He shows them congratulations that are coming in from citizens about the appointment, to show them how popular Smith is. Paine thinks it's alright, saying, "A young patriot, quotes Lincoln and Jefferson, turned loose in our nation's capital." This is enough to convince Taylor, who tells McGann to throw a banquet and celebrate the appointment.
At the banquet, Hopper gloats about his appointment of a man of the people, saying, "He went down among the people and there he found a nugget." The crowds cheer for Smith as he stands and takes the microphone, reading from a small piece of paper.
"I can't help feeling that there's been a big mistake," says Smith to laughter. He hesitantly gives a speech, mentioning that Paine went to school with his father and the two of them were good friends. Paine is surprised to hear this and looks over at Smith's mother, who smiles and waves. "I remember Dad used to tell me Joe Paine was the finest man he ever knew," Smith says to thunderous applause. He tells the crowds that he will not be very helpful in Washington, modestly taking his seat as a parade of Boy Rangers begins. The Boy Rangers present Smith with a briefcase for Washington, as everyone sings "Auld Lang Syne."
On the train to Washington, Paine tells Smith that he's just like his father, calling the elder Mr. Smith "the champion of lost causes." Smith tells him, "Dad used to say the only causes worth fighting for were lost causes." Paine reminisces that they used to be a team, a struggling editor and a struggling lawyer, fighting for the underdog. Paine alludes to the fact that Clayton Smith was murdered, shot in the back by a syndicate, for fighting for what he believed in.
They arrive in Washington, and as Smith goes to get his luggage, McGann complains to Paine that Smith spent the whole trip spouting American history. Paine greets his daughter, as a group of girls kiss Smith on the cheek and ask for him to make donations to the milk fund, 1$ each. He does not have any cash, as Paine introduces one of the young women as his daughter, Susan.
Smith is smitten with Susan and tells her that he's brought some pigeons with him to act as messenger pigeons. Paine introduces Smith to Mr. Cook and Mr. Griffith, members of the state's headquarters in Washington. Everyone leaves and bids goodbye to Smith as he turns to McGann and says, "Things sure happen fast around here, don't they?" "You'll have to get yourself out of low gear, Senator," says McGann. Suddenly, Smith becomes transfixed by a view of the Capitol dome.
Cook and Griffith ask McGann why Smith brought pigeons with him, and they laugh about how provincial he is, when suddenly they realize he's disappeared. McGann makes a call to Clarissa Saunders, Paine's secretary, asking if Smith has arrived at his office, but she hasn't seen him, joking that they ought to use a "butterfly net."
Saunders tells "Diz" Moore, the press secretary in the office, that Smith is missing. "Wouldn't it be funny if he is lost?" Diz says, but Saunders jokes that he must have a compass with him.
Smith rides a bus around Washington looking at all the sights, as patriotic music plays. At the Lincoln Memorial, he looks up at the large statue of Lincoln reverently, and hears a young boy reading part of the Gettysburg Address to himself. A black man enters the memorial and takes off his hat and Smith is overcome with emotion.
Back at the office, Saunders calls Paine, as he complains that they cannot find Smith. "Why don't I quit?" Saunders says, complaining about the fact that she doesn't like working in politics. Diz makes an offer of marriage to Saunders, referring to his old standing offer—"Diz Moore, poet of Washington correspondence"—but Saunders notes that she's never seen him with his hair combed.
Analysis
The film tells a story about political corruption, and of citizens and politicians speaking up to that corruption. At the start, when Sam Foley dies, Happy Hopper is struggling to wield his authority as a politician because he is under the thumb of the corrupt and crooked Jim Taylor. Even when he tries to speak out against Jim Taylor's manipulation and control of his authority, Taylor's calm and nefarious influence intimidates the earnest Happy. Thus, the film starts off by showing that politics are susceptible to corruption and manipulation.
The corruption will not stand, however, as the citizens want a reformer to take the place of Sam Foley. They nominate Henry Hill, who will look out for the people's interests and is a threat to Taylor's less-than-ethical plans. Thus, a conflict arises between the few powerful people pulling the strings in government to make an easy buck, and the people who want to look out for the interests of all. The conflict of the film is quickly established as a political conundrum.
From the mouth's of babes comes the one candidate who can take on the corrupt system. At a Hopper family dinner one night, all of Hopper's children tell their father about Jefferson Smith, the head of the Boy Rangers, a consummate patriot, firefighter, and frontiersman. They say his name with an innocent delight, and the fact that he is the film's titular character signals to the viewer that he will be the protagonist. Played by none other than wholesome, all-American Jimmy Stewart, Jefferson Smith is unassuming and enthusiastic, and perhaps a bit naive.
While skeptical at first, Hopper adopts his children's candidate, Smith, when he begins to imagine how easily manipulable Smith will be in the role of senator. He tells Taylor that Smith will be very patriotic and un-critical, taking orders obediently from "real" politicians. In Hopper, Taylor, and Paine's eyes, politics is about manipulation, spin, and corruption, so Smith, as an honest, nature-loving patriot, will have no chance of challenging their views or suggestions.
Smith, though popular in his state, is not ready for the culture shock of becoming a Washington heavy-hitter. He has a cage with some pigeons in it, a bewildered expression, and, as Chick McGann wittily notices, he's in "low gear" upon arrival. While he is beloved among his peers, he must acclimate to the mile-a-minute pace of east coast political life. Not only is he a little slow on the uptake, but he isn't even predictable enough to show up to work on his first day, disappearing on a tour of Washington.
