Smith Goes to Washington, Stewart plays Jefferson Smith; the leader of an organization called the boys rangers, which is something like the boy scouts. When a mid term senate vacancy appears in Smith's state, the Governor, although told to do other wise, selects him to fill the job. Jefferson, being young, inexperienced and popular with kids, turned out to be a perfect choice (or so he thought). .
We are introduced to most of the main characters in the early part of the film. Pitted against Jefferson is the Governor, whose strings are pulled by Jim Taylor, a sleazy big businessman in dealings with the State's other sitting Senator, Joseph Paine. Senator Paine is not only corruptly dealing with Taylor in a plan to skim real estate funds from the public purse but is also a childhood hero to Smith, because of his early years working as a partner with Jefferson's Father. .
The bad guys are quietly confident that they can fool the young Smith but of course the viewer knows that they may not have it quite so easy. When Jefferson arrives in Washington, after he finishes an emotional tour of the city's historical sites, he meets his personal assistant, known only as Saunders, played by Jean Arthur. Saunders is a character that has only stayed in the job this long because of threats and bribery from Senator Paine. .
Jefferson quickly proves to Saunders that his integrity and drive is real as he dives into a project to organize a national boys camp. Unfortunately the land that he intends to use has been claimed by Paine and Taylor for their scheme. This leads to some interesting insights into the American political system and the eventual head to head confrontation between Smith and everyone else. .
In the first battle Jefferson loses pitifully. Paine made up some very thorough corruption charges against Smith and he can't prove his innocence. Completely disappointed, Smith decides to give up the fight at least until Saunders encourages him.