 With his
background in moral teaching he was prominent in starting the House of Refuge for 
Juvenile Delinquents in 1828.He was an important organizer of the 
American Pharmaceutical Association in 1852, and convened its first meeting in Philadelphia, where he was elected the APhA's first president.Smith was an original member of the Franklin Institute, and also of the 
Pennsylvania Historical Society from its organization in 1825, and was its first 
corresponding secretary.