Margaret Madeline Smith (née Chase; December 14, 1897 – May 29, 1995) was an American politician. A member of the
Republican Party
Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party.
Republican Party may also refer to:
Africa
* Republican Party (Liberia)
*Republican Party ...
, she served as a
U.S. representative (1940–1949) and a
U.S. senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and power ...
(1949–1973) from
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...
.
She was the first woman to serve in both houses of the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
, and the first woman to represent Maine in either.
A moderate Republican, she was among the first to criticize the tactics of
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarth ...
in her 1950 speech, "
Declaration of Conscience
The Declaration of Conscience was a Cold War speech made by U.S. Senator from Maine, Margaret Chase Smith on June 1, 1950, less than four months after Senator Joe McCarthy's " Wheeling Speech," on February 9, 1950. Her speech was endorsed by six ot ...
".
Smith was a candidate for the
Republican presidential nomination in the
1964 election; she was the first woman to be placed in nomination for the
presidency
A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by ...
at a
major party
A major party is a political party that holds substantial influence in a country's politics, standing in contrast to a minor party.
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Major parties hold a significant percentage of the vote in elect ...
's convention.
Upon leaving office, she was the longest-serving female senator in history, a distinction that was not surpassed until January 5, 2011, when Senator
Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Ann Mikulski ( ; born July 20, 1936) is an American politician and social worker who served as a United States senator from Maryland from 1987 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she also served in the United States House of Repr ...
from
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...
was sworn in for a fifth term.
Smith was ranked as the longest-serving Republican woman in the Senate, a distinction that was not surpassed until January 3, 2021, when
Susan Collins, who holds the same Senate seat she previously held, was sworn in for a fifth term.
Early life and education
Margaret Chase was born in
Skowhegan
Skowhegan () is the county seat of Somerset County, Maine. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the town population was 8,620. Every August, Skowhegan hosts the annual Skowhegan State Fair, the oldest continuously-held state fair i ...
in central
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...
, to George Emery and Carrie Matilda (née Murray) Chase.
She was the oldest of six children, two of whom did not survive to adulthood.
Her father was of
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
ancestry, a descendant of immigrants to the original
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centu ...
in the 17th century; her great-great grandfather commanded an artillery company during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...
, and her grandfather served in the
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
during the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
.
Her mother's family was
French Canadian
French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fre ...
, having immigrated from
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
in the middle of the 19th century; her grandfather Lambert Morin changed his name to John Murray to avoid anti-French Canadian and
anti-Catholic
Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestant states, including England, Prussia, Scotland, and the Uni ...
prejudice.
Her father was the town
barber
A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...
, and her mother worked as a waitress, store clerk, and shoe factory worker.
She received her early education at Lincoln and Garfield Elementary Schools.
At age 12, she went to work at a local
five-and-dime
A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, automotive parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, home furnishings, and a selection of groceries. It u ...
store and even bought herself a
life insurance
Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the dea ...
policy.
She also shaved her father's customers when he was busy or away from the shop.
She attended
Skowhegan High School, graduating in 1916.
During high school, she played on the girls'
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
team, of which she was captain in her senior year.
She also worked as a substitute operator with a telephone company during this time.
In that position she met
Clyde Smith, a prominent local politician, who arranged a job for her as a part-time assistant to the tax assessor.
Early career
Following her high school graduation, Chase briefly taught at the Pitts School, a
one-room school
One-room schools, or schoolhouses, were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and s ...
near Skowhegan.
She also coached the girls' basketball team at Skowhegan High (1917–18).
She was a business executive for the
Maine Telephone and Telegraph Company (1918–1919) before joining the staff of the ''Independent Reporter'', a Skowhegan weekly newspaper (owned by Clyde Smith) for whom she was circulation manager from 1919 to 1928.
She became involved with local women's organizations. She co-founded the Skowhegan chapter of the
Business and Professional Women's Club in 1922, and served as editor of the club's magazine, ''The Pine Cone''.
From 1926 to 1928, she was president of the statewide organization, the Maine Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs.
She became treasurer of the New England Waste Process Company in 1928 and was also employed as an office worker with the Daniel E. Cummings Woolen Company, a local textile mill.
On May 14, 1930, Chase married Clyde Smith, who was 21 years her senior.
She soon became active in politics and was elected to the
Maine Republican State Committee, on which she served from 1930 to 1936.
After Clyde was elected to the
U.S. House of Representatives from
Maine's 2nd congressional district
Maine's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Maine. Covering , it comprises nearly 80% of the state's total land area. The district comprises most of the land area north of the Portland and Augusta met ...
in 1936, Smith accompanied her husband to
Washington, D.C., to serve as his secretary.
In this position, she managed his office, handled his correspondence, conducted research, and helped write his speeches.
She also served as treasurer of the
Congressional Club
The Congressional Club (founded in 1908) is an historic clubhouse located at 2001 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, D.C., in the U Street Corridor. The organization it hosts, which is the official club of congressional spouses, was created in ...
, a group composed of the wives of congressmen and
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filin ...
members.
U.S. House of Representatives
In the spring of 1940, Clyde Smith fell seriously ill after suffering a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
, and asked his wife to run for his House seat in the general election the following September.
He prepared a press release in which he stated, "I know of no one else who has the full knowledge of my ideas and plans or is as well qualified as she is, to carry on these ideas and my unfinished work for my district."
He died on April 8 of that year, and a special election was scheduled on the following June 3 to complete his unexpired term.
Facing no
Democratic challenger, Smith won the special election and became the first woman elected to Congress from Maine.
Three months after the special election, she was elected to a full two-year term in the House in her own right.
Smith defeated
Edward J. Beauchamp, the Democratic mayor of
Lewiston, by a margin of 65%–35%.
She was re-elected to three more terms over the course of the next eight years, never receiving less than 60% of the vote.
During her tenure in the House, Smith developed a strong interest in issues concerning the military and national security. After being appointed to the
House Naval Affairs Committee
The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of Defe ...
in 1943, she was assigned to the investigation of destroyer production, and made a 25,000-mile (40,234-km) tour of bases in the
South Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
during the winter of 1944.
She also became the first and only civilian woman to sail on a U.S. Navy ship during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.
She became known as "Mother of the
WAVES
Waves most often refers to:
* Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass.
* Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water.
Waves may also refer to:
Music
*Waves (ban ...
" after introducing legislation to create that organization.
Although Congresswoman Smith was a strong supporter of women in the armed services, she did not write the legislation that created the special female military units during World War II. She did, however, champion the legislation that gave women permanent status in the military following the war.
A supporter of
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Harry S. Truman's foreign policies, she was mentioned as a possible candidate for
Under Secretary of the Navy
Under may refer to:
* "Under" (Alex Hepburn song), 2013
* "Under" (Pleasure P song), 2009
*Bülent Ünder (born 1949), Turkish footballer
*Cengiz Ünder (born 1997), Turkish footballer
*Marie Under (1883–1980), Estonian poet
* Under (restaurant) ...
in 1945 and for
Assistant Secretary of State in 1947.
Smith became a member of the
House Armed Services Committee
The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of De ...
in 1946, also serving as chair of its Subcommittee on Hospitalization and Medicine.
In this position, she sponsored and ensured the passage of the
Women's Armed Services Integration Act, a bill to regularize the status of women in the armed forces that was signed into law by President Truman in June 1948.
Smith also earned a reputation as a moderate Republican who often broke ranks with her party.
She supported much of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt's
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Con ...
legislation, as had her husband while he was in office.
She voted in favor of the
Selective Service Act in 1940 and voted against the
Smith–Connally Act in 1943.
In 1945, she voted against making the
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, create ...
a permanent body.
As a member of the House, Smith began wearing a single red
rose
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
that became a daily fixture of her attire throughout her career in public office.
She waged a long campaign to have the rose declared the
official
An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their su ...
flower of the United States, which Congress eventually approved in 1987.
U.S. Senate
1948 election
In August 1947, after three-term incumbent
Wallace H. White Jr.
Wallace Humphrey White Jr. (August 6, 1877March 31, 1952) was an American politician and Republican leader in the United States Congress from 1917 until 1949. White was from the U.S. state of Maine and served in the U.S. House of Representative ...
decided to retire, Smith announced her candidacy for his seat in the
U.S. Senate.
In the Republican primary, she faced incumbent Governor
Horace A. Hildreth
Horace Augustus Hildreth (December 2, 1902 – June 2, 1988) was born in Gardiner, Maine, the son of an attorney. Hildreth attended local schools before graduating from Bowdoin College in the class of 1925 and receiving his LL.B. from Harvard Un ...
, former Governor
Sumner Sewall, and Reverend Albion Beverage.
She ran a grassroots campaign with little money, using the slogan, "Don't change a record for a promise."
When the wife of one of her opponents questioned whether a woman would be a good Senator, Smith replied, "Women administer the home. They set the rules, enforce them, mete out justice for violations. Thus, like Congress, they legislate; like the Executive, they administer; like the courts, they interpret the rules. It is an ideal experience for politics."
On June 21, 1948, she won the primary election and received more votes than her three opponents combined.
In the general election on September 13, she defeated Democrat Adrian H. Scolten by a margin of 71%–29%. She became the first woman to represent Maine in the Senate, and the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress.
[
]
Early tenure
Smith was sworn into the Senate on January 3, 1949. After a year in office, she gained national attention when she became the first member of Congress to condemn the anti-Communist witch hunt led by her fellow Republican Senator, Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarth ...
from Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. Smith was initially impressed by McCarthy's accusations of Communists working in the State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...
, but became disillusioned after McCarthy failed to provide any evidence to validate his charges.
Smith voted in favor of Harry Truman's Supreme Court nomination of Tom C. Clark on August 18, 1949, but was absent during the nomination of Sherman Minton
Sherman "Shay" Minton (October 20, 1890 – April 9, 1965) was an American politician and jurist who served as a U.S. senator from Indiana and later became an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; he was a member of the ...
while Senate Minority Whip Leverett Saltonstall
Leverett A. Saltonstall (September 1, 1892June 17, 1979) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He served three two-year terms as the 55th Governor of Massachusetts, and for more than twenty years as a United States senato ...
announced that Smith would have voted in favor if present. Smith was present in the United States Senate on March 1, 1954, when Dwight Eisenhower's nomination of Earl Warren
Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presided over a major shift in American constitutio ...
as Chief Justice of the United States was unanimously confirmed, voted in favor of the nomination of John Marshall Harlan II on March 16, 1955, was present for the unanimous nominations of William J. Brennan Jr. and Charles Evans Whittaker on March 19, 1957, and voted in favor of the nomination of Potter Stewart
Potter Stewart (January 23, 1915 – December 7, 1985) was an American lawyer and judge who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1958 to 1981. During his tenure, he made major contributions to, among other areas ...
on May 5, 1959. She opposed the tactics being used by members of her party, such as Joseph McCarthy, and spoke out saying, "As an American, I condemn a Republican Fascist just as much as I condemn a Democrat Communist. They are equally dangerous to you and me and to our country. As an American, I want to see our nation recapture the strength and unity it once had when we fought the enemy instead of ourselves."[ Richardson, Heather Cox, ]
On the anniversary of June 1, 1950 speech by Margaret Chase Smith
', ''Letters from an American'', ''Substack
Substack is an American online platform that provides publishing, payment, analytics, and design infrastructure to support subscription newsletters. It allows writers to send digital newsletters directly to subscribers. Founded in 2017, Substack ...
'', June 1, 2022
Declaration of Conscience and after until 1960
On June 1, 1950, Smith delivered a fifteen-minute speech on the Senate floor, known as the "Declaration of Conscience
The Declaration of Conscience was a Cold War speech made by U.S. Senator from Maine, Margaret Chase Smith on June 1, 1950, less than four months after Senator Joe McCarthy's " Wheeling Speech," on February 9, 1950. Her speech was endorsed by six ot ...
," in which she refused to name McCarthy directly but denounced "the reckless abandon in which unproved charges have been hurled from this side of the aisle." She said McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner.
The term origin ...
had "debased" the Senate to "the level of a forum of hate and character assassination." She defended every American's "right to criticize... right to hold unpopular beliefs... right to protest; the right of independent thought." While acknowledging her desire for Republicans' political success, she said, "I don't want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the four horsemen of calumny—fear, ignorance, bigotry, and smear." Six other moderate Republican Senators signed on to her Declaration: Wayne Morse
Wayne Lyman Morse (October 20, 1900 – July 22, 1974) was an American attorney and United States Senator from Oregon. Morse is well known for opposing his party's leadership and for his opposition to the Vietnam War on constitutional grounds.
...
from Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, George Aiken
George David Aiken (August 20, 1892November 19, 1984) was an American politician and horticulturist. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 64th governor of Vermont (1937–1941) before serving in the United States Senate for 34 years, ...
from Vermont
Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
, Edward Thye
Edward John Thye (April 26, 1896August 28, 1969) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 26th governor of Minnesota from 1943 to 1947 and a United States Senator from 1947 to 1959.
Early life and education
Edwa ...
from Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...
, Irving Ives
Irving McNeil Ives (January 24, 1896 – February 24, 1962) was an American politician and founding dean of the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations. A Republican, he served as a United States Senator from New York from ...
from New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, Charles Tobey
Charles William Tobey (July 22, 1880July 24, 1953) was an American politician, who was the 62nd governor of New Hampshire from 1929 to 1931, and a United States senator.
Biography
He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, the son of William Tobey, ...
from New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, and Robert C. Hendrickson
Robert Clymer Hendrickson (August 12, 1898December 7, 1964) was an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States senator from New Jersey.
Early life and education
Born in Woodbury, New Jersey, Hendrickson attended publ ...
from New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
. Her speech ended with a warning: "It is high time that we all stopped being tools and victims of totalitarian techniques—techniques that, if continued here unchecked, will surely end what we have come to cherish as the American way of life."
In response to her speech, McCarthy referred to Smith and the six other Senators as "Snow White
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection '' Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as T ...
and the Six Dwarfs." He removed her as a member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, giving her seat to Senator Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
from California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. He also helped finance an unsuccessful primary challenger during Smith's re-election campaign in 1954. Smith later observed, "If I am to be remembered in history, it will not be because of legislative accomplishments, but for an act I took as a legislator in the U.S. Senate when on June 1, 1950, I spoke ... in condemnation of McCarthyism, when the junior Senator from Wisconsin had the Senate paralyzed with fear that he would purge any Senator who disagreed with him."[ She voted for McCarthy's censure in 1954.]
On July 17, 1950, Smith was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...
in the Air Force Reserve
The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commi ...
, and she served until 1958.
In the 1952 election, Smith was widely mentioned as a vice-presidential candidate under General Dwight D. Eisenhower. When asked by a reporter what she would do if she woke up one morning and found herself in the White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
, she replied: "I'd go straight to Mrs. Truman and apologize. Then I'd go home."
On December 3, 1957, Smith became the first woman in Congress to break the sound barrier
The sound barrier or sonic barrier is the large increase in aerodynamic drag and other undesirable effects experienced by an aircraft or other object when it approaches the speed of sound. When aircraft first approached the speed of sound, th ...
, which she did as a passenger in an F-100 Super Sabre
The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of U ...
piloted by Air Force Major Clyde Good.
Exhibiting the same independent nature in the Senate as she had in the House, Smith opposed President Eisenhower's nomination of Lewis Strauss as Secretary of Commerce
The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...
in 1959.
1960 re-election
In her successful re-election campaign in 1960, she ran against Democrat Lucia Cormier, the minority leader of the Maine House of Representatives
The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via ...
; it was the first time in American history that two women ran against each other for a Senate seat.
1964 presidential election
On January 27, 1964, Smith announced her candidacy for President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
.[ She declared, "I have few illusions and no money, but I'm staying for the finish. When people keep telling you you can't do a thing, you kind of like to try."] Gladys Shelley wrote her a presidential nomination campaign song, "Leave It to the Girls", which was sung by Hildegarde. Smith lost every single primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Works
...
election, but did manage to win 25% of the vote in Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
. At the 1964 Republican National Convention
The 1964 Republican National Convention took place in the Cow Palace, Daly City, California, from July 13 to July 16, 1964. Before 1964, there had been only one national Republican convention on the West Coast, the 1956 Republican National Convent ...
in San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
, she became the first woman to have her name be placed in nomination for the presidency at a major political party's convention. She placed fifth in the initial balloting, and denied unanimous consent for Senator Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for president ...
from Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
after refusing to withdraw her name from the final ballot.[ She nevertheless campaigned for Goldwater in the general election, appearing in a television ad in which she defended his position on ]Social Security
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
.
Later tenure
During the administration of President John F. Kennedy, Smith argued that the United States should use nuclear weapons against the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
. This led Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...
to call Smith "the devil in disguise of a woman" whose position exceeded "all records of savagery." Smith later replied, "Mr. Khrushchev isn't really mad at me. I am not that important. He is angry because American officials have grown more firm since my speech." The morning after Kennedy's assassination in November 1963, she went into the Senate chamber before it convened and laid a rose on the desk Kennedy had occupied as a Senator. A member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, she supported the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
but opposed the deployment of the Sentinel anti-ballistic missile
An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a surface-to-air missile designed to counter ballistic missiles (missile defense). Ballistic missiles are used to deliver nuclear, chemical, biological, or conventional warheads in a ballistic flight trajec ...
.
Smith was the first (and as yet only) woman to serve as chair
A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vari ...
of the Senate Republican Conference
The Senate Republican Conference is the formal organization of the Republican Senators in the United States Senate, who currently number 50. Over the last century, the mission of the conference has expanded and been shaped as a means of informi ...
, serving from 1967 to 1972. She was a strong supporter of the space program and served as a charter member of the Senate Aeronautical and Space Committee. NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
administrator James E. Webb once commented that the United States never would have placed a man on the Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
if it were not for Smith. She supported increased educational funding, civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...
, and Medicare. Smith voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Ja ...
, 1964, and 1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* J ...
, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights m ...
. She held an all-time voting record in the Senate until 1981 with 2,941 consecutive roll call votes.
Smith was present in the Senate when Kennedy's Supreme Court nominations of Byron White
Byron "Whizzer" Raymond White (June 8, 1917 April 15, 2002) was an American professional football player and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1962 until his retirement in 1993.
Born and raised in Colo ...
and Arthur Goldberg
Arthur Joseph Goldberg (August 8, 1908January 19, 1990) was an American statesman and jurist who served as the 9th U.S. Secretary of Labor, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the 6th United States Ambassador to ...
to the U.S. Supreme Court were unanimously confirmed on April 11, 1962, and on September 25, 1962, respectively. Smith was present in the Senate when Lyndon Johnson's nomination of Abe Fortas
Abraham Fortas (June 19, 1910 – April 5, 1982) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1965 to 1969. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Fortas graduated from R ...
was unanimously confirmed on August 11, 1965, and voted in favor of the confirmation of Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-A ...
on August 30, 1967. On June 9, 1969, Smith voted in favor of President Nixon's nomination of Warren E. Burger as Chief Justice of the United States. Smith voted against Nixon's failed Supreme Court nomination of Clement Haynsworth
Clement Furman Haynsworth Jr. (October 30, 1912 – November 22, 1989) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He was also an unsuccessful nominee for the United States Supreme Court in 19 ...
on November 21, 1969, and a few months later, Smith voted against Nixon's failed Supreme Court nomination of Harrold Carswell on April 8, 1970. The following month, Smith voted in favor of Nixon's nomination of Harry Blackmun
Harry Andrew Blackmun (November 12, 1908 – March 4, 1999) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 to 1994. Appointed by Republican President Richard Nixon, Black ...
on May 12, 1970. On December 6, 1971, Smith voted in favor of Nixon's nomination of Lewis F. Powell Jr., and on December 10, Smith was absent when Nixon's nomination of William Rehnquist
William Hubbs Rehnquist ( ; October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American attorney and jurist who served on the U.S. Supreme Court for 33 years, first as an associate justice from 1972 to 1986 and then as the 16th chief justice from ...
as Associate Justice was confirmed while Senate Minority Whip Robert P. Griffin
Robert Paul Griffin (November 6, 1923 – April 16, 2015) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Michigan in the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate and was a Justice of the ...
announced that Smith would have voted in favor if present.
1972 election
She was defeated for re-election in 1972 by Democrat Bill Hathaway, the only election she ever lost in the state of Maine. In her last election, Smith had been plagued by rumors of poor health (she had been using a motor scooter around the Senate). A Republican primary challenger taunted her for being out of touch; she did not have a state office operating in Maine. Smith lost the election by 27,230 votes, a margin of 53%–47%.
Awards and honors
She was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
in 1952. In 1973, Smith was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame
The National Women's Hall of Fame (NWHF) is an American institution incorporated in 1969 by a group of men and women in Seneca Falls, New York, although it did not induct its first enshrinees until 1973. As of 2021, it had 303 inductees.
Induc ...
. In 1995 Smith was awarded the Naval Heritage Award by the US Navy Memorial Foundation for her support of the US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, US Naval Reserves WAVES
Waves most often refers to:
* Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass.
* Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water.
Waves may also refer to:
Music
*Waves (ban ...
, and the military during her congressional career. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...
by President George H. W. Bush on July 6, 1989.
Later life and death
Following her departure from the Senate in January 1973, Smith taught at several colleges and universities as a visiting professor for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
The Institute for Citizens & Scholars (formerly known as the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation) is a nonpartisan, non-profit based in Princeton, New Jersey that aims to strengthen American democracy by “cultivating the talent, ideas, ...
(1973–1976). She resumed her residence in Skowhegan, where she oversaw the construction of a library to hold her papers.
At age 97, Smith died in her native Skowhegan in 1995, after suffering a stroke
A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...
eight days earlier that had left her in a coma
A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...
. She was cremated, and her ashes were placed in the residential wing of the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan. She was the last living U.S. senator who had been born in the 19th century.
Legacy
She is the namesake for th
Maine State Ferry Service
s Islesboro Ferry.
A large framed painting of Smith hangs in the Maine State House in Augusta, Maine.
On February 2, 1952, Smith was the guest on the CBS variety show ''Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town
''Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town'', also known as ''Wonderful Town, USA'', is a half-hour variety television series that aired on CBS from June 16, 1951, to April 19, 1952, in which Faye Emerson visits various cities. Episodes of the program were ...
'', in which hostess Faye Emerson
Faye Margaret Emerson (July 8, 1917 – March 9, 1983) was an American film and stage actress and television interviewer who gained fame as a film actress in the 1940s before transitioning to television in the 1950s and hosting her own talk show ...
visited
Washington, D.C., to accent the kinds of music popular in the nation's capital.
On June 14, 1953, she was the "mystery celebrity" guest on "What's My Line?
''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...
".
In 1958, Folkways Records
Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.
History
The Folkways Records & Service ...
released the album ''An Interview with Margaret Chase Smith'', in which she spoke of women in local and national politics, and addressed the youth of the nation.
In 1961, Smith published her favorite family recipe, Maine Clam Chowder, in support of the Gold Star Wives of America
The Gold Star Wives of America (Gold Star Spouses) (GSW) is a private nonprofit organization formed before the end of World War II to provide support for the spouses and children of those who lost their lives while serving in the Armed Forces of t ...
military family support organization.
Patricia Neal
Patricia Neal (born Patsy Louise Neal, January 20, 1926 – August 8, 2010) was an American actress of stage and screen. A major star of the 1950s and 1960s, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and two ...
dramatized Senator Smith's Declaration of Conscience speech in the 1978 television movie ''Tail Gunner Joe
''Tail Gunner Joe'' is a 1977 television movie dramatizing the life of U.S. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, a Wisconsin Republican who claimed knowledge of communist infiltration of the U.S. government during the 1950s. The film was broadcast on ...
''.
In 1965, she was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) from Whittier College
Whittier College (Whittier Academy (1887–1901)) is a private liberal arts college in Whittier, California. It is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and, as of fall 2022, had approximately 1,300 (undergraduate and graduate) students. It was ...
.
In 1970, the twin Margaret Chase Smith bridges opened in Smith's hometown of Skowhegan, Maine, connecting Skowhegan Island to either side of the Kennebec River
The Kennebec River (Abenaki: ''Kinəpékʷihtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 30, 2011 river within the U.S. state of Maine. It rises in Moosehead ...
.
In 1979, the Supersisters
''Supersisters'' was a set of 72 trading cards produced and distributed in the United States in 1979 by Supersisters, Inc. They featured famous women from politics, media and entertainment, culture, sports, and other areas of achievement. The c ...
trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Smith's name and picture.
Janis Benson portrayed Senator Smith in the 1998 miniseries ''From the Earth to the Moon
''From the Earth to the Moon: A Direct Route in 97 Hours, 20 Minutes'' (french: De la Terre à la Lune, trajet direct en 97 heures 20 minutes) is an 1865 novel by Jules Verne. It tells the story of the Baltimore Gun Club, a post-American Civil W ...
''.
On June 13, 2007, the United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...
issued a 58¢ postage stamp in its Distinguished Americans series to honor her.
In 2010, the United States political action committee Maggie's List
Maggie's List is a United States federal political action committee founded in Florida in 2010 to "raise awareness and funds to increase the number of conservative women elected to federal public office." It is named after Margaret Chase Smith ...
was founded, named after Smith; it works to "raise awareness and funds to increase the number of conservative women elected to federal public office."
On June 8, 2022, a room in the United States Capitol
The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...
was named after Smith (the Margaret Chase Smith room). It is one of the first two rooms in the Capitol to be named after women who were senators, the other being the Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Ann Mikulski ( ; born July 20, 1936) is an American politician and social worker who served as a United States senator from Maryland from 1987 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she also served in the United States House of Repr ...
room, which was named on the same day.
See also
* Chase family
The Chase family is an American family whose members included early American pioneers and those involved in politics, the clergy, business and the military. Originating in Chesham, England, brothers Aquila Chase II and Thomas Chase journeyed to ...
* Women in the United States House of Representatives
* Women in the United States Senate
This article covers the history of women in the United States Senate and various milestones achieved by female senators. It includes a list of all women who have served in the Senate, a list of current female senators, and a list of states repre ...
References
Further reading
*
* Gallant, Gregory P. ''Hope and Fear in Margaret Chase Smith's America: A Continuous Tangle'' (Lexington, 2014)
* Sherman, Janann. ''No place for a woman: A life of Senator Margaret Chase Smith'' (Rutgers University Press, 2000)
* Sherman, Janann. "'They Either Need These Women or They Do Not': Margaret Chase Smith and the Fight for Regular Status for Women in the Military." ''Journal of Military History'' 54#1 (1990): 47–78. in JSTOR
External links
Brief biography at the US Senate
Margaret Chase Smith Library
Audio clip
(PDF)
''An Interview with Margaret Chase Smith''
at Smithsonian Folkways
Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fo ...
Sherman, Janann. ''No Place for a Woman: A Life of Senator Margaret Chase Smith'' (2000)
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Margaret Chase
1897 births
1995 deaths
20th-century American politicians
20th-century American women politicians
American people of English descent
American people of French-Canadian descent
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Female members of the United States House of Representatives
Female candidates for President of the United States
Female United States senators
Members of the Junior League
Military personnel from Maine
People from Skowhegan, Maine
Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine
Republican Party United States senators from Maine
United States Air Force reservists
United States Air Force officers
Candidates in the 1964 United States presidential election
Women in Maine politics
Women in the United States Air Force
Daughters of the American Revolution people
WAVES (Navy)