Margaret Chase Smith

The full, toothy smile, the rose on the left lapel, the Declaration of Conscience. The public career of Sen. Margaret Chase Smith, which began before the attack on Pearl Harbor and ended as the United States was winding down the Vietnam conflict, is a series of images that will linger, an indelible part of Maine history.

Unfortunately, while many of today’s school children have heard her name and will remember her as an important figure, few know about the things for which she stood.

The senator from Skowhegan began her career in politics as a woman in what was very much a man’s world. Following the death of her husband, Rep. Clyde H. Smith in 1940, Margaret successfully ran for his seat, and until 1973 was an unstoppable force at Maine’s polling places. She proved that artificial barriers couldn’t stand in the way of someone who was determined, and who backed up desire with preparation.

She was the embodiment of the ideal politician, warm, with a gentle manner as a campaigner, tough in spirit, skilled and shrewd in the arena. The archetype for today’s successful political figures, her approach was simple. The public sent her to Washington to represent them, so she stayed there throughout the week. On the weekends, she went home to make a personal connection with the voters. The formula worked for more than three decades.

This ability to find virtue in duty was one of the reasons Maine people liked her. On June 15, 1961, she proudly displayed a tally sheet of 1,000 consecutive Senate roll call votes. Her final count, 2,941, was a record later broken by Wisconsin Sen. William Proxmire, but she set a standard other politicians would try to meet. Nearly all of them were unsuccessful.

Sen. Smith stood for the core values of a powerful country. A supporter of a strong national defense, she was a charter member of the Senate Space Commitee, and in 1954 toured 23 nations critical to U.S. interests during the Cold War. She interviewed heads of state: Nassar, Churchill, DeGaulle.

But no political figure, no member of Congress ever spoke with greater eloquence, showed more courage or stood taller than Sen. Margaret Chase Smith did June 1, 1950, when she delivered her Declaration of Conscience speech against the tyranny from the right, Proxmire’s predecessor, Sen. Joe McCarthy. Her appeal reveals timeless issues at the core of American political debate:

“Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism in making character assassination are all too frequently those whom by our own words and acts, ignore some of the basic principles of Americanism–

The right to criticize;

The right to hold unpopular beliefs;

The right to protest;

The right of independent thought.”

It was a powerful challenge. It emboldened her colleagues and a country to rid themselves of irrational fear, which she knew was a plague that killed liberty.

These words of hers remain a guidepost for the country 45 years after they were spoken. They probably will serve as well 45 years hence:

“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.”

What Margaret Chase Smith stood for is part of this state’s shared memory. It must be passed along. A study of her life and contributions should be part of the curriculum of Maine schools next year, a memorial tribute and also a gift to other generations.