Margaret Chase Smith

Source 1 - Image

Photograph of Margaret Chase as a Young Girl

1903
Margaret Chase Smith Library, P1769

This photograph shows Margaret Chase when she was six years old in 1903. She was born on December 14, 1897, and was the oldest of six kids. Her parents were George and Carrie Chase.

Margaret’s dad, George, cut people’s hair for a living. Her mom, Carrie, worked in a store, a shoe factory, and as a waitress. Even when life was hard, her parents made sure the family stayed together. They all lived with Margaret’s grandfather, John Chase, in Skowhegan, Maine.

Margaret went to local schools in Skowhegan. She loved math and was a member and captain of the girls’ basketball team. She went on a class trip to Washington, DC, in 1912. Margaret wanted to go to college to become a physical education (gym) teacher, but her family did not have enough money to send her.

When she grew up, Margaret worked many different jobs, like in a small store, at the town office, as a teacher in a one-room school, as a telephone operator, and for the local newspaper. She helped start a club for working women, called the Skowhegan Business and Professional Women’s Club. In 1930, Margaret married Clyde Smith, who was an important local and state politician.

Source 2 - Image

Postcard with Picture of Margaret Chase Smith

1944
Maine State Museum, 2016.20.81

Margaret Chase Smith became an important American politician after taking office following her husband’s death. She represented the state of Maine as a U.S Representative from 1940 to 1949 and as a U.S. Senator from 1949 to 1973. She was the first woman to serve in both the House and the Senate.

This postcard shows Congresswoman Smith hard at work at her desk. Postcards were one way politicians communicated with their supporters.

Source 3 - Artifact

Margaret Chase Smith Campaign Pin

1964
Maine State Museum, 79.34.1

In January 1964, Margaret Chase Smith announced her intention to run as a Republican candidate for president.

Smith wanted to run a campaign based on her twenty-four years of experience in Congress. Smith did not ask for campaign contributions, refused to campaign when the Senate was in session – she didn’t want to miss a vote! She paid for everything with her own money and had the help of unpaid volunteers. She did not purchase TV or radio ads.

This made it difficult for her to compete against other candidates, and she failed to win the Republican nomination; she lost to Senator Barry Goldwater. Senator Goldwater lost the election to President Lyndon Johnson.

Margaret Chase Smith was famous for wearing a red rose pinned to her suit. She waged a long campaign to have the rose declared the official flower of the United States. The rose stood for the idea that a politician could be polite and yet powerful. During her campaign for president, pins with a plastic rose or an image of a rose were given away to supporters.