Margaret Chase Smith Elected to Senate

In 1948 Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was elected to the United States Senate, having previously represented her state in the House of Representatives, where she had first won election in 1940. Her move from the House to the Senate made her the first woman to be elected to and serve in both chambers of Congress. A Republican known for her independence, she gained national attention in 1950 for her 'Declaration of Conscience' speech denouncing the tactics of Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Smith served four terms in the Senate, retiring in 1972 after losing her bid for reelection. Her long tenure demonstrated that a woman could build a durable, influential career in the nation's highest legislative body on her own merits. In 1964 she also sought the Republican presidential nomination, becoming the first woman placed in nomination for the presidency by a major party at its convention, further broadening expectations of what women could achieve in American political life.