Margaret Chase Smith is greeted by the Campus Republicans during Parents Weekend 1948.

Margaret Chase Smith at the Dads and Daughters softball game, 1948.

Visited Wilson in 1948 for Parents Weekend

Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman to win seats in both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate. From her beginning as the wife of a state representative to her role as senator and presidential candidate, she remains one of the most independent and determined women in the history of American politics.

In 1940, while suffering from a fatal heart condition, Representative Clyde Smith told his voters that he knew of no one more competent or knowledgeable about his political plans than his wife, and encouraged them to support Margaret’s candidacy following his death. This was the springboard for her political career, as she was quickly elected to fulfill the remainder of her husband’s term. This made her Maine’s first woman in Congress. 

She was continually re-elected until 1948, when she opted to run for senator after Maine’s senior senator stepped down. Despite the presence of many challenging competitors, she won the race and became the first woman to have held an office in both the House and the Senate. She was re-elected to this position several times. 

By 1964, she was ready for the next step in her political career and launched her presidential campaign. Despite her eventual loss, she never wavered in faith for a moment, and she became the first woman ever to be nominated for the presidency by a major political party. 

Years later, in 1989, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H. W. Bush.

It was several months before her 1948 Senate win that Margaret Chase Smith visited Wilson College for Parents’ Weekend. She was greeted with enthusiasm from many students and faculty, as they cheered for her with posters and signs. 

To the students, she said that because women have valuable thoughts and opinions, they should be given a chance to serve where they are happiest and most able, be it in politics or in the home. She also voiced her support for higher education, saying she believed education to be the responsibility of the community first, but also of the state and of the federal government. 

“A long-range system of education is necessary to prepare youths for the future, upon which so much depends,” she told The Billboard.

In 1969, Smith was once again active on the Wilson campus in her role as the honorary chair of the Centennial Celebration. 

Sources:

Billboard Vol. XXIX October 22, 1948

https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/21866