Margaret Chase Smith's Actions Against Communism

Throughout the mid-1900s, America was riddled with harsh rhetoric speaking out against the communism which came as a threat from the Soviet Union. One extreme demonstration known as McCarthyism, operated by Senator Joseph McCarthy, attacked accused Communists within President Truman's cabinet, the State Department, and even the United States Army. Because of McCarthy’s commanding and hard hitting tactics, it was difficult to counter his authority. When Senator Margaret Chase Smith spoke out against McCarthy’s actions on the Senate floor, she became the first Republican to openly criticize McCarthy. Although opposing McCarthy’s political crusade could have put here career to an end as she could have been McCarthy’s next targeted victim, her actions resulted in her emergence as a “woman of national importance.” Similar to the Senators appreciated in John F. Kennedy’s Profiles In Courage, Margaret Chase Smith adhered to her “independent judgement and individual ideas” instead of complying to the social and political norms of the mid-twentieth century. Margaret Chase Smith grew up in a traditional Methodist household in Skowhegan, Maine, where she began to formulate her own political
However, because Margaret Chase Smith set aside the Republican Party norms telling her to leave McCarthy be, and spoke up for her own individual ideas to benefit society as a whole, she gained tremendous respect throughout nation. This newfound respect allowed Margaret to run for, and win, a seat in the Senate for a continuous three more six year terms. Although Margaret Chase Smith displayed political courage to the greatest extent when she stood up to Senator McCarthy, she continued to take risks; she advocated for women's rights, and helped to crack the rather low glass ceiling that existed in the former half of the twentieth