Declaration of Conscience

by Margaret Chase Smith

Genres: Politics, History

512 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Margaret Madeline Chase Smith (née Chase; 1897–1995) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, she served as a U.S. representative (1940–1949) and a U.S. senator (1949–1973) from Maine. She was the first woman to serve in both houses of the United States Congress and the first woman to represent Maine in either.

Reviews

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was read for rhetorical reasons and not for analytical reasons. Smith makes a strong argument in this speech for loyalty to the Constitution and to the people of the United States.

[Sheryl A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this inspiring speech by an inspiring woman who helped lead our country out of the darkness of McCarthyism.

The first time that I read this, I was in the 8th grade. Margaret Chase Smith was running for President. She's been an inspiration to me ever since.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to categorize my feelings about this collection of speeches and writings from Margaret Chase Smith, the first female Senator. On the one hand, parts of it were deadly dull. There were times when I muscled through by keeping a running tally in my head of how many pages were left. This wasn't helped by the fact that I simply lacked context for a lot of the issues she was writing about. They were likely things that were vitally important at the time, but haven't passed down through history as anything to think about. In some cases, Smith wrote about things with the expectation that her audience knew what she was talking about--and while that might have been true in 1972, it's not in 2018.

At the same time, it was also fascinating--not so much in the way that Smith intended, I suspect, but it did offer a behind-the-scenes look at what it was like to be the first woman in the Senate. In between the dusty recollections of wonky political minutiae, there were some really interesting glimpses. The information around the repercussions from her Declaration of Conscience opposing Joe McCarthy was particularly interesting. It's a testament to her tenacity and character that she was able to come through that with her political career intact--certainly many others who stood up to him did not.

Margaret Chase Smith was a Republican; I disagreed with many things that she wrote. But she was clearly someone who thought deeply and carefully about the issues. I can't help but think that she wouldn't even recognize the modern Republican party.

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title article, narrating the Senator's stance against Sen. Jos. McCarthy, was my reason for reading the book, and one of the two articles I read before returning the book to the library. "The Highest Glass Ceiling" had prompted me to want to read it. Smith was a powerful woman and for so long the only woman in the Senate. Bernard Baruch is quoted as saying that if a man had delivered the Senate speech called "Declaration of Conscience," he would have become President. This is good historical information and an insight into the politics of the Senate. I may well return and read the entire book.

[Chrisanne]

I met Margaret Chase Smith when I fell in love with this old show. I was curious about why she was so popular so I went to Google. I think I would have liked her...



Regarding the speech, I think it is quite relevant today. Give yourself some mental food and substitute your favorite political party for each one mentioned the first time that you read it, and your least favorite party for every mention of a party the second time you read it.