Conscience

Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman elected in Maine, and was the first woman the state elected to the Senate. And in 1950, she became the first senator to stand on the Senate floor and publicly call out Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, who lied to gain power and exploit anti-Communist hysteria, ruining the lives of those who opposed him. Senator Smith’s “Declaration of Conscience” speech was a public act of defiance at a time when both Democrats and Republicans were cowed into silence for fear of retribution. After standing up for what she believed in, Margaret Chase Smith was shunned by her colleagues, challenged in a primary, and threatened by McCarthy. CONSCIENCE is the story of a remarkable, yet forgotten, woman who stood up for what was right and refused to back down during a pivotal time in our country’s history.