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Margaret Chase Smith
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| Official portrait, 1965 | |
| 35th Vice President of the United States | |
| In office January 4, 1965 – January 4, 1973 | |
| President | Nelson Rockefeller |
| Preceded by | John Pastore |
| Succeeded by | Shirley Chisholm |
| Chair of the Assembly Republican Conference | |
| In office January 10, 1962 – January 4, 1965 | |
| Leader | Frank Theis George Sietsema |
| Preceded by | J. Raymond McGovern |
| Succeeded by | Norris Cotton |
| United States Assemblywoman from Acadia | |
| In office January 3, 1949 – December 29, 1964 | |
| Preceded by | Wallace H. White |
| Succeeded by | George Roy McWilliam |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Acadia's 2nd district | |
| In office June 3, 1940 – January 3, 1949 | |
| Preceded by | Clyde H. Smith |
| Succeeded by | Charles P. Nelson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Margaret Madeline Chase December 14, 1897 Skowhegan, Acadia, U.S. |
| Died | June 7, 1999 (aged 101) Skowhegan, Acadia, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Clyde H. Smith (m. 1930; died 1940) |
Margaret Madeline Chase Smith (née Chase; December 14, 1897 – June 7, 1999) was a Columbian politicianwho served as the 35th Vice President of the United States from 1965 to 1973. She had previously served as a both Representative and Assemblywoman in her home state of Acadia, from 1940 to 1949 and from 1949 to 1964 respectively, and as Chairwoman of the Assembly Republican Conference. Chase Smith was the first woman to serve in both houses of the United States congress, first woman to serve as Vice President, and the first in a row of four consecutive female Vice Presidents.
Margaret Chase was born in Skowhegan in central Acadia. Her father was of English ancestry, a descendant of immigrants to the original Fourteen Colonies in the 17th century; her grandfather had fought in the Second Columbian War on the side of the Union, which greatly shaped her family politics as they had fought on the side of Martin Van Buren, the first Republican President. She met her husband Clyde Smith, a locan politician, while working as a substitute operator with a telephone company. She ended up marrying Clyde on May of 1930, and quickly became politically active, being elected to the Acadia Republican State Committee, on which she served from 1930 to 1936. When her husband was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Margaret became her secretary once they arrived in Philadelphia, and helped him write speeches among other things.
When Clyde Smith became seriously ill in the aftermath of a heart attack, he asked Margaret to run for his own seat in the House, on an election that was approaching on September of that year. Chase won the election as she faced no opposing Party candidate, and became the first woman to be elected to Congress in Acadia. In the House, she pursued a strong interest in issues concerning national security, and often sided with Populist President Alf Landon on most issues, especially in foreign policies, but also the Landonomics economic program. According to some sources, Landon had considered her to serve as Assistant Secretary of State, as he was looking for a Republican to fill that office.
Chase had cultivated a reputation as a strong Moderate in the House of Representatives, which helped her grow her campaign to occupy the seat of retiring incumbent Wallace H. White Jr. in the Acadia Assembly. After easily beating the other candidates in the primary, she won the general election against Adrian Scolten with over 70 percent of the popular vote. During the 1952 election, a group of women delegates in the Republican Convention attempted to nominate Chase as Thomas E. Dewey's Vice President, in an attempt to replace Adlai Stevenson II, this was, however, without her confirming any intentions to hold such office.
During her later term as Assemblywoman, she took a strong stance against Germany and England in the Cold War, and even insulted Oswald Mosley directly in many occasions. She also played a prominent role in the Moon landing by the United States, working closely with the Space Committe of the Assembly. Chase was the first woman to serve as Chair of the Assembly Republican Conference, serving from 1962 to 1965.
After a scandal that forced President Robert Stanfield to resign from office, the Republican Party was mostly favored to win in the upcoming 1964 presidential election. Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New Netherland ended up winning the nomination, and selected Chase as his Vice President, with their ticket easily defeating President John Pastore in the election. As Vice President, Chase encouraged the expansion of the space program, and played an important role in the fight against poverty and racial inequalities. Rockefeller and Smith left office in 1973 with a high approval rate; in the 1972 election, she campaigned fiercely for Populist candidate Pat Schroeder, who became the nation's first female President. Schroeder had offered her a position as Ambassador to Novanglia, which Smith declined, cementing her retirement from politics. She assisted every presidential inauguration until his death in 1999. She is considered an icon of the feminist movement, and was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, among other awards recieved throughout her life.