June 1: Senator Margaret Chase

On this date in History ... June 1, 1950:

Senator Margaret Chase Smith became the first Senator to denounce McCarthy’s anti-communist tactics.

Following her "Declaration of Conscience" speech, some pundits speculated that she might be the Vice Presidential candidate on the 1952 Republican ticket. She had other ambitions & became the first woman to have her name placed in nomination for the presidency by either of the two major parties. In the final balloting, Smith refused to withdraw and came in second to the Republican nominee, Barry Goldwater.

She had served four terms in the House, then won election to the Senate in 1948, becoming the first woman elected to both houses of Congress.

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