Hope and Fear in Margaret Chase Smith's America

Hope and Fear in Margaret Chase Smith's America: A Continuous Tangle provides a fresh interpretation of the life, career, and legacy of former United States Senator Margaret Chase Smith, the first woman elected to both houses of the U.S. Congress. The book examines the critical connections made by Smith to key policymakers, links that allowed her to overcome opposition and prejudice to gain access, influence, and power in Washington, D.C. Highlighting the tangle of personalities and events in America from 1940 to 1972, the book focuses on Smith's courageous and often solitary efforts on behalf of women during the 1940s, and her stand during the McCarthy era which earned her a national reputation for civility in public discourse. It also examines her key interactions with the group of U.S. Senators who were elected with her in 1948 and their work to forge public policy in the aftermath of McCarthyism, including domestic and international policy following Sputnik, the creation of the Space Program, civil rights, Vietnam, and Medicare. Against these events and activities, the book demonstrates the impact of the nation's commitment to anticommunism and nuclear weapons which allowed politicians like Margaret Chase Smith to embrace contradictory stances on political dissent, military policy, and the role of government in American society.

Autorentext
Gregory Peter Gallant served for more than twenty-four years as director of the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan, Maine, where he worked closely with Senator Smith for more than a decade.

Inhalt
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction 1
Chapter OnePersevering in the Face of Betrayal 14
Chapter TwoConnecting with the Good Men 57
Chapter ThreeThe Election of 1948 100
Chapter FourForging Cold War Consensus 142
Chapter FiveAnti-Communism and Civil Defense in the Fifties 211
Chapter SixEfforts to Open a Closed Society 277
Chapter SevenAll Politics, Even the Impolitic, Is Local 322
Chapter EightThe Canopy and the Mushroom Cloud 341
Chapter NineLiving With Death and Dying To Live 401
Conclusion 447
Acknowledgments 458
Bibliography 459