3. Margaret Chase Smith (1897–1995)

The first woman to serve in both the U.S. House and Senate (R-ME, 1940s–1970s), Margaret Chase Smith embodied principled conservatism. Her 1950 “Declaration of Conscience” speech condemned McCarthyism’s excesses, defending civil liberties within anti-communist frameworks. She advanced women’s roles in defense and foreign policy and was the first woman nominated for president by a major party (1964).