It is the second serious study of Smith's life and career released in the past 12 months. Of equal importance is that this attractive volume is among the first productions of the revived, and much improved, University of Maine Press. Indeed, no Maine politician of this century has been lavished with such scrutiny and, as important as the senator was, others, including the late Sen. Edmund S. Muskie, were at least as influential. As compelling as this may be, readers may well rejoice in the newfound Smith abundance. Students, scholars and the general reader should find this conjunction a near-perfect example of why two good biographies are always better than one.
Facts being facts, the two books cover the same basic outline.
They trace the subject from childhood in Skowhegan to school, early jobs and marriage to the charming Clyde Smith, a maverick politician some 20 years her senior. There is her election to her late husband's seat in Congress, her contribution to the war effort and her spectacular battle with the good old boys of the state Republican Party for election to the U.S. Senate. Schmidt spends more time than Wallace on Margaret Chase's childhood, her relationship with her father and the place she perceived for herself in the Skowhegan community. Schmidt, a University of Florida professor, notes that although the Chase family could claim founding status in the region, they lived close to the financial edge. Indeed, Schmidt argues persuasively that Louise Coburn, an early graduate of Colby College and town historian, was a major role model for young Margaret.