From politics to prose, Maine women have done extraordinary things. Portland-native Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins, who has been called the dean of African-American women writers, wrote prolifically at the turn-of-the-century about the plight of her people. An historian and scholar, she wrote her first play by the age of 20 and later founded the first significant African-American journal of the twentieth century. Throughout her life, she helped to bring attention to the contributions of black Americans.
Josephine Peary's accomplishment was, literally, a polar opposite: she was the first woman in history to be a member of an Arctic exploration team. Josephine Peary was married to the great explorer Robert E. Peary, the first man to reach the North Pole, and they lived together on Eagle Island in Casco Bay. But her husband's triumphs weren't the only ones for the Pearys, and Josephine herself began exploring in 1892 when she accompanied her husband to Greenland on a journey sponsored by the Academy of Natural Sciences. The trip lasted a year and a half, during which Mrs. Peary kept a journal that is considered a classic in the literature of exploration. No woman had ever before been a part of such an expedition, and she has served as an inspiration to explorers ever since.
Another famous journal was kept by Martha Ballard, who documented daily life before Maine was even a state. A midwife and healer, Martha Ballard lived in Hallowell, faithfully maintaining a diary from 1785 to 1812. Her meticulous records have provided us with a rare account of life for everyday Mainers in the years just after the founding of the country. The record Martha Ballard left behind was recently uncovered by historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich in her book A Midwife's Tale, which went on to win the Pulitzer Prize. As a result, we have a clearer picture of early America, from its religious life to medicine to mothering.
Perhaps the most famous Maine woman in American history, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1850 while pregnant with her seventh child. She began writing the book in Brunswick, where her husband was a professor at Bowdoin College, inspired by a vision she had while in church. The book was an instant bestseller, not just in America but around the world and was adapted into an equally-successful stage-play. The story inflamed passions in both the North and the South, and President Lincoln, upon meeting Mrs. Stowe, is reported to have said, "You're the little lady who started this great war."
Dorothea Dix, meanwhile, is considered a groundbreaking reformer in the treatment of individuals suffering from mental illness. Born in Hampden in 1802, Dix traveled the nation to gather support for a more compassionate, holistic approach to the treatment of those suffering from mental illness. A pioneer far ahead of her time, she also successfully lobbied Congress to establish the first and only national federal mental health facility, which grew to be a world class mental health and research center.
Finally, I would like to mention Senator Margaret Chase Smith, who is my role model and, along with my parents, my inspiration in public life. She served as Senator from Maine from 1949 until 1972, which includes the entire period of my growing up. I still remember meeting with Senator Smith as a senior in high school. As part of a special program, I had the chance to come to Washington, but I didn't expect Senator Smith to have much time for a high school student. Much to my surprise, however, she took nearly two hours to talk with me about the issues of the day: her views on America's national defense, her service on the Armed Services Committee, and, most of all, her decision to speak out against the excesses of Joseph McCarthy in her Declaration of Conscience. The Declaration was extraordinarily brave, but it was typical of Senator Smith, who had a courageous and independent spirit.
Senator Smith was the first to do so many things. She was the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress. She was the first woman to be backed by a major political party in a Presidential election. She was the first Republican Senator elected to the Senate, and it is little surprise that Maine became the first state to send two Republican women to the Senate at the same time when I was elected to join my colleague Senator Olympia Snowe. Today it has become commonplace for women to serve in the highest ranks of our government, and as the pioneer who did so much to make that possible, Senator Smith will always be acknowledged and honored in Maine for her dignity and her courage. Although I couldn't have known it at the time, I realize today that her meeting with me was the first step in a journey that led me to run for her seat 25 years later. I am so proud to hold the seat once held by a woman who made such a difference.
From Harriet Beecher Stowe to Dorothea Dix to Margaret Chase Smith to today's Maine women who do their part every day to improve their communities, the contributions of Maine women are impressive. National Women's History Month gives us the opportunity to honor these remarkable women.