Victoria Woodhull: The First Woman to Run for President of the United States

In 1872, that is 144 years before Hillary Clinton’s run for US President, Victoria Woodhull was the first woman to run for President of the United States and Woodhull remains a significant milestone in the history of American women’s politics. Her life story, marked by perseverance and advocacy, continues to inspire generations of women to challenge societal norms and pursue their aspirations. Woodhull’s contributions to women’s rights and her groundbreaking presidential candidacy paved the way for future female leaders in the political arena to continue the effort to break the highest, hardest glass ceiling in politics.

Victoria Woodhull, born on September 23, 1838, in Homer, Ohio, emerged from a life of poverty and adversity to become a trailblazer in American politics. Her journey from a tumultuous childhood to the forefront of the women’s rights movement is a testament to her resilience and pioneering spirit. Woodhull’s candidacy in the 1872 presidential election marked a significant milestone in the fight for gender equality in the United States.

Early Life and Struggles

Victoria Woodhull was one of ten children in a family plagued by hardship. Her mother was illiterate, and her father was a criminal. Despite these challenging beginnings, Woodhull displayed an early determination to overcome her circumstances. She began elementary school at the age of eight but dropped out three years later. At the age of fifteen, she married Dr. Canning Woodhull, an alcoholic, which forced her to support her family through various jobs, including working as a clerk, seamstress, actress, and spiritual medium.

Advocacy for Free Love and Women’s Rights

The onset of the Civil War marked a pivotal point in Woodhull’s life. She divorced her husband but retained his surname, reflecting her growing independence. The divorce led her to become involved in the Free Love movement, which sought to make it easier for women to leave abusive marriages and argued that issues like divorce and birth control were personal matters, not state concerns. Woodhull famously proclaimed, “Let women issue a declaration of independence sexually, and absolutely refuse to cohabit with men until they are acknowledged as equals in everything, and the victory would be won in a single week.”

Rise to Prominence

During the Civil War, Woodhull worked as a healer alongside her sister Tennessee. Through this work, she met Colonel James Blood, whom she married after the war, and Cornelius Vanderbilt, a wealthy railroad tycoon. These connections proved crucial for Woodhull’s future endeavours. In 1868, she and her sister moved to New York City, where they continued working as clairvoyants for Vanderbilt. The sisters amassed significant wealth from stock tips provided by Vanderbilt, enabling them to open Woodhull, Claflin & Co. in 1870, becoming the first female stockbrokers on Wall Street.

Political and Social Advocacy

Woodhull utilized her newfound platform to advocate for women’s rights, labourers, and the poor. She founded Woodhull and Claflin’s Weekly, a newspaper promoting Free Love, women’s suffrage, and political reform. This publication served as a critical vehicle for Woodhull’s progressive ideas and her political aspirations.

Presidential Candidacy

In 1872, Victoria Woodhull made history by becoming the first woman to run for President of the United States. Running on the Equal Rights Party ticket, she championed a progressive platform that included women’s suffrage, regulation of monopolies, nationalization of railroads, an eight-hour workday, direct taxation, abolition of the death penalty, and welfare for the poor. Frederick Douglass was selected as her running mate, although he never formally acknowledged the nomination. Despite her groundbreaking candidacy, Woodhull’s votes were minimal and went largely uncounted.

Decline and Legacy

After the election, Woodhull’s political career declined rapidly. Her personal life, often sensationalized in her newspaper, alienated key allies like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Consequently, she was ostracized from the suffrage movement and received no further invitations to speak at conventions.

Disillusioned, Woodhull moved to England in 1877, where she married into a wealthy family and became a patron of the arts. Although she never saw her activism fully realized in the United States, she lived to witness the achievement of women’s suffrage in Great Britain. Victoria Woodhull passed away on June 9, 1927, at the age of 88.