Few people today have heard of Victoria Claflin Woodhull, one of America’s most resolute crusaders for equality and the first woman to seek the presidency. Born to a large family that ran a traveling medicine show, she met people from all walks of life. She developed progressive social, spiritual, economic, and political views and learned to express herself well. She soon gained widespread fame—and notoriety.
In 1870, with support from railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, Woodhull and her sister Tennessee Claflin became Wall Street’s first female stockbrokers. Woodhull reasoned that her ability to earn her own money would give her lifelong independence. Also in 1870, the sisters launched a newspaper, Woodhull & Claflin’s Weekly. For six years, it provided Woodhull with a forum in which she articulated her ideas in forthright language.
To advance her beliefs, Victoria Woodhull took to making fiery public speeches. In 1871, Woodhull addressed the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives on the subject of a woman’s right to vote. In 1872, the Equal Rights Party of the National Woman Suffrage Association nominated Woodhull for U.S. president. She could not legally vote, yet no law barred her from holding office! With noted abolitionist Frederick Douglass as her running mate, the first female presidential candidate faced Republican incumbent Ulysses S. Grant and Democrat Horace Greeley.
Woodhull had also been using her newspaper to expose swindles and scandals. A few months before the 1872 presidential election, she revealed shocking secrets about a
popular public figure. The repercussions were severe. Many former supporters defected from her cause. She faced serious legal and financial difficulties. She was, in effect, ostracized. Finally, in 1877, Woodhull and her sister left the United States for England. There they succeeded in making new and prosperous lives for themselves.