“I claim the right to speak for the unenfranchised women of the country … I now announce myself as a candidate for the presidency."
She was way ahead of the curve. She was too young to serve as president, even if she had won, and couldn't even vote for herself, because the 19th Amendment, freeing women to vote, wouldn't be approved till August 18, 1920.
But she announced her candidacy anyway, and was immediately blasted as a demon..."Mrs. Satan" as she was portrayed in a Thomas Nast political cartoon in 1872.
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| © Thomas Nast/Library of Congress/Thomas Nast/Library of Congress Victoria Woodhull is often credited as the first woman to run for president. This caricature depicting her as "Mrs. Satan" ran in Harper's Weekly in February 1872. A mother burdened by children and a drunk husband rejects Woodhull's "free love" message, exclaiming, "Get thee behind me, (Mrs.) Satan!" and "I'd rather travel the hardest path of matrimony than follow your footsteps." (Thomas Nast/Library of Congress) |
Part of her column, announcing her candidacy:
She moved to England in 1877, and lived long enough to see the 19th Amendment go into effect.
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