The 1872 United States presidential election featured Victoria Woodhull as a candidate for the Equal Rights Party, marking the first time a woman campaigned for the nation's highest office. This entry into the political sphere occurred while she simultaneously operated a Wall Street brokerage firm and published a weekly newspaper alongside her sister, Tennessee Claflin.
Early Life and Family Background
Born in 1838 in the rural frontier town of Homer, Ohio, Victoria California Claflin was one of ten children. Her father, Reuben Buckman Claflin, worked as a lawyer and salesman, while her mother, Roxanna, was an illiterate follower of the spiritualist movement. Following an incident involving insurance fraud and the destruction of a local gristmill, the family left Ohio. By age fourteen, Woodhull married Canning Woodhull, a doctor. The marriage resulted in two children, Byron and Zula Maude Woodhull, though she eventually divorced her husband due to his alcoholism and infidelity.
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During the 1870s, Woodhull and her sister Tennessee Claflin established themselves as the first women to manage a stock brokerage firm on Wall Street. Their financial success coincided with their foray into journalism, launching Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly in 1870. The publication served as a platform for her advocacy of free love, which she defined as the freedom to marry, divorce, and bear children without state interference. She also engaged with the International Workingmen's Association and promoted women's suffrage as a central pillar of her social reform agenda.
The 1872 Presidential Campaign
Nominated by the Equal Rights Party, Woodhull launched her bid for the presidency in 1872. Her running mate was the abolitionist Frederick Douglass, though his involvement remained unofficial. The campaign gained notoriety when her newspaper published details of an alleged affair between Henry Ward Beecher and Elizabeth Richards Tilton. Woodhull faced arrest on obscenity charges shortly before the election, which complicated the final stages of her run. Critics of her candidacy argued that her age at the time fell below the constitutional requirement for the presidency.
Later Years and Legacy
Following her second marriage to Colonel James Harvey Blood, who had served in the Union Army, Woodhull spent her later years in England. She died in 1927 at Bredon's Norton and was buried in Tewkesbury. Her contributions to the feminist movement and civil rights were recognized posthumously in 2001 with her induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
Fast facts
- Born: 1838, Homer, Ohio
- Died: 1927, Bredon's Norton, England
- Occupations: Stockbroker, journalist, politician, suffragist
- Presidential Candidacy: 1872, Equal Rights Party
- Newspaper: Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly
- Buried: Tewkesbury
- Hall of Fame Induction: 2001
Questions readers ask
Was Victoria Woodhull truly the first woman to run for president?
She is widely regarded as the first woman to mount a presidential campaign in the United States, although historians note that she would have been constitutionally under the age requirement if elected.
What did Victoria Woodhull mean by the term free love?
She used the term to advocate for a woman's right to marry, divorce, and have children without interference from the government or societal restrictions.
Achievements
- National Women's Hall of Fame — 2001
- Worked as stockbroker, suffragist and editor
