2008 was a historical year in American politics with President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. But did you know before Hillary there was Victoria Woodhull? According to her contemporaries, Victoria Woodhull was a woman 100 years ahead of her time. Although few have heard of her today, when she ran for President of the United States in 1872, she was one of the most famous women in the country. She advocated many things which we take for granted today: the 8-hour work day, graduated income tax, social welfare programs, and profit sharing, for example.

Victoria California Claflin was born September 23, 1838 in Homer, Ohio, to a down-on-its-luck family. She was only 15 years old when she was married for the first time to Canning Woodhull. When she died on June 9, 1927, she had come a long way from her modest surroundings in Homer. She died in a Manor House in Bredon’s Norton, Worcestershire, England, as the wealthy widow of a British banker.

She was no “respecter of persons.” She offered her hospitality to prostitutes and royalty alike. She was a bundle of contradictions. Although she was opposed to the organized Christian religion, she lived its principles: She fed the hungry, cared for the sick, and visited the prisoners. She believed that living those principles was more important to saving souls than preaching the resurrection of Christ. She owned a newspaper which was the first to print the Communist Manifesto in English; and yet, she was also the first female stockbroker on Wall Street. Her life was unique, to say the least.

Victoria was nominated for the U.S. Presidency by the Equal Rights Party. Her candidacy attracted an unusual coalition of people, which included laborers, female suffragists, Spiritualists, and communists, among others. The members of the coalition represented diverse–and often conflicting–opinions. The one thing that they all agreed upon was that the government needed reform. They wanted a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” They wanted a government with principles. Not only did the Equal Rights Party nominate the first female presidential candidate, they were also the first to nominate a black man, Frederick Douglass, for Vice President.

Although few seriously thought Victoria Woodhull would win, they knew her campaign would send a message to Washington. It’s time for a woman in the White House.

Full BIO: http://www.victoria-woodhull.com/whoisvw.htm