The Woman Who Ran for President: The Many Lives of Victoria Woodhull

by Lois Beachy Underhill

This remarkable biography captures the strength and spirit of Victoria Woodhull, the controversial feminist who rose up from poverty to become the first woman Wall Street broker, the first woman to testify before Congress (for suffrage), and, in 1872, the first woman to run for U.S. President. "An utterly fascinating, overdue tribute to an extraordinary feminst maverick."--Booklist. of photos.

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, Feminism, American History, Biography Memoir, Gender Studies

376 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1995

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Victoria Woodhull was nominated at two conventions, one of suffragists, another of the Equal Rights Party, as a candidate for the presidency, with Frederick Douglass as her running mate, in 1872, decades before woman obtained the right to vote. Prior to that she had been a spiritualist, prominent feminist, public speaker, author, newspaper publisher and the first woman to run a brokerage house on Wall Street. Prior to that and to her efforts, partly successful, to obtain the support of International Workingmen's Association, she had been immensely popular, financially well to do, and widely supported by established press. The outreach to Labor, however, proved to be too much for the Establishment in America, leading to her political downfall and eventual recreation of herself as a proper lady in England.

The story of Woodhull is fascinatingly and sympathetically told by Lois Beachy Underhill, Woodhull being way, way ahead of her time during her radical phase--so progressive, in fact, that some modern sensibilities, like my own, may be constructively challenged by her thinking.

[Mbreaden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not awesome writing, but there aren't many bios out there about this lady. Hard to believe there isn't more writing about this woman: the first female candidate for President, one of the first female stock brokers on Wall Street, and a proponent of "free love" and polyamory, all this during late 19th Century.

[Marisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very informative and interesting book about a woman who was 150 years ahead of her time. Not to be missed if one is interested in politics, finance, spiritualism, and the moral ethics of the time. In reality a lot has NOT changed in 150 years because we still do not consider women to be the equal of men in most areas of life.

[Sara G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid biography of one of the most interesting women I've ever heard of. Victoria Woodhull was a suffragette, Wall Street broker, free love advocate, and addressed Congress directly, all 50 years before American women got the vote. I didn't love the author's dry writing style, but I learned a lot about this enigmatic lady. It seems like she was left out of a lot of American suffrage history, even though she was important, due to her "scandalous" behavior of advocating free love/polyamory and being willing to talk about communism. I wish there was more background information on her early life and her relationship with her sister Tennie, who was basically her partner in all of her business dealings, but I know that sort of information is harder to find. Overall, it's a good biography and I'm so glad I read it.

[Suzie Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and informative but lacking in heart

This book seems to have been very well researched and contains some interesting and little known historical facts. Sometimes it felt like the author was flooding us with so much information that I had to put the book down for a while. I wish there had been more information on Victoria's early life which might have given insight into her strong personality and independent beliefs and actions. Since the book promised to reveal "The Many Lives of Victoria Woodhull", I would have liked to know more about Victoria Woodhull, the person, rather than just her actions and how she fit into the history of her times. With that said, I did learn a LOT from this book and it made me want to read more about Mrs. Woodhull.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This remarkable woman was ahead of her times in so many ways. In addition to running for president she published a newspaper, spoke about free love, started her own political party, and was a Wall
Street broker. She was very controversial for her times. The book details her life from obscurity in Ohio to fame and infamy.

[Christopher Borum · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written and engaging biography of someone I knew nothing about. Victoria Woodhull led the kind of life you wouldn't believe if it was a movie script. She was decades ahead of her time in many ways, and endured incredible challenges and unwarranted opprobrium as a result of her views. More Americans should know who she was and what she accomplished.

[Amy Lou]

A very colorful woman who ran for president before women could vote. She was so scandalous, that she was shunned by the other suffragettes and not given her due in the history books. Full of fascinating information, this read would be good for history buffs who don't mind unconventional people. Might be a little to detailed for the typical reader.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are interested in politics, American history, or women's issues - any of the above! - then you NEED to read this book. I read it at least 10 years ago, and still think about it. Very interesting snippet of history that, alas, is forgotten by most.

[Donald Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book. Ms. Underhill's style is engaging, balanced and insightful. I could not put the book down. Victoria Woodhull was an important part of US history. This book was a masterly biography.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Victoria Woodhull was a self-made woman of 1870s New York who was excluded from suffragette history by her contemporaries Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, overlooking her important contributions to women’s rights and other social causes, based, instead, on the controversy surrounding her. This book takes reader back into a piece of history that isn’t heard about much and reading it felt like being transported by a time machine into an unfamiliar and exciting world, a time and place that was an incubator for ideas, after the civil war and the recession that followed the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. Elizabeth Woodhull was 100 years ahead of her times, and her story founds familiar today (think Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford). She spoke about free love and exposed the double standard and hypocrisy of those who wanted to preserve their social status rather than risk it with honesty. Victoria was self-educated and fearless. She advanced her education and opportunities by forming alliances with influential men and women. One such alliance she and her sister, Tennessee, formed was with Cornelius Vanderbilt, one of the wealthiest men of the day. He groomed and supported them in opening a successful brokerage firm, Woodhull, Claflin, & Co. in 1870. In 1872 Victoria ran for president nominated by the Equal Rights Party to she formed trying to build strong alliance with several reform groups such as labor and women’s suffrage. Victoria is a complex character, amazing in her drive and human in her failures. Well written and researched and an important insight into the history of women’s rights.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a LOT. But interesting how you can only be remembered in history by other people. And if those other people don't like you....you don't get remembered. While I can respect what Susan B. Anthony did for women's suffairage, she really wasn't a nice person and only interested in people who shared her vision how to accomplish the same end. Victoria Woodhull lived her life her way and on her terms. And SHAME on anyone who disagreed with her or got in her way. At her very heart, Victoria wanted what women want today in 2025. We want to be our own person. We don't want a bunch of old men in suits telling us what we can do, what we can be, etc. Had they lived at the same time, I think Victoria Woodhull would have been great friends with US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

It amuses me that back in Victoria's day, women worked, paid taxes, could be convicted of crimes, yet were not allowed to cast a vote. Had the women of the time actually worked together, it certainly wouldn't have taken until 1920 to get voting rights. But each group had declared themselves "right" and therefore had higher moral ground. But if you got out of your own way, and worked together, women would have changed more than just their voting status.

[Julio The Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Victoria Woodhull and her sister Tennessee (yes, that was her real name) published the first American edition of THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO. Marx wrote to Engels, "They are humbugs who compromise us." Why? For one thing, Victoria was the most infamous woman in America: suffragette, defending equal rights for Black people (not a common theme of nineteenth-century feminists) and publicizing the adultery trial of Henry Ward Beecher, America's foremost evangelist. (Yes, and Harriet Beecher Stowe's brother). She and Tenessee also dabbled in spiritualism. Victoria was everywhere controversy and hell-raising were to be had.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter got this book for a school paper, and after I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down. Victoria Woodhull was an interesting, independent woman who learned from a young age that she had to take care of herself. The book is well-researched and the subject is interesting.

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous

[Carolyn Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book about the obscure life of a woman whom everyone should know.

[Joan Schramm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written true story of a woman way before her time.

[Teri L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting biography of a woman written out of most history books.