--- [ ARCHIVE ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=16) # Long before Hillary, Women were Running for President — and Against the Mainstream ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Feb-2015/014n.png)WOMEN IN POLITICS-It’s that time of year and Americans are honoring some of our favorite presidents. How about honoring our female presidents this time around? Oh, I forgot. There aren’t any. Frankly, I find America’s two-centuries-and-counting streak of all-male presidents astounding. You’d think it was against the law to elect a woman. (It probably would have been if the founding fathers had even thought it could happen — it’s not like they let them vote or anything.) And it’s not that women haven’t tried. Most people don’t know about the first woman to run for our highest office. Victoria Woodhull (photo) gave it a shot, way back in 1872 — nearly 50 years before women even got the vote. Undaunted by the fact that she was both disenfranchised and too young to legally become president, Woodhull traveled the country campaigning for two years before the election. Her speeches not only advocated women’s suffrage, but also birth control, “free love,” and other positions that were a century ahead of her time. Alas, Woodhull and her sister spent Election Day in 1872 in jail. Their crime? [Publishing the facts](http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/University_Library/exhibits/RLCexhibit/beecher/beecherms.html) about an adulterous affair between the very popular Reverend Henry Ward Beecher and a leader of the women’s movement, Elizabeth Tilton. It was true yet politically incorrect. So the Woodhull sisters were indicted for libel and obscenity. Since Woodhull’s mold-breaking effort, [more than a dozen](https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/president/president.html) other women have run for president. The club is much more diverse than the guys who’ve been on the ballot. In 1972, Patsy Mink was the first Japanese American to run (and the first woman of color to serve in Congress). Shirley Chisholm was the first of three prominent African American women to run. The other two were Lenora Fulani in 1988 and Senator Carol Moseley Braun in 2004. And long before Mitt Romney came on the scene, fifth-generation Mormon Sonia Johnson was nominated by two minor parties in 1984. She became [the first third-party candidate](https://ffrf.org/news/day/dayitems/item/14234-sonia-johnson) to qualify for primary matching funds. A female candidate finally broke into the mainstream in 2008, when Hillary Clinton barely missed becoming the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer. Now the former senator, secretary of state, and first lady is the presumed frontrunner. Is the country finally ready for a female in the White House? Nobody knows. But if Clinton does run, she’ll be roughed up far more than the boy she’s up against, no matter which one of them it is. How do I know? Because it’s already started, and she hasn’t even declared. Naysayers claim Clinton is too old. Actually, she’s younger than Reagan was when he launched his first winning presidential bid. [Some critics wonder](http://time.com/3445666/hillary-clinton-bill-chelsea-charlotte/), could she stand to run and miss time with her grandchildren? Oh please. Conservatives attack Clinton for being too liberal since she favors keeping abortion and birth control legal and accessible. Progressives complain that she’s too conservative. Maybe they should try saying this 10 times: “President Ted Cruz.” Others complain that she’s a rerun. Jeb Bush, anyone? Rush Limbaugh lovers hold Clinton responsible for four U.S. deaths in the Benghazi attack. Why aren’t they more concerned about George W. Bush’s record? Some 2,356 Americans died in Afghanistan and 4,489 perished in Iraq. No doubt Clinton will face more feeble charges, but you get the idea. The country has come a long way since the 1870s. Unlike when Woodhull first ran, folks don’t find having a woman in charge of the nation an alien concept. One thing’s for certain: If Hillary Clinton makes a run for it, she’ll win. Even if she doesn’t move back into the White House as president, she’ll succeed. Female candidates won’t be relegated to the fringe anymore after her campaign. It’s the new normal. Get used to it if you’re not ready. Who knows? 2016 could be a lucky number for the majority of voters — women. (Martha Burk is the director of the Corporate Accountability Project for the National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO) and the author of the [book](http://www.amazon.com/Your%20Voice%20Vote%20Womans%20Politics/dp/1470165538/ref=lp_B001KHFPQQ_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334222663&sr=1%201) *Your Voice, Your Vote: The Savvy Woman’s Guide to Power, Politics, and the Change We Need*. Follow Martha on twitter @[MarthaBurk](http://twitter.com/marthaburk). [OtherWords.org](http://OtherWords.org) provided this piece to CityWatch.) -cw CityWatch Vol 13 Issue 14 Pub: Feb 17, 2015 Written by Martha Burk on December 31 2015. [](https://www.addtoany.com/share) ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Feb-2015/014n.png)WOMEN IN POLITICS-It’s that time of year and Americans are honoring some of our favorite presidents. How about honoring our female presidents this time around? Oh, I forgot. There aren’t any. Frankly, I find America’s two-centuries-and-counting streak of all-male presidents astounding. You’d think it was against the law to elect a woman. (It probably would have been if the founding fathers had even thought it could happen — it’s not like they let them vote or anything.) And it’s not that women haven’t tried. Most people don’t know about the first woman to run for our highest office. Victoria Woodhull (photo) gave it a shot, way back in 1872 — nearly 50 years before women even got the vote. Undaunted by the fact that she was both disenfranchised and too young to legally become president, Woodhull traveled the country campaigning for two years before the election. Her speeches not only advocated women’s suffrage, but also birth control, “free love,” and other positions that were a century ahead of her time. Alas, Woodhull and her sister spent Election Day in 1872 in jail. Their crime? [Publishing the facts](http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/University_Library/exhibits/RLCexhibit/beecher/beecherms.html) about an adulterous affair between the very popular Reverend Henry Ward Beecher and a leader of the women’s movement, Elizabeth Tilton. It was true yet politically incorrect. So the Woodhull sisters were indicted for libel and obscenity. Since Woodhull’s mold-breaking effort, [more than a dozen](https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/president/president.html) other women have run for president. The club is much more diverse than the guys who’ve been on the ballot. In 1972, Patsy Mink was the first Japanese American to run (and the first woman of color to serve in Congress). Shirley Chisholm was the first of three prominent African American women to run. The other two were Lenora Fulani in 1988 and Senator Carol Moseley Braun in 2004. And long before Mitt Romney came on the scene, fifth-generation Mormon Sonia Johnson was nominated by two minor parties in 1984. She became [the first third-party candidate](https://ffrf.org/news/day/dayitems/item/14234-sonia-johnson) to qualify for primary matching funds. A female candidate finally broke into the mainstream in 2008, when Hillary Clinton barely missed becoming the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer. Now the former senator, secretary of state, and first lady is the presumed frontrunner. Is the country finally ready for a female in the White House? Nobody knows. But if Clinton does run, she’ll be roughed up far more than the boy she’s up against, no matter which one of them it is. How do I know? Because it’s already started, and she hasn’t even declared. Naysayers claim Clinton is too old. Actually, she’s younger than Reagan was when he launched his first winning presidential bid. [Some critics wonder](http://time.com/3445666/hillary-clinton-bill-chelsea-charlotte/), could she stand to run and miss time with her grandchildren? Oh please. Conservatives attack Clinton for being too liberal since she favors keeping abortion and birth control legal and accessible. Progressives complain that she’s too conservative. Maybe they should try saying this 10 times: “President Ted Cruz.” Others complain that she’s a rerun. Jeb Bush, anyone? Rush Limbaugh lovers hold Clinton responsible for four U.S. deaths in the Benghazi attack. Why aren’t they more concerned about George W. Bush’s record? Some 2,356 Americans died in Afghanistan and 4,489 perished in Iraq. No doubt Clinton will face more feeble charges, but you get the idea. The country has come a long way since the 1870s. Unlike when Woodhull first ran, folks don’t find having a woman in charge of the nation an alien concept. One thing’s for certain: If Hillary Clinton makes a run for it, she’ll win. Even if she doesn’t move back into the White House as president, she’ll succeed. Female candidates won’t be relegated to the fringe anymore after her campaign. It’s the new normal. Get used to it if you’re not ready. Who knows? 2016 could be a lucky number for the majority of voters — women. (Martha Burk is the director of the Corporate Accountability Project for the National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO) and the author of the [book](http://www.amazon.com/Your%20Voice%20Vote%20Womans%20Politics/dp/1470165538/ref=lp_B001KHFPQQ_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334222663&sr=1%201) *Your Voice, Your Vote: The Savvy Woman’s Guide to Power, Politics, and the Change We Need*. Follow Martha on twitter @[MarthaBurk](http://twitter.com/marthaburk). [OtherWords.org](http://OtherWords.org) provided this piece to CityWatch.) -cw CityWatch Vol 13 Issue 14 Pub: Feb 17, 2015 [![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/ME%20DENTAL%20SPA/me%20dental%202026%20final.jpg)](http://medentalspa.com/) ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/banners/signup-for-cw.png) ## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays Name [ ![LA DWP #2 (Pay Your Bill Help)](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/LADWP/dwp%20level%20pay%205-7-25.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Pay Your Bill Help)") [ ![Home - HHR Rent is too High - SB-2](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/HHR/AHF-rent-too-high.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/104 "Home - HHR Rent is too High - SB-2") --- ## Featured CityWatch Stories [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/bb/062a-bb8ffb47.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33163:4-4-billion-later-inside-the-broken-machinery-of-los-angeles-homelessness-system&catid=312) ### [ $4.4 Billion Later: Inside the Broken Machinery of Los Angeles’ Homelessness System](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33163:4-4-billion-later-inside-the-broken-machinery-of-los-angeles-homelessness-system&catid=312) THE BOTTOM LINE - When Karen Bass became mayor of Los Angeles in December 2022, she declared a state of emergency on ho… [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/fd/064h-fdb0b507.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29355:remembering-ken-draper-citywatch-and-transparency-are-his-legacy&catid=12) ### [Remembering Ken Draper: CityWatch and Transparency Are his Legacy](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29355:remembering-ken-draper-citywatch-and-transparency-are-his-legacy&catid=12) LA WATCHDOG - Ken Draper, the editor and publisher of CityWatch for more than 20 years, passed away on August 8, 2022… [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/0f/061a-0f1ada2f.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33148:brace-yourself-for-a-worse-housing-crisis&catid=398) ### [Brace Yourself For A Worse Housing Crisis](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33148:brace-yourself-for-a-worse-housing-crisis&catid=398) PLANNING WATCH - The California State Legislature will soon vote on the following draft legislation. Please carefully… [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/04/063g-04ad33d5.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33173:netanyahus-challengers-are-selling-the-same-poison&catid=332) ### [Netanyahu’s Challengers Are Selling The Same Poison](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33173:netanyahus-challengers-are-selling-the-same-poison&catid=332) SPEAKING OUT - One would think that after October 7 and the Gaza war that followed, the leaders from the main oppositio… [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/19/062f-19a66144.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33162:prolonged-ignorance-of-a-ticking-bomb-does-not-neutralize-it&catid=9) ### [Prolonged Ignorance Of A Ticking Bomb Does Not Neutralize It](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33162:prolonged-ignorance-of-a-ticking-bomb-does-not-neutralize-it&catid=9) OP/ED - The recent landslide of chemical leaks, fires and extremely dangerous events have proven, without any doubt, th… --- ## [ ARCHIVE ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=16) [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Apr-2018/034e.png) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15339:early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles&catid=16)### [Early Intervention and Jobs are Key to Stemming Chronic Homelessness in Los Angeles](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15339:early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles&catid=16) ### [Tucker Carlson and Gay Rightwinger Blame California Wildfires On Hiring LGBTQ People](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18755:tucker-carlson-and-gay-rightwinger-blame-california-wildfires-on-hiring-lgbtq-people&catid=16) ### [Anti-LGBTQ Veep Just Can’t Stop Talking about Mayor Pete](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17690:anti-lgbtq-veep-just-can-t-stop-talking-about-mayor-pete&catid=16) [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Apr-2018/033j.png) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15316:news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties&catid=16)### [NEWS PULSE: ‘Corrupt System’ Reason for Not Voting in 2018 … Majority Wants More Than Two Parties](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15316:news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties&catid=16) [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Jan-2016/1404d.png) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10245:dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles&catid=16)### [Dead Dog Set on Fire … Sparks Fears for Strays in Los Angeles](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10245:dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles&catid=16)