These two women also sought the presidency
Claire Rasmussen
Issue date: 3/11/09 Section: News
The 2008 Presidential election was celebrated as historic with both a white woman and a black man competing for the office of President of the United States. It was indeed a historic year in that a non-white man did secure the nomination of a major party.
However, 2008 was not the first year that a white woman and a black man campaigned for the presidency.
Victoria Woodhull was in fact the first woman in U.S. history to seek the highest office as the nominee of the Equal Rights Party in 1872, and her running mate for the Vice Presidency was a black man: Frederick Douglass, the renowned abolitionist and equal rights advocate.
One hundred years later, in 1972, Shirley Chisholm -- the first black woman to serve in the U.S. Congress - won 10 percent of the votes in the 1972 Democratic primary in her bid for the Presidency.
As was noted by Marie Antoinette "there is nothing new except what has been forgotten." And so in this issue's Off the Shelf, which coincides with Women's History Month, I'd like to introduce to you these two women who ran for president long before the world heard of Hillary Rodham Clinton. As articulate and ardent speakers they are best introduced through their own words so I am offering you a quotation or two from each and further resources available at MATC libraries to satisfy your curiosity about these exceptional women in U.S. history.
VICTORIA WOODHULL
"I am well aware that in assuming this position I shall evoke more ridicule than enthusiasm at the outset. But this is an epoch of sudden changes and startling surprises. What may appear absurd today will assume a serious aspect tomorrow. I am content to wait until my claim for recognition as a candidate shall receive the calm consideration of the press and the public."
Notorious Victoria: The Life of Victoria Woodhull, Uncensored by Mary Gabriel
Call #: 305.42092 W891G
The Woman Who Ran for President: the Many Lives of Victoria Woodhull by Lois Beachy Underhill Call#: 973.8092 W891U
SHIRLEY CHISHOLM
"I ran for the presidency, despite hopeless odds, to demonstrate sheer will and refusal to accept the status quo. 2What I hope most is that now there will be others who will feel themselves as capable of running for high political office as any wealthy, good-looking white male."
"I want history to remember me not just as the first black woman to be elected to Congress, not as the first black woman to have made a bid for the presidency of the United States, but as a black woman who lived in the 20th century and dared to be herself."
Profiles of Black Success: Thirteen Creative Geniuses Who Changed the World by Gene Landrum Call #: 920.009296073 L262
Chisholm '72: Unbought & Unbossed Call #: 000 CHISH 2004 DVD
However, 2008 was not the first year that a white woman and a black man campaigned for the presidency.
Victoria Woodhull was in fact the first woman in U.S. history to seek the highest office as the nominee of the Equal Rights Party in 1872, and her running mate for the Vice Presidency was a black man: Frederick Douglass, the renowned abolitionist and equal rights advocate.
One hundred years later, in 1972, Shirley Chisholm -- the first black woman to serve in the U.S. Congress - won 10 percent of the votes in the 1972 Democratic primary in her bid for the Presidency.
As was noted by Marie Antoinette "there is nothing new except what has been forgotten." And so in this issue's Off the Shelf, which coincides with Women's History Month, I'd like to introduce to you these two women who ran for president long before the world heard of Hillary Rodham Clinton. As articulate and ardent speakers they are best introduced through their own words so I am offering you a quotation or two from each and further resources available at MATC libraries to satisfy your curiosity about these exceptional women in U.S. history.
VICTORIA WOODHULL
"I am well aware that in assuming this position I shall evoke more ridicule than enthusiasm at the outset. But this is an epoch of sudden changes and startling surprises. What may appear absurd today will assume a serious aspect tomorrow. I am content to wait until my claim for recognition as a candidate shall receive the calm consideration of the press and the public."
Notorious Victoria: The Life of Victoria Woodhull, Uncensored by Mary Gabriel
Call #: 305.42092 W891G
The Woman Who Ran for President: the Many Lives of Victoria Woodhull by Lois Beachy Underhill Call#: 973.8092 W891U
SHIRLEY CHISHOLM
"I ran for the presidency, despite hopeless odds, to demonstrate sheer will and refusal to accept the status quo. 2What I hope most is that now there will be others who will feel themselves as capable of running for high political office as any wealthy, good-looking white male."
"I want history to remember me not just as the first black woman to be elected to Congress, not as the first black woman to have made a bid for the presidency of the United States, but as a black woman who lived in the 20th century and dared to be herself."
Profiles of Black Success: Thirteen Creative Geniuses Who Changed the World by Gene Landrum Call #: 920.009296073 L262
Chisholm '72: Unbought & Unbossed Call #: 000 CHISH 2004 DVD
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