Book 103: Notorious Victoria

Whew! I finished this one at about 1AM. It's a very readable biography of Victoria Claflin Woodhull Blood Martin, the first woman to run for President of the United States of America. That was in 1872, long before women had the right to vote (which came in 1920, if you've forgotten).

Often referred to as "The Woodhull" by the press, Victoria was scandalous and outrageous! She was ahead of her time (and still might be today in some areas). She divorced two husbands, but the first one lived with her and the second husband for some time. She was as involved in the Women's Movement as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott, but she pissed them off so much that they completely wrote her out of their 900-page history!

She was nominated for the office of President on the Equal Rights Party ticket, with the famous Frederick Douglass nominated as Vice Presidential candidate. But, many Republicans were aghast at the thought of the re-election of the corrupt Ulysses S. Grant, and so they banded together to support Horace Greeley, leaving Victoria with little support. Besides that, she was not listed on the ballot due to being a woman AND being only 34 years old (one year shy of being legally able to hold the office). Grant won anyway.

She believed that women and men were equal and that women should have careers and be able to vote and run for public office. She and her sister, Tennessee Claflin, ran a brokerage house, published a newspaper, opened a school for teaching micro-agriculture to women, and was very involved in leading Spiritualist, Labor, and Women's groups.

Victoria was the first woman to address a committee of the U.S. Congress (arguing for women's suffrage). She was much admired by our well-known feminists at that time (Anthony, Stanton, etc.)

The Woodhull gave lectures all over the Eastern U.S. and in England about various topics, including women's suffrage, Spiritualism (by which I mean talking to ghosts), Unions, 8-hour workdays, the poor rising up to take back their wealth from the rich (she was aligned with communists for a while), and Free Love.

The feminists of the day possibly could have continued to support and appreciate The Woodhull if she had only:

* stuck to the topic of women's suffrage rather than getting involved in other areas of politics (labor, restructuring the government, etc.)

* kept quiet about her ability to speak to the dead, which was embarrassing

* kept quiet about Free Love. Victoria did not believe that a woman should be forced for survival to marry any man and have to submit to his unwanted sexual attentions. Women should marry for love and have sex because they want to -- she was truly a radical in the 1800s! Victoria had a love affair with Theodore Tilton during one of her marriages. Tilton revealed to her that his wife was sleeping with the Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe (famous feminist).

When Victoria told the world that the Reverend was a Free Lover (to support her supposition that men are allowed to remain respectable while having sex outside of marriage, and women should be as well), all hell broke loose. Rev. Beecher never admitted to it publicly (though he did privately). Harriet Beecher Stowe was instrumental in kicking Victoria out of the feminist club as revenge.

PLUS, The Woodhull and her sister were imprisoned while being tried for libel after printing the story in their newspaper. But while imprisoned, "the other inmates agreed to refrain from smoking while the ladies were in residence." So at least there was that.

The Woodhull's story is very entertaining and amazing. How did this woman totally disappear from history? I have a minor in Women's Studies and I never heard of her. Re-write the books, Women's Historians! Don't let Harriet Beecher Stowe continue getting revenge forever.

Mary Gabriel's writing is almost conversational and easy, while always objective. Notorious Victoria is a great read.