The First American “petticoat politician” to Run for President

“We’ll overthrow this bogus Republic and plant a government of righteousness instead!” roared Victoria Woodhull in 1872 as the first female to run for president in the USA.

Although virtually ignored by history, Woodhull was well-known in her day. Woodhull was not merely a politician; she and her sister were the first female stockbrokers on Wall Street, she was the publisher of a newspaper, a lobbyist, a social reformer, lecturer, and a mother of two.

Her political platform extended beyond women’s rights. Woodhull ran as presidential candidate of the Equal Rights Party, which supported not only women's right to vote and work, but also supported nationalization of land; cost-based pricing to reduce excessive profits; a fairer division of earnings between labor and capital; the elimination of exorbitant interest rates; and free speech and a free press.

To learn more about Victoria Woodhull visit:
http://feministgeek.com/teaching-learning/woodhull/

America’s Victoria: Remembering Victoria Woodhull is a recent documentary film chronicling the life of this 19-century American feminist, which is now available on DVD from Zoie Films.
http://www.zoiefilms.com/homevideo.html

To view film clips about Woodhull including
HerStory - Victoria Woodhull (3:08), and
Victoria Woodhull Short (2:50) visit:
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1243622980

To learn about women and the American presidency visit American Women Presidents, a national political action committee (PAC) dedicated to electing women to the U.S. presidency. Their presidential hopefuls for 2008 included Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius.

MADAME PRESIDENT DOCUMENTARY FILM coming spring 2009

WOMEN AT THE HELM

“This very important project tells the story of women Heads of State is one which has rarely been told. The film's goal is to reveal who these women leaders are and heighten their visibility as we bring their stories forth in a compelling and inspiring documentary and series." states Kim Mance, Director of External Relations at the Council of Women World Leaders.

For more information and to view trailer visit http://www.kimmance.com/madamepresident.html

The documentary features eleven female heads of state: Michelle Bachelet from Chile; Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf from Liberia; Angela Merkel from Germany; Tarja Halonen from Finland; Helen Clark from New Zealand; Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from Philippines; Han Myung-Sook from South Korea; Mary McAleese from Ireland; Luisa Diogo from Mozambique,
Aung San Suu Kyi from Burma and Pratibha Patil from India.

(Photos L to R: Helen Clark, Angela Merkel, Han Myung-Sook, and Luisa Diogo)