Today, November 5th, is Election Day in the United States. Across the country, millions of people are casting their ballots for a number of candidates and measures, including that of President. Though the country has not yet elected a woman to the highest office, there is a long history of women vying for the position.
1872: Businesswoman Victoria Woodhull was a leader in the women’s suffrage movement and first woman stockbroker on Wall Street. In 1872, Woodhull achieved another remarkable accomplishment and became the first woman to run for U.S. president. The Equal Rights Party nominated her for president alongside abolitionist Frederick Douglass for vice-president, though the latter never acknowledged the nomination.
1964: Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman to serve in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. In 1964, the then senator made a bid for president. Smith ran in several Republican primaries, ultimately reaching the Republican National Convention and becoming the first woman to run for a major party nomination.
1972: A hundred years after Victoria Woodhull, we have trailblazer Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress. In 1972, Chisholm sought the nomination for president with the slogan “Unbought and Unbossed.” With her campaign, she became the first Black woman to run for a major party’s nomination. Though she faced discrimination and was blocked from participating in televised debates, Chisholm was able to enter twelve primaries where she garnered 152 delegate votes.
2016: We had decades and decades of women candidates running for the position of nominee before Hillary Clinton broke that major glass ceiling. In 2016, Clinton, who had held multiple positions of political leadership including senator and secretary of state, became the first woman to represent a major party in the general election. While Clinton didn’t end up winning the election, she did win the popular vote and inspired many other women to run for office themselves.
2021: Kamala Harris had already made history as the first Black American and first woman to serve as California’s Attorney General and the second Black woman elected to the Senate before serving as Vice President of the United States. In January of 2021, Harris became the first woman, Black person, or person of South Asian descent to serve in the role. It is the highest position ever held by a woman in the United States.
Since Victoria Woodhull’s campaign there have been more than 130 women who have made serious bids for the presidency. Earlier this year, Vice President Harris added another milestone to this history as the first Black woman and first person of South Asian heritage to serve as a major party’s nominee. This rich history of women running for president highlights the courage and determination of those who have paved the way, broken barriers, and inspired future generations.
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