Victoria C. Woodhull

"The strength of a woman is not measured by the impact that all her hardships in life have had on her; but the strength of a woman is measured by the extent of her refusal to allow those hardships to dictate her and who she becomes." • C. JoyBell C. This quote describes Victoria Claflin Woodhull, a women's rights activist from the 1800s. Woodhull was born on September 23, 1838, in Homer, Ohio to conservative parents. However the quaint city bored her, driving her to abandon her humble home in Ohio to set out for bustling New York City. There she made a name for herself in politics and became a key figure in the spiritualist, women's rights, and racial/ sexual equality movements of her time. Her ambition and persistence was what set her apart from her other male contemporaries. "Against all such despotism we have always protested, and shall always continue to protest" (Woodhull) is a quote that perfectly describes Woodhull's persevering attitude. Woodhull was the first woman to accomplish many things that other women of her time would not even dream of; she ran for United States president, established a New York brokerage firm, and started a newspaper. She had more skeptics than supporters, yet she continued voicing her thoughts, no matter what the consequence. Although political and personal controversy got the best of her, Woodhull was a social reformer centuries ahead of her time. Victoria Woodhull can be considered a hero because of her perseverance and bravery. She showed courage by standing up for women in a time when they had little rights and refusing to let other's criticisms bring her down. She showed determination by refusing to be held back by the scandal and personal attacks. Victoria Woodhull, a women's rights activist on the 1800s, demonstrated her heroic nature through her tireless work towards social reform, bravery while voicing her thoughts against a stronger force, and perseverance by standing tall after repeatedly getting knocked down.

Victoria Woodhull's action to promote women's rights along with other lobbyist acts made her a reformer. She worked vigorously in different parts of politics in order to promote her own rights and benefit the people: "Woodhull's experience as a lobbyist and businesswoman taught her how to penetrate the all-male domain of national politics.Suffragists saw her as their newest champion. They applauded her statement: 'women are the equals of men before the law, and are equal in all their rights.'" (Kullmann) Woodhull's prior experience allowed her to take over the male dominated part of politics, showing how she changed politics for generations that followed. For someone with little rights, she managed to positively change the future for many others, which is characteristic of a hero. Heroes should be caring and aim towards bettering the lives of others and the lives of the future; Woodhull chose politics to get her word across. Not only was Woodhull promoting changes in politics, she contributed greatly to give women rights: "An impassioned advocate of woman suffrage, racial and sexual equality, and spiritualism, Woodhull ran for the office of United States president, established a New York brokerage firm, and edited a radical newspaper."(Richardson) Woodhull continued on through life as though everyone was equal and was the first woman to do many groundbreaking things. This shows that she was a true reformer; she advocated for social rights and worked toward making others' lives easier in order to benefit humanity. She promoted ideas that would help others and took any step to achieve her goals of bettering life for the underprivileged. Victoria Woodhull dedicated her life to make women's lives easier and promoted changes for social justice, making her a reformer.

Victoria Woodhull stood up for her own ideas, even when she was rejected by her male counterparts, showing Woodhull's bravery. She was not afraid to introduce new and innovative ideas, even when they were controversial: "Victoria Woodhull promoted changes that frightened, embarrassed, or in some cases delighted her contemporaries. She challenged several male-dominated organizations and institutions. "(Kullmann) Woodhull showed her bravery by taking a stand by objecting her opponent's views and introducing completely new ideas. This shows bravery because she was a women with very little rights who was challenging strong, privileged men. Bravery is a key characteristic all heroes must have because it is what drives them to do the unthinkable. Woodhull showed bravery by presenting strange and unordinary theories that no one else supported. Not only was Woodhull courageous to introduce new ideas, they were revolutionary for her time: "Whatever her ends, she contributed to journalistic history through her brave revelations of hypocrisy, injustice and misogyny. John Lent, in Dictionary of Literary Biography, writes of Woodhull's most important achievement: 'she introduced and fought for causes that represented advanced thought, laying the groundwork for social advances in later decades.'"(Victoria C. Woodhull, Gale) Woodhull stood up for her beliefs, no matter how notorious or rejected they were, showing bravery. Even though they were sometimes hypocritical and unjust according to people of her time, they still showed insight far beyond her time. It takes guts to stand out from everyone else's beliefs, especially when Woodhull did not have many rights herself. Victoria Woodhull stood up for her own beliefs at a time when women had little say in politics, showing her bravery.

Victoria Woodhull's relentless perseverance in standing up for her beliefs show how determined she truly was. Woodhull showed her preserving attitude when arguing for women's suffrage: "Victoria faced many obstacles to election besides the obvious one of running when most women couldn't even vote. One obstacle was campaign fund-raising and organization. She formed "Victoria Leagues." She held "Congresses" of her followers in her own home. She attempted to raise money by selling bonds that would be redeemable during her administration. "(Shearer). While running for election, Woodhull faced many setbacks she had to overcome. When most people would have given up Woodhull's determined drive helped her overcome these challenges. Everybody faces setbacks in their lives but what set heroes apart from average people is their persistence and ambition. Perseverance is a hero trait because it shows that they are never going to give up on what they put their mind to. Heroes must be relentless and never stop until the ultimate goal is reached. Woodhull took her personal trouble and used it to positively fuel her passion for politics. After most of Woodhull's career had ended, she was still determined to get her views across: "Every aspect of Victoria's domestic life was sensationalized in the press, which implied that she shared herself with two men. Despite the growing scandal, in 1872 Victoria became the presidential nominee of the Equal Rights Party, a party of working-class people. Frederick Douglass, a former slave, was the party's vice presidential candidate. Although the party's ticket was destined to failure, Victoria's candidacy nonetheless marked a new step toward sexual equality in the United States."(Richardson) Every bit if Woodhull's life was scrutinized under a microscope. Most people in her situation would crack, but she didn't let them get to her. Woodhull came back from all the fighting even stronger than before and became the first woman to run for president. Even though Victoria Woodhull's ideas were constantly shut down for how controversial they were, like the idea of free love and women's suffrage, she remained persistent on having her voice heard.

Victoria Woodhull unwavering perseverance, bravery, and social reform efforts make her deserving of the title: hero. Woodhull demonstrated her determination by continuing to voice her thoughts, no matter how many times she was let down. The gossip and drama that followed her burdened her, but also made her stronger. It took fearlessness for Woodhull to stand up for her beliefs, especially when she was the only one who agreed with herself. She was a woman in a time mainly dominated by men, yet she still refused to back down in her efforts for women's suffrage. As C. JoyBell C. once stated, "The strength of a woman is measured by the extent of her refusal to allow those hardships to dictate her and who she becomes." According to this criteria, Woodhull is extremely strong; she does not let negative attitudes get to her. Woodhull was one of the most revolutionary social reformers of her time by introducing ideas decades ahead of her time. Victoria Woodhull inspires others to stand up for what they believe in and this is why she is an inspiration to me. She redefines what it means to be a strong and brave individual. She is an inspiration to me because she taught me to never give up on what I believe in, even if other people mock me for my ideas. Victoria Woodhull tells us that we can be whomever we want to be and inspires others to start change, no matter how strange the ideas may seem. A true hero is not always the one that plasters the page of the history books, instead he/she can be an average person trying to their mark for generations to come to recognize.