From the Publisher
In 1872, American women couldn't vote, but they could run for president. Can you name the first woman to run for president, or the first woman to have a seat on the stock exchange? Do you know the first woman to own a newspaper or to speak before Congress? Amazingly, one woman achieved each of these feats, and her name has been all but erased from history. Born in complete poverty, the seventh of ten children, Victoria Woodhull was supporting her family by the age of eight as a child preacher. Seeking a better life, she married, divorced, moved to New York City, and became a millionaire by offering Cornelius Vanderbilt financial advice from the spirit world. Victoria did not stop there. Now that she had money and power, she was ready to challenge society's harsh limitations on women. Her boldest act was announcing herself as the first female candidate for the presidency of the United States. She founded her own newspaper to publicize this groundbreaking campaign, which took her from the chambers of Congress to the glorious moment when she was nominated by the Equal Rights Party at a convention that she, a woman, had organized and funded. In the first book about Victoria Woodhull for young readers, Kathleen Krull and Jane Dyer team up to bring one of the most fascinating personalities in U.S. history to life.
