When the media complains about Big Bad Hillary, questions why she stayed in the race so long, and why it’s taking her all the way into Saturday to deliver her concession speech, there is only one answer: because she has no choice.
Louisa May Alcott, Eleanor Roosevelt, Marie Curie; we only remember them because they were exceptions to the rule. Although women nowadays can and do more than ever before, we still reel at the thought of an independent, strong woman sitting her posterior down in the Oval Office. Is Hillary out because of sexism? Partially, yes. Certainly there are people out there that wouldn’t dream of voting for her, because of her gender. Like the woman in Kentucky, who was interviewed by CNN and claimed “a woman’s place is in the home”, thereby embarrassing many Kentuckians (Kentuckynese, Kentucks) who can’t all be that out of touch. And Hillary wasn’t even the first female candidate to go after the nomination- that questionable honor goes to Victoria Woodhull.
Questionable, because if Hillary thought at times the press treated her unfairly, Woodhull had it much worse. Woodhull, born in 1838, owned her own newspaper and was the first female stockbroker on Wall Street. We have her to thank for the 8-hour workday; she was the first person to have the Communist Manifesto translated into English. She ran for President in 1872, after being nominated by the Equal Rights Party. This was incidentally also the first political party to nominate an African American for Vice President, in the person of Frederick Douglass. Needless to say, Woodhull’s attempts caused an uproar during a time when women did not yet have the right to vote. The press swallowed her whole and then spat her out; accusations of adultery with married men began to surface. When ignoring the bad press didn’t work, she turned to Reverend Ward Beecher, the father of Harriet Beecher-Stowe. He refused to come to her aid, and a nasty back and forth ensued, with Woodhull (justly) accusing Beecher of sleeping around, and Woodhull’s name being dragged through the mud. The government chose sides, and “Wicked Woodhull” spent Election Day in prison. It wasn’t a matter of Victoria not knowing her place; it was the rest of the world that was confused about the capabilities of women. Unfortunately, the website dedicated to her hits the nail on the head when it states:
“It’s been nearly 128 years, and still no woman has made it to the White House. No person of color has even made it to the Vice Presidency. Money is still a major obstacle for candidates. The private lives of public figures are still an issue. The people still feel the politicians aren’t representing them. It seems little has changed in politics in the past century”. (Source: http://www.victoria-woodhull.com/index.htm)
Let’s hope that, with Obama as the presumptive nominee, we can at least break part of that cycle. An even more wonderful development would be if he did choose Hillary as his running mate. Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman on the US Supreme Court, and she paved the way. Sally Ride was the first woman in space, and she paved the way. Maya Lin designed the Vietnam memorial in Washington DC, as well as the Civil Rights Monument in Montgomery, Alabama. Clara Barton founded the Red Cross. Susan B. Anthony gave us women the right to vote, Pearl S. Buck was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, and Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize period, and she won it twice. Esther Peterson fought for equal pay for women. Helen Keller needs no introduction. Hillary Clinton belongs in that list, as the first Female Vice President of the United States. Once that so important “first” is out of the way, the field will be wide open. The women back in 1872 may have been ahead of their time, but they already knew: it is time for a woman in the White House.
