Victoria Woodhull Quotes


I come before you to declare that my sex are entitled to the inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.


Citations

Woodhull, Victoria C. Constitutional Equality: Address to the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives. 11 Jan. 1871.

Related Quotes

The preamble to this declaration of womens’ rights cleverly beginy s with the words of the Declaration of Independence with the single change that “all men” is replaced with “all men and women.” The message was clear. If the founders had a moral right and duty to revolt for these objectives women would be justified and duty bound to make similar efforts. That message terrified many men of the era.


Victoria Woodhull
Victoria Woodhull
  • Born: September 23, 1838
  • Died: June 9, 1927
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Suffragist, Politician, Feminist, Writer.

Victoria Claflin Woodhull, later Victoria Woodhull Martin, was an American leader of the women's suffrage movement who ran for President of the United States in the 1872 election. While many historians and authors agree that Woodhull was the first woman to run for the presidency, some disagree with classifying it as a true candidacy because she was younger than the constitutionally mandated age of 35 (Woodhull's 35th birthday was in September 1873, seven months after the March inauguration). However, election coverage by contemporary newspapers does not suggest age was a significant issue; this may, however, be due to the fact that few took the candidacy seriously.