COLUMBUS, Ohio — A plaque in the Licking County town of Homer is dedicated to its political trailblazer Victoria Woodhull, who was born there in 1838.
- She campaigned for the White House before women had the right to vote
- She was a radical who spoke out against slavery, in favor of socialism and economic reform
- A Denison professor has made Woodhull's story her life's work since 1989 and created a documentary
It was that plaque — erected more than 40 years ago —that first got Dennison University Professor Suzanne Condray thinking about who Victoria Woodhull was and why she mattered.
“I was interested in presidential politics. I was interested in women's studies, and here was someone in our back door who ran for president in 1872,” Condray said.
So, Condray spent that summer looking through library archives across the country, thinking as an academic she'd probably write an article, but all along, envisioning the bigger picture.
“The more I learned about her, the more I said, no no, this needs a broader audience,” said Condray. “I spent probably seven years looking in archives in the United States and in England, where she spent the last 50 years of her life. And over that period of time, I had enough material that I finally went ahead with the documentary.”
In 1995, Condray released “To Judge Her By Her Heart: Victoria Woodhull's Story.” It detailed Woodhull's accomplishments as the first female stockbroker, a publisher, lecturer, and clairvoyant.
She ran for president on the Equal Rights Party ticket, advocating for women before they had the right to vote.
Woodhull was a radical. She spoke out against slavery, in favor of socialism and economic reform. And her beliefs earned her the label of “Mrs. Satan” by a cartoonist of the time.
“There's a woman who's carrying her husband, who is alcoholic, on her back and her children beside her, and here's Mrs. Satan with a plaque that says ‘Free Love’ on it. She didn't back down from the idea of marriage being something that shouldn't be a government-imposed sanctity,” said Condray.
Today, the only monument in the U.S. to Victoria Woodhull stands outside the Robbins Hunter Museum in Granville as part of the clock and bell tower, which rings every hour.
Another academic, Columbus State University Professor Dr. Judith Dann, says Woodhull’s influence on modern day politics shouldn't be understated.
“She ran in the 1872 election against Ulysses Grant, but, I truly think she knew she wasn't going to win, she was even a little too young. But they were politically divided at the time. She identified, your party isn't doing anything, neither is yours, so she went to a third party. But it’s now wonderful to see women are now in major parties, representing. We still have a long way to go,” said Dann.
“She was a socialist in her ideology. And we've got a couple of candidates that are interested in socialist philosophy. Loved publicity, she would certainly fit in quite well with our current politics.” said Condray.
On one hand, Victoria Woodhull was the first woman to address a congressional committee, as a proponent of free love.
On the other hand, she was the same woman who spent time in jail, accused of exposing a preacher by sending obscene material through the mail.
A complicated figure, indeed, but Woodhull rose from poverty to Wall Street and inspired a generation of women to vote, become politically active and run for office themselves.
For Condray, the decades she has spent keeping Woodhull's memory alive has become inspiring for her, as well.
“She said, ‘come out of the ruck of grumblers who criticize only and try to do something to help humankind.’ That's the kind of spirit that we need in politics, and it's the kind of spirit that we need in activism,” said Condray.