Victoria Woodhull American social activist, suffragist Date of Birth: 23.09.1838 Country: USA

1. Early Life and Family
2. Marriage and Business Ventures
3. New York and Financial Success
4. Political Activism and the Equal Rights Party
5. The "Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly"
6. Conflict with Henry Ward Beecher
7. Later Years

Early Life and Family

Victoria Woodhull was born into a tumultuous family, with her father, Buck Claflin, a con artist and extortionist. The family was constantly on the move, fleeing from victims and the police. Woodhull's father organized shows where his attractive daughters played prominent roles, with Victoria performing as a child medium, giving predictions, performing table-tipping tricks, and holding spiritualist séances.

Marriage and Business Ventures

At 15, Woodhull married a doctor, Canning Woodhull. They had two children, a mentally disabled son and a healthy daughter. The family settled in San Francisco, where Woodhull engaged in tobacco trading and prostitution. In 1865, she separated from her husband and moved to Missouri under the alias "Madame Holland." There, she opened a salon offering "clairvoyant cures for female diseases."

New York and Financial Success

In New York, Woodhull met railroad executive James Blood and moved in with him. She supplied local prostitutes with contraceptive sponges and narcotics while also engaging in stock market speculation, using confidential information supplied by the prostitutes' clients. Woodhull also became the "personal medium" to millionaire Cornelius Vanderbilt, while her sister, Tennessee Claflin, became Vanderbilt's mistress.

Political Activism and the Equal Rights Party

In 1870, the sisters established the brokerage firm "Woodhull, Claflin & Co." and hired James Blood as a broker, as women could not yet trade on the stock exchange. Women became their primary clients. Woodhull later married Blood. Their gatherings became political salons where they advocated for women's suffrage. In 1872, Woodhull announced her intention to run for President of the United States.

The "Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly"

Woodhull used her own funds to launch the weekly newspaper "Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly," which focused on women's suffrage and spiritualism. She also challenged voting restrictions by going to a polling station with a group of women and attempting to vote. When they were denied, she unsuccessfully challenged the decision in court.

Conflict with Henry Ward Beecher

Victoria Woodhull became involved in the First International's North American Federation but was expelled along with her Section 12 by the General Council and the Hague Congress (1872). Her newspaper printed the first English translation of the "Communist Manifesto" in the United States in 1871. In 1872, Woodhull exposed extramarital affairs of influential religious figure Henry Ward Beecher, causing a national sensation. The sisters Woodhull were charged with "publishing obscene material," arrested eight times, and released on high bail. The charges were eventually dropped, but the sisters were financially ruined.

Later Years

After divorcing Blood in 1876, Woodhull married banker John Biddulph Martin in 1883. Following his death in 1901, she inherited a substantial fortune and became a philanthropist. Victoria Woodhull died in 1927 at the age of 88.