Belva Ann Lockwood
Yesterday was the birthday of Belva Ann Lockwood, who was born on October 24, 1830 (181 years ago yesterday). Who was Belva Ann Lockwood you ask? Well there is a debate as to whether she or Victoria Woodhull was the first woman to run for President. I think it was probably Woodhull, who tried to run in 1876 against Ulysses Grant, but whoever was technically the first, Belva Lockwood was an interesting person.
Belva Ann Lockwood was a lawyer, politician, educator, and suffragist. She ran for President as the candidate of the National Equal Rights Party in the presidential elections of 1884 against Grover Cleveland and 1888 against Benjamin Harrison. Her running mate was Marietta Stow in 1884. In 1888 she originally ran with Alfred H. Love, except when he was nominated he wasn't informed of it. When he found out, as the president of the Universal Peace Union and a lifelong world peace activist, he was horrified at the notion of running for vice president so he dropped out of the race. Lockwood was in a scramble with no vice president, so she chose Charles Stuart Wells as the other half of her ticket.
Lockwood did not have a serious chance of winning the presidency and received about 4,000 votes each time. Since women could not vote, and most newspapers were opposed to her candidacy, it was surprising that she received any votes. In an 1884 article, the Atlanta Constitution called her "old lady Lockwood" and warned male readers of the dangers of "petticoat rule". A famous Canadian politician once said "nobody kicks a dead dog" so Belva must have had the establishment a little worried for them to take that much notice of her.
On January 12, 1885, Lockwood petitioned the United States Congress to have her votes counted. She told newspapers and magazines that she had evidence of voter fraud. She asserted that supporters had seen their ballots ripped up and that she had "received one-half the electoral vote of Oregon, and a large vote in Pennsylvania, but the votes in the latter state were not counted, simply dumped into the waste basket as false votes."
Lockwood believed strongly in working for world peace. She co-edited a journal called The Peacemaker, and she belonged to the Universal Peace Union; she was one of its representatives at an exposition held in Paris in 1889. She was also a delegate to an International Peace Congress in London in 1890. She continued to speak on behalf of peace and disarmament to the year of her death. She had a 43-year career as a lawyer. Belva Ann Lockwood died on May 19, 1917 and is buried in Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
In 1983 Lockwood was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York. The statement about her noted:
"Using her knowledge of the law, she worked to secure woman suffrage, property law reforms, equal pay for equal work, and world peace. Thriving on publicity and partisanship, and encouraging other women to pursue legal careers, Lockwood helped to open the legal profession to women."
Belva Ann Lockwood was a lawyer, politician, educator, and suffragist. She ran for President as the candidate of the National Equal Rights Party in the presidential elections of 1884 against Grover Cleveland and 1888 against Benjamin Harrison. Her running mate was Marietta Stow in 1884. In 1888 she originally ran with Alfred H. Love, except when he was nominated he wasn't informed of it. When he found out, as the president of the Universal Peace Union and a lifelong world peace activist, he was horrified at the notion of running for vice president so he dropped out of the race. Lockwood was in a scramble with no vice president, so she chose Charles Stuart Wells as the other half of her ticket.
Lockwood did not have a serious chance of winning the presidency and received about 4,000 votes each time. Since women could not vote, and most newspapers were opposed to her candidacy, it was surprising that she received any votes. In an 1884 article, the Atlanta Constitution called her "old lady Lockwood" and warned male readers of the dangers of "petticoat rule". A famous Canadian politician once said "nobody kicks a dead dog" so Belva must have had the establishment a little worried for them to take that much notice of her.
On January 12, 1885, Lockwood petitioned the United States Congress to have her votes counted. She told newspapers and magazines that she had evidence of voter fraud. She asserted that supporters had seen their ballots ripped up and that she had "received one-half the electoral vote of Oregon, and a large vote in Pennsylvania, but the votes in the latter state were not counted, simply dumped into the waste basket as false votes."
Lockwood believed strongly in working for world peace. She co-edited a journal called The Peacemaker, and she belonged to the Universal Peace Union; she was one of its representatives at an exposition held in Paris in 1889. She was also a delegate to an International Peace Congress in London in 1890. She continued to speak on behalf of peace and disarmament to the year of her death. She had a 43-year career as a lawyer. Belva Ann Lockwood died on May 19, 1917 and is buried in Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
In 1983 Lockwood was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York. The statement about her noted:
"Using her knowledge of the law, she worked to secure woman suffrage, property law reforms, equal pay for equal work, and world peace. Thriving on publicity and partisanship, and encouraging other women to pursue legal careers, Lockwood helped to open the legal profession to women."