A Woman for President: The Story of Victoria Woodhull [Hardcover]

Kathleen Krull (Author), Jane Dyer (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up

In 1872, American women couldn’t vote, but they could run for president.

Can you name the first woman to run for president, or the first woman
to have a seat on the stock exchange? Do you know the first woman
to own a newspaper or to speak before Congress?

Amazingly, one woman achieved each of these feats, and her name has been all but erased from history. Born in complete poverty, the seventh
of ten children, Victoria Woodhull was supporting her family by the
age of eight as a child preacher. Seeking a better life, she married, divorced, moved to New York City, and became a millionaire by offering Cornelius Vanderbilt financial advice from the spirit world.

Victoria did not stop there. Now that she had money and power, she was ready to challenge society’s harsh limitations on women. Her boldest act was announcing herself as the first female candidate for the presidency
of the United States. She founded her own newspaper to publicize this groundbreaking campaign, which took her from the chambers of Congress to the glorious moment when she was nominated by the Equal Rights Party at a convention that she, a woman, had organized and funded.

In the first book about Victoria Woodhull for young readers, Kathleen Krull and Jane Dyer team up to bring one of the most fascinating personalities in U.S. history to life.

- The perfect book to explore the electoral process during the upcoming presidential election.
- One of the most revolutionary American women has been
forgotten by history—until now.
- Walker & Company is proud to welcome acclaimed biographer Kathleen Krull and talented illustrator Jane Dyer to our list.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5–Despite her impressive number of achievements–first woman to sit on the Stock Exchange, first woman to own a newspaper or speak before Congress, first woman to run for the presidency of the United States–Woodhull is little known by elementary-grade students. This book, though soft-pedaling the more scandalous aspects of her life, rectifies that omission. Born into an impoverished family, Woodhull was supporting her clan by the time she was eight as a gospel preacher. Married at 14 to her alcoholic doctor, she and her sister became well known as fortune-tellers. By the time they became spiritual and financial advisors to Cornelius Vanderbilt, Woodhull had divorced, remarried, and moved her entire family, including her ailing ex-husband, into a large house in New York City where she took an active role in the women's suffrage movement. It was this involvement that led her to declare herself a candidate for president in 1872. Although the campaign was a failure, it did serve to raise the issue of women's rights in an obvious and unforgettable manner. Krull's writing style is lively and engaging and Dyer's large, photo-realist watercolors capture the sense of the age and involve both eye and imagination. Use this lovely book with Jean Fritz's You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton? (Putnam, 1995) for an expanded look at the birth of the movement for women's rights.–Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma, WA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Victoria Woodhull's life reads like a novel. A Dickensian childhood led to a teenage career as a spiritualist. Later, her perceived ability to talk to mediums influenced Cornelius Vanderbilt to take her stock-market advice--and give her millions of dollars. Rich enough to advance her political ideas about equality for women, she started her own newspaper and investment business and eventually ran for president against Grant. Woodhull is a fascinating figure, and Krull's lively and astute writing does her justice (though she leaves out that messy business of Woodhull's promotion of free love). Krull also gives kids a clear picture of the fettered life of most women of the time, clearly contrasting it with the stances taken by Woodhull and other suffragettes. Dyer tends toward portraiture here, and at times, Woodhull seems surprisingly placid in the art, but the watercolors, cast with a golden glow, are handsome and add a dignified note to the occasionally raucous events. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Walker Childrens; Original edition (August 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802789080
• ISBN-13: 978-0802789082
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,569,082 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

KATHLEEN KRULL is well known for her innovative, award-winning nonfiction for young readers, which includes the successful Lives of... series. Kathleen Krull lives in San Diego, CA. Visit her at www.kathleenkrull.com AND http://facebook.com/kathleen.krull

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not a hero -- Woodhull was a racist!, September 6, 2008

By 

Sheri L. Billett (Astoria, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Woman for President: The Story of Victoria Woodhull (Hardcover)

This book portrays Woodhull as a hero, but she was a racist and embraced FORCED STERILIZATION. She advocated for the malevolent position of eugenics. You can read her own words in the book *Free Lover: Sex, Marriage And Eugenics in the Early Speeches of Victoria Woodhull*. According to Amazon.com, "Her speeches and writings laid the eugenic foundation for the forced sterilization laws passed in over thirty states from 1907 on. When the U.S. Supreme Court declared such laws constitutional in 1927...."

DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. SHE WAS NOT A HERO! Don't lie to the children.