From collection Candidates
Belva Ann Lockwood, an attorney in Washington, D.C., was the first woman to run a full, national campaign for the U. S. presidency. She announced her candidacy in 1884 after the two major parties again refused to endorse suffrage for American woman. Marietta Stow, a California women's rights activist and newspaper publisher was Lockwood's vice presidential running mate. Lockwood argued that women should run for political office to demonstrate their competence and interest in politics. She also wished to emphasize the irony of women's position: that some laws permitted women to be political candidates althoug most women in the United States were not permitted to vote. Lockwood campaigned across the country and organized electoral tickets in several states. Many journalists wrote about her campaign and, like the male candidates, she was the subject of numerous political cartoons. Lockwood polled fewer than 5000 votes but succeeded in making the point that women cared about politics and public policy. In 1888 she again accepted the presidential nomination of the Equal Rights Party but this time ran a smaller campaign that attracted less public attention. Lockwood was active in the American and international peace movement. As a longtime member of the Universal Peace Union, she traveled to Europe several times to represent the organization and deliver papers on international peace and arbitration.
