Step 1 : Introduction to the question "Who was the first female candidate for the U.S. presidency?"
Victoria Woodhull was a woman 100 years ahead of her time. She ran for President of the United States in 1872. Woodhull was nominated for President of the United States by the newly formed Equal Rights Party on May 10, 1872, at Apollo Hall, New York City. Although laws prohibited women from voting, there was nothing stopping women from running for office. Frederick Douglass, the famed civil rights activist, was nominated to be her vice president, though he never acknowledged or accepted the nomination publicly.