Many students e-mail asking for pictures or information about Victoria Woodhull. There are lots of pictures and information on this site that you can access for free to use for reports (with proper citations, of course). There’s also a search bar above for the site that can help you find what you need.
If you have specific questions, check the Frequently Asked Questions page. Your questions may already have been asked and answered. If you have a specific question that isn’t in the FAQ, you can send an email to victoriawoodhull at yahoo dot com. If your question doesn’t require research and is not an essay question, you may receive a response. However, if your request is “send me more information” or “send me everything you have on Victoria Woodhull,” your message will probably be ignored.
When you ask for “everything” about Victoria Woodhull, you’ve asked for the impossible. She was once one of the most famous women in the world. She has had literally millions of pages written about her over the past 130 years, and it’s cost prohibitive to send someone everything or anything about Victoria Woodhull without charging for it. If there’s anything you need that’s not on this web site, you have to find it on your own, pay research fees, or follow the tips that are listed below. You can also purchase the items that appear in our Victoria Woodhull Shop.
Tips for Researching Reports
There are no less than seven major biographies about her. Those biographies should provide enough help to most students. You can either purchase the books online or request the books from a library near you.
Don’t have time to get a book? Visit our online Woodhull Presidential Library. It contains the complete text of the first biography ever written about Victoria Woodhull. It was written in 1871 by Theodore Tilton. The library also contains links to Victoria Woodhull pictures, speeches, and brief web biographies. There are several online articles. You can also read book reviews about her biographies.
If you need primary sources, and not just secondary sources, check out our Woodhull & Claflin’s Weekly Archives. It contains extracts from Victoria Woodhull’s newspaper that was published from 1870-1876. The Library of Congress microfilmed the newspaper. You can either buy the microfilm reels from Bell-Howell in Ann Arbor, MI, or you can borrow the microfilm through interlibrary loan. Another indispensible tool for those doing primary research on Victoria Woodhull is the “Victoria Woodhull Reader.” The book contains the majority of Victoria Woodhull speeches. Or, check your library for the microfilmed collection, “The History of Women” by www.psmedia.com. Some of the reels contain Victoria Woodhull’s original speeches, books, and transcripts of the Beecher-Tilton trial. Original letters, broadsides, and photographs of Victoria Woodhull are scattered across the country. Researchers will have to find those on their own. The best collections of Woodhull related material are located in Illinois and Kentucky.
If you’re interested in doing original research, the following are the towns and cities where she has lived:
Homer, Ohio; Mt. Gilead, Ohio; San Francisco, CA; Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis, IN; Chicago, IL; Ottawa, IL; Cincinnati, Ohio; St. Louis, MO; Pittsburgh, PA, New York City, NY; London, England; Bredon’s Norton, Worcestershire, England. She also went on lecture tours all across the U.S. from 1870 to 1876. She may have lectured in your town.Student Guide to Books
Which Victoria Woodhull book should you use for your report? It depends on the focus of your report. The biography we usually recommend for a report is “Notorious Victoria” by Mary Gabriel. She understands Victoria Woodhull better than any of the other biographers. “The Woman Who Ran for President” by Lois Beachy Underhill is a good second choice. If you’re a college student, or if your report is also on women’s suffrage, “Other Powers” by Barbara Goldsmith should be included in your bibliography. “Other Powers” discusses the connection between spiritualism and feminism. It also discusses the major social events of Victoria’s era; such as, the Civil War riots, the Johnson impeachment, the McFarland murder trial and Black Friday. The book is more of a social history of the Beecher-Tilton scandal, reconstruction after the Civil War, and the Gilded Age, rather than a biography. For that reason, “Other Powers” is probably not for students in elementary or junior high school.
For elementary students, or for junior high students who want a quick read, we recommend “Notable Americans, Victoria Woodhull, First Woman Presidential Candidate” by Jacqueline McLean. The book is short and is written specifically for young readers. It has lots of pictures, albeit distorted and badly reproduced ones, that break up the monotony of solid text. The other book for young readers, “Free Woman” by Marion Meade, is better suited for high school students, or for junior high students who don’t mind a longer book with no pictures.
The most interesting of all the Victoria Woodhull biographies is “The Terrible Siren” by Emanie Sachs. If you’re looking for a spicy and exciting read, it’s your best choice, followed by “Vicky” by M.M. Marberry and “Mrs. Satan” by Johanna Johnston. For historical accuracy, however, these books should be the last on your reading list.
Finally, if your focus is on Victoria’s life in England, the newly released book, “American Lady of the Manor, Bredon’s Norton, the Later Life of Victoria Woodhull Martin, 1901-1927” by Owen Stinchcombe is a good resource. The book is only available through the author. If you don’t have time to write to England for the book, then your next best choice is “Notorious Victoria” by Mary Gabriel, “The Terrible Siren” by Emanie Sachs, and “The Woman Who Ran for President” by Lois Beachy Underhill. Those books have the most about Victoria’s life in England.