Who Am I Thinking About on Presidents' Day?
By Penny Colman *
Belva Lockwood was a 19th century celebrity lawyer, educator, women's rights and peace activist, the first woman to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, and a two-time official candidate for President of the United States.
Born in 1830, Belva Lockwood was indomitable and bold. As a young widow with a small child, she refused to be dependent on anyone except herself. Managing to get educated she taught school before moving to Washington, D.C. where she married Ezekiel Lockwood, an elderly Civil War veteran and set about earning a living to support her family.
First known printed presidential ballot for a woman picturing Belva Lockwood with her running mate. (Women's Suffrage Memorabilia: An Illustrated Historical Study by Kenneth Florey, p. 20)
When a law school refused to bestow the law degree she had earned, Belva Lockwood got the ex officio head of the school, President Ulysses Grant, to do so in 1873. "Nothing was too daring for me to attempt, she once wrote. In 1876, at the age of forty-nine years old, she was admitted to practice before the highest court in America, the U.S. Supreme Court. But first she had had to write a bill admitting women to practice and relentlessly lobby Congress for three years until the bill was passed. "I have never stopped fighting," she said. "My cause was the cause of thousands of women."
Belva Lockwood died at age of 85 in 1917, three years before the 19th Amendment enfranchising women was added to the U.S. Constitution. The heading and sub-headings in The New York Times (May 20,1917), that rarely published women's obituaries, read: "BELVA LOCKWOOD, LAWYER, DIES AT 85/Only Woman Who Ran for Presidency and First to Practice In Supreme Court/A PIONEER IN SUFFRAGE/She Fought Case of Cherokee Indians Against the Government and Won $5,000,000 Settlement."
Unlike Virginia Woodhull, who the popular culture typically credits as the first woman to run for President, but who, in fact, was too young to be on the ballot, Belva Lockwood officially ran two—1884 and 1888— full-scale presidential campaigns with her running mate Marietta L. Stow. Her goal wasn't about winning, it was about showing that women could run a campaign. She published a 15-point-position statement on foreign affairs, equal political rights, judicial appointments, and more; "If we always talk and never work, we will not accomplish anything," she said.
Fewer that 5,000 men, (women were denied the vote) voted for her in 1884 and fewer still in 1888. But that was enough because Belva Lockwood's goal was not about winning but about proving that women could run for president. And that she did—twice. So, Belva Lockwood is who I am thinking about on President's Day.
___
Penny Colman's website is a treasure trove of upbeat inspiring stories and images of women.
Another interesting resource: National Women's History Alliance
*From our member and friend Whitney Gravel, submitted February 2022
Few Elected Women Serve in State and Federal Seats
From - Center for American Women and Politics
Women in the 119th Congress
For the first time since 2011, the number of women serving in Congress will decline as a result of November congressional elections, according to the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. In 2025, 150 women will serve in Congress, fewer than the 151 who were serving as of Election Day 2024.
“Election 2024 was essentially a stasis year for women’s representation, but after years of remarkable success, stasis can feel like a setback,” said CAWP Director Debbie Walsh. “However, there’s more to this story. Equal representation is a non-partisan issue, but it has become a partisan problem. Women are nearing or exceeding parity within the Democratic Party in Congress and in states around the country. That is not the case for Republican women. To achieve gender parity in elected offices at every level, both parties must do the necessary, intentional work to recruit, support, and elect women.”
BY THE NUMBERS
As of January 2024, women make up more than a quarter of the 119th U.S. Congress’ membership.
there are—combined democratic and republican—Women in the following positions:
NOTE: An asterisk (*) indicates a new record high. In all other cases, numbers are flat, have fallen, and/or match a previous record; visit our analysis to find out more. These numbers include Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who has been nominated to serve as ambassador to the United Nations but has not yet resigned her seat in Congress.
150 women will serve in the 119th Congress. [Link to chart]
110* Democrats
40 Republicans
125 women will serve in the U.S. House.
94* Democrats (43.7% of House Democrats)
31 Republicans (14.1% of House Republicans)
There will be 18 new women members of the House.
25 women will serve in the U.S. Senate.
16 Democrats (35.6% of Senate Democrats)
9 Republicans (17% of Senate Republicans)
There will be 3 new women senators.
Race and Ethnicity
[Link to chart]
Asian American/Pacific Islander Women:
9 (8D, 1R) will serve in the 119th Congress.
2 (2D) will serve in the Senate.
7 (6D, 1R) will serve in the House.
Black Women:
29 (29D) will serve in the 119th Congress.
2* (2D) will serve in the Senate.
27 (27D) will serve in the House.
Latinas:
19 (15D, 4R) will serve in the 119th Congress.
1 (1D) will serve in the Senate.
18 (14D, 4R) will serve in the House.
Middle Eastern/North African Women:
2 (2D) will serve in the 119th Congress.
No MENA women will serve or have ever served in the Senate.
2 (2D) will serve in the House.
Native American/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Women:
1 (1D) will serve in the 119th Congress.
No Native women will serve or have ever served in the Senate.
1 (1D) will serve in the House.
White Women:
93 (56D, 37R) will serve in the 119th Congress.
20 (11D, 9R) will serve in the Senate.
73 (45D, 28R) will serve in the House.