I chose Victoria Woodhull as my trailblazer. She made her fortune on the New York Stock Exchange and was one of the first women to open a brokerage house on Wall Street. She was also the first woman to run for President of the United States. Although her presidential campaign was not recognized at the time, due to gender discrimination, it paved the way for other women in the United States, such as Hillary Clinton. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayVictoria California Claflin was born on September 23, 1838. She was born in Ohio and had 9 siblings growing up. Victoria was allegedly spiritually clairvoyant and her abilities provided an income for her disadvantaged family. His father burned the family mill; when he tried to collect his insurance money, the fire turned out to be arson. The family was forced to leave the town in which they resided. To escape her family, particularly her father's cruelty, in 1853 Victoria married Canning Woodhull. Woodhull was a medicine salesman. Due to the non-existent requirements for doctors at that time, Mr. Woodhull claimed to be a medical doctor. Woodhull was an alcoholic and womanizer, which required Victoria to work to support their two children. At that time, this was unheard of, because according to the gender roles of her time, a woman's place was in the home. New York would be the next home for the Woodhulls and their two children. The Claflin family already lived in town. Victoria and her sister Tennessee, to whom she was closest, opened a medium's practice. In 1864, the Woodhulls and Tennessee moved to Cincinnati, then to Chicago, moving quickly, which seemed to avoid altercations and lawsuits, due to the nature of their work. Author Jesse Greenspan explains a setback for Tennessee during their travels. “Tennessee, for example, was charged with involuntary manslaughter in Illinois after the death of one of its cancer patients.” (Greenspan) This was just one of the difficulties the family faced. In addition to Victoria's difficult marriage, her son suffered from a mental disability. Eventually, her husband only returned home for money, and after more than a decade of marriage, Victoria and Canning divorced in 1864. Although Victoria had little or no education, she was able to advance in his life. The sisters returned to New York in 1868, and Victoria and Tennessee began working as mediums for railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt. It was possible that Tennessee could receive an offer from Vanderbilt. The sisters received stock market tips from this friendship from which they benefited in 1869 during the gold panic. Vanderbilt provided financial security to Victoria and Tennessee to open a hugely successful financial firm named Woodhull, Claflin & Co. This made them the first female stockbrokers on Wall Street. This accomplishment paved the way for women of the future, like Muriel Siebert who won a seat on the New York Stock Exchange in 1967. Victoria Woodhull attended a women's suffrage convention in 1869 and became a major supporter of movement. After attending this event, she formed another beneficial friendship with a Massachusetts congressman named Benjamin Butler. Butler then invited her to speak before the House Judiciary Committee. On January 11, 1871, Woodhull argued before the panel that women had already won the right to vote under the..