There is a great PBS featured documentary on Victoria Woodhull; AMERICA'S VICTORIA, REMEMBERING VICTORIA WOODHULL . Kate Capshaw performs the role of Woodhull. Historians and feminis Gloria Steinem offer great commentary.
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The Sturm und Drang of their lives came from wanting to live both ways. Both wanted to be part of the establishment, surrounded by luminaries, living in lavish homes, enjoying easy access to power. At the same time, they were radical critics of every aspect of society. That's not a contradiction so much as a reality for people trying to break barriers. To make change requires living in the worlds of both the powerful and the weak.
Clinton's politics tilted left as a student and in her early career. At Wellesley, she worked on Eugene McCarthy's antiwar campaign in 1968 and wrote her thesis on Saul Alinsky's model of street-level activism. At Yale Law, she edited a journal that included cartoons depicting police as pigs. Later, she clerked for the law firm that defended Black Panther Huey Newton in his trial for murder of a cop.
As a practicing attorney and activist, she embraced a broad understanding of children's rights. In 1973 and 1979 academic articles, she suggested a broad range of categories in which children should be considered "competent," and therefore entitled to sue for their interests, even against their parents. She has endorsed broad abortion rights, comparable pay and other liberal stances.
Still, Hillary Clinton isn't really a radical. Her first political hero was Barry Goldwater. As senator, she has imitated Alfonse D'Amato, one of her predecessors, in her zeal for fund-raising, constituency service, pork and media.
The biggest difference between Victoria and Hillary? Clinton had a long career as a lawyer, building contacts and promoting her husband's career until he reached the top. Then she cashed in her own IOUs and played the establishment game in the U.S. Senate.
Does Woodhull's experience suggest a future direction for Clinton if she loses the Democratic nomination? Only that failing a grand quest often leaves little desire for returning to the policy trenches. Some party insiders suggest making Clinton the Senate's majority leader, but her husband's post-White House years suggest a different model—trading on celebrity to make millions and building a worldwide activist organization. Clinton could return to her family-policy roots and build a foundation on education, health care and equity issues.
No matter what happens during this presidential race, people like Woodhull, a radical who never made it, prepared the ground for Clinton. Victoria's impatience and radicalism made way for Hillary's deliberate and moderate approach.
Charles Euchner, who teaches writing at Yale, is working on a book about the events of the civil-rights movement in 1963.
© 2008
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