Belva Ann Lockwood

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Belva Ann Lockwood (October 24, 1830 - May 19, 1917) was a United States attorney, politician, author, and noted feminist. Lockwood overcame many social and personal obstacles related to gender restrictions of her time, to gain a good education. After college she became a schoolteacher, and was actively involved with working towards equal pay for women teachers.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Life in Washington, DC 3 Notes 4 References

[edit] Early life

She was born in Royalton, New York, where she later married Uriah McNall, a farmer. He died in 1853, four years after their daughter Lura was born. She then attended Gasport Academy in Gasport, New York and Genesee College in Lima, New York.

[edit] Life in Washington, DC

After she moved to Washington, D.C. she married Ezekial Lockwood in 1868. In 1872, Lockwood earned her law degree from what is now The George Washington University Law School and became one of the very first woman lawyers in the U.S., although after she obtained her degree she was not allowed to practice in the Court of Claims, or the United States Supreme Court.

A judge told her: "Women are not needed in the courts. Their place is in the home to wait upon their husbands, to bring up the children, to cook the meals, make beds, polish pans and dust furniture." That didn’t stop Lockwood, and after three years of struggle, in 1879, her efforts resulted in passage of a bill that allowed women to practice before the Supreme Court. She went on to become the first female attorney to practice before the Supreme Court.

She was the second woman (after Victoria Woodhull) to run for President of the United States, but was the first woman to appear on the ballot in United States presidential election, 1884 and United States presidential election, 1888 as the candidate of the National Equal Rights Party. Her running mates were Marietta Stow and Alfred H. Love, respectively. She did not have a serious chance of winning the Presidency and received few votes, particularly because many states still did not allow women to vote at this time. On January 12, 1885, she petitioned Congress to have her votes counted, making the claim "that during the recent session of the Electoral College of the State of Indiana at the capitol thereof, that after it had cast its vote for Cleveland it changed its mind, as it had an undisputed legal right to do, and cast its united vote for your petitioner." She further claimed she "received one-half the electoral vote of Oregon, and a large vote in Pennsylvania, but the votes in the latter state were not counted, simply dumped into the waste basket as false votes."^[1]

She was a well-respected and brilliant writer, determined, kind and energetic. She played a huge role in the advancement of rights for women, and was an active member of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and also the Equal Rights Party. She was the vice president of the Universal Peace Union and also served on the nominating committee for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The small communities of Belva, West Virginia and Lockwood, West Virginia are named in her honor.

In World War II the United States liberty ship SS Belva Lockwood was named in her honor.

The New York State Library and Archives in Albany, New York has a Belva Ann Lockwood Collection, 1830-1917. Swarthmore College has the Belva Ann Lockwood Papers 1878-1917, 1984, 1986, 1992.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Cook, Frances A. Belva Ann Lockwood: for Peace, Justice, and President (1997) Women's Legal History Biography Project, Robert Crown Law Library, Stanford Law School.
• Norgren, Jill. Belva Lockwood, Blazing the Trail for Women in Law. Prologue Magazine. Spring 2005, Vol. 37, No. 1.
• Norgren, Jill. Belva Lockwood, Blazing the Trail for Women in Law, Part 2. Prologue Magazine. Spring 2005, Vol. 37, No. 1.
• Norgren, Jill. [1]Belva Lockwood: The Woman Who Would Be President. NYU Press, 2007.