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19 Women In History Who Would've Made Incredible Presidents
It's 2015 and we still haven't had a female president in the history of the United States. Though that could all change next year if Hillary Clinton runs, it's a baffling omission in our history, especially considering how many influential, pioneering women there have been over the years. Regardless, the country's collective mindset has never made a woman in office a probable scenario. But now, it seems, that mentality is finally starting to change.As we prepare for an inevitable presidential bid from Clinton, who has been a Democratic front-runner since speculation of her running in 2016 first started gaining steam in 2013, let's take a look back in time. There have been countless women in U.S. history who have commanded their fields, breaking new ground and paving the way for future advancements. And then there are the women in history who weren't even American, but we'd be happy to vote for them anyway. From Jeanette Rankin, who was the first woman to serve in Congress, to Joan of Arc, who may have been the fiercest woman the world has ever known, here are 19 women in history who would have made great U.S. presidents.
Susan B. Anthony, 1820–1906
Susan B. Anthony is synonymous with the women’s movement. Her work for women’s suffrage paved the way for the Nineteenth Amendment.
Marie Curie, 1867–1934
Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, and the first person to win two. She won the first one (in physics) for her work with radioactivity and the second one (in chemistry) for her isolation of the element radium.
Amelia Earhart, 1897–1937
Earhart was the first woman to fly over the Atlantic Ocean. She would have been the first person to fly around the world if her plane hadn’t disappeared. Her courage would have made her a solid president.
Joan of Arc, 1412–1431
Let’s face it — Joan of Arc was basically the most badass girl who’s ever lived. As a teenager, she led a French army in the Hundred Years War. After she was tried for witchcraft and heresy, she was burned at the stake and later canonized. Reminder: she was a teenager.
Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884-1962
She may have been the president’s wife, but she made astounding achievements of her own for human rights. And she was full of brilliant wisdom, like this: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
Margaret Sanger, 1879–1966
Sanger started the birth control movement in America, so I’m pretty sure I would have supported her platform for presidency.
Sacagawea, 1787–1812
Without Sacagawea, we might not even be here, because she safely guided Lewis and Clark through America.
Harriet Tubman, 1820–1913
Born a slave, Tubman became one of the most important figures in the abolition movement, freeing more than 300 slaves through the Underground Railroad.
Victoria Woodhull, 1838-1927
Woodhull broke conventions on many fronts. Besides being a leader of the women’s suffrage movement, she was the first woman to be nominated and campaign for presidency, and she and her sister were the first two female stockbrokers on Wall Street.
Image: Wikipedia Commons
Gloria Steinem, 1934-
Steinem is arguably the most prominent leader of the American feminist movement. She has devoted her life to fighting for equal rights in the workplace, politics, and society. Not to mention she went undercover as a Bunny in 1963 to infiltrate NYC’s Playboy Club, exposing its exploitative treatment of its female employees.
Sappho, Circa 625 B.C.
This Greek lyric poetess was Homer’s female counterpart and is easily one of the greatest poets in history. Oh, and she also invented the lyre.
Clara Barton, 1821–1912
She started out treating injured Union soldiers during the Civil War and ended up founding the American Red Cross.
Grace Hopper, 1906–1992
Hopper was an early pioneer in the STEM field, inventing the first compiler for a computer programming language. The computer scientist was also a Navy rear admiral. How badass does she look in this picture?
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 1815 – 1902
Along with her good friend Susan B. Anthony, Stanton was a pioneer in the women’s suffrage movement. She and Anthony were like a 19th century Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
Annie Oakley, 1860 – 1926
Oakley is a legend of the West. The sharpshooter could probably out-shoot any man in the CIA, FBI, and Secret Service.
Jeannette Rankin, 1880-1973
Rankin was the first woman to serve in Congress. After she was elected in Montana in 1916 (four years before women got the right to vote, which means she was voted in by the fellas), she said, “I may be the first woman member of Congress but I won’t be the last.”
Florence Nightingale, 1820-1910
Though her upper-class parents didn’t want her to pursue nursing as a profession, Nightingale went on to change the entire industry. He contributions to sanitation measures, military health, and hospital planning are still observed to this day.
Rosa Parks, 1913-2005
Rosa Parks is considered the “First Lady of Civil Rights.” She famously refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. We need more people like her today to challenge the status quo.
Sandra Day O'Connor, 1930-
As the first woman to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, O’Connor paved the way for women in the justice system. Before that, she was the first female Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate.
