Belva Ann Lockwood - Changing Worlds, Moving Mountains, A Long Way To Go, A Full Life, Amendment Xix
law washington cambridge york
Born October 24, 1830 (Royalton, New York)
Died May 19, 1917 (Washington, D.C.)
Attorney
Belva Ann Bennett McNall Lockwood gained notoriety as the first woman to run for president in the United States. She was nominated in both the 1884 and the 1888 presidential races by the National Equal Rights Party. Lockwood is best remembered, however, as the first woman admitted to practice law before the Supreme Court of the United States. She was also the first woman to practice law in the lower federal court system.
As a lawyer in Washington, D.C., Lockwood exerted a great deal of political influence in both Congress and the courts. While she was most visible in her campaign to earn women's rights, especially the right to vote, Lockwood also lobbied Congress on a wide range of issues addressing injustice against a variety of groups. Lockwood was an avid pacifist (person opposed to the use of force) who served as a member of the nominating committee for the Nobel Peace Prize.
For More Information
Books
Brown, Drollene P. Belva Lockwood Wins Her Case. Niles, IL: Albert Whitman & Company, 1987.
Hall, Kermit L. The Oxford Companion to American Law. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
James, Edward T., Janet Wilson James, and Paul S. Boyer, eds. Notable American Women 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 1971.
Maddex, Robert L. The U.S. Constitution A to Z. Washington, DC: CQPress, 2002.
Magnusson, Magnus, and Rosemary Goring, eds. Cambridge Biographical Dictionary. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Additional Topics
Belva Ann Bennett was the second of five children born to Hannah Green and Lewis Johnson Bennett. She was born
Belva Ann Lockwood. (The Library of Congress)
in October 1830 on a farm in Niagara County, New York. Belva did her chores on the farm and attended a one-room country school until she was fifteen. Poor family finances required her to get a job teaching at the country school to ea…
In 1866 Belva took Lura, now seventeen years of age, and moved to Washington, D.C. Belva taught school and campaigned as an active member of the National Woman Suffrage Association, an organization seeking voting rights for women. In 1867 she helped found the Universal Franchise Association, Washington's first suffrage group. After a year Belva opened a private, coeducational school called …
Lockwood became very well known in Washington as she developed a successful law practice. She liked the practicality of getting around the city on the tall, three-wheeled tricycles that were becoming popular for men. The trikes were considered unladylike due to women's fashions at the time consisting of long skirts. Belva bought one anyway and had a special dashboard made to keep her skirts…
Lockwood bought a twenty-room house in Washington and set up law offices on the first floor for herself and two other women attorneys. Lockwood took every type of case but specialized in back-pay claims and pension (retirement pay)
A group of women marching in favor of passing an amendment to give women the right to vote. Lockwood was a devoted supporter of attaining equal rights for women. (…
The Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution states, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." The amendment guaranteeing all American women the right to vote was the result of decades of effort by many people…
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