The presidency: America's highest glass ceiling

Hillary Clinton
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton reaches to shake hands of supporters as she arrives to speak during a campaign event at Carl Hayden Community High School in Phoenix, Monday, March 21, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Carolyn Kaster | AP

The 2016 campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Carly Fiorina mark the latest in a string of 200 women who have tried for the top office in the land, starting with a campaign in 1872. Historian Ellen Fitzpatrick tells us how the campaigns of Victoria Woodhull (1872), Margaret Chase Smith (1964) and Shirley Chisholm (1972) can inform this year's election.

Ellen Fitzpatrick is professor of history at the University of New Hampshire. She spoke March 24, 2016 at the JFK Presidential Library in Boston. Callie Crossley of WGBH is the moderator. Thanks to public radio station WBUR for recording the event.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.