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She Got Next There are more female candidates in this presidential campaign cycle than at any other time in American history. But women were running for the highest office before they could even vote. How three women ran and challenged the notion of who could and should be president of the United States.
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She Got Next

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She Got Next

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She Got Next

She Got Next

Listen · 1:01:26
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  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/803043954/803273396" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
  • U.S. Sen. Margaret Chase Smith arrives at the Republican National Convention in San Francisco during her candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in July 1964.
    U.S. Sen. Margaret Chase Smith arrives at the Republican National Convention in San Francisco during her candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in July 1964.
    Smith Library/AP
  • Margaret Chase Smith was sworn in to the U.S. House of Representatives on June 10, 1940, to fill the vacancy left by her husband, Clyde Smith.
    Margaret Chase Smith was sworn in to the U.S. House of Representatives on June 10, 1940, to fill the vacancy left by her husband, Clyde Smith.
    Library of Congress
  • On December 3, 1957, Margaret Chase Smith of Maine suited up in flight gear, donned a parachute and oxygen mask, and climbed into an F-100 Super Sabre jet piloted by Air Force Maj. Clyde Good. Reaching speeds of nearly 1,000 mph, Smith became the first woman in Congress to break the sound barrier.
    On December 3, 1957, Margaret Chase Smith of Maine suited up in flight gear, donned a parachute and oxygen mask, and climbed into an F-100 Super Sabre jet piloted by Air Force Maj. Clyde Good. Reaching speeds of nearly 1,000 mph, Smith became the first woman in Congress to break the sound barrier.
    Margaret Chase Smith Library
  • Rep. Shirley Chisholm announced that she would seek the Democratic presidential nomination on Jan. 25, 1972, in New York.
    Rep. Shirley Chisholm announced that she would seek the Democratic presidential nomination on Jan. 25, 1972, in New York.
    Jim Wells/AP
  • Shirley Chisholm thanks delegates at the Democratic National Convention, Miami Beach, Fla., on July 12, 1972. She would place fourth overall at the convention.
    Shirley Chisholm thanks delegates at the Democratic National Convention, Miami Beach, Fla., on July 12, 1972. She would place fourth overall at the convention.
    Library of Congress
  • U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm (left) and Pat Schroeder at a news conference in Washington D.C., July 31, 1979.
    U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm (left) and Pat Schroeder at a news conference in Washington D.C., July 31, 1979.
    John Duricka/AP
  • Democratic Rep. Pat Schroeder wipes away tears after announcing in Denver that she would not seek the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination on Sept. 28, 1987.
    Democratic Rep. Pat Schroeder wipes away tears after announcing in Denver that she would not seek the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination on Sept. 28, 1987.
    Aaron Tomlinson/AP

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There are more female candidates in this presidential campaign cycle than at any other time in American history. But women were running for the highest office before they could even vote. How three women ran and challenged the notion of who could and should be president of the United States.

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