Letter: Who was asleep during history class?

In his June 22 letter, Mr. Lowry makes several incorrect statements in his attempt to deny the fact that Hillary Clinton is to be the first woman ever to be nominated by a major political party.

While he was correct in stating that Victoria Woodhull was the first woman presidential candidate, he got the year and party wrong, and the facts about women making up half the voting public in that election. Ms. Woodhull was a candidate for the Equal Rights Party in 1870, but women in the United States did not have the right to vote until the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.

Mr. Lowry also attempted to debunk a statement by President Obama claiming that the United States is the oldest republic and stated that Iceland holds that title. What President Obama said was the United States is the oldest constitutional democracy — Iceland claims to have the oldest parliament, but did not become a sovereign state until the Act of Union agreement with Denmark in 1918. The oldest republic is San Marino.

It seems it was you, Mr. Lowry, who was asleep during history class and to quote you — balderdash.

This story was originally published June 29, 2016 at 3:45 AM with the headline "Letter: Who was asleep during history class?."