It’s not history. It’s “herstory.” Hillary Clinton officially accepted her party’s nomination July 28 during the Democratic National Convention, becoming the first female candidate for a major political party for the U.S. presidency.

Clinton’s monumental moment has stemmed from hundreds of years of monumental moments in life. For instance, one of my personal favorites, Anne Bradstreet was the first American woman to have her volume of poetry, “The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America,” published in 1650.

In an April 23, 2005, NPR interview with the author of “Mistress Bradstreet: The Untold Life of America’s First Poet,” Charlotte Gordon said, “Anne surprises us all by writing her first poem after she recovers from a long illness from which she thought she would die. Yet that she turned to the pen at this time was a remarkable thing for a woman to do.” Gordon continued by revealing although during this time many Puritan women could read, many could not and did not write.

“It was such an unusual choice for a woman to make at that time and such a dangerous one,” Gordon said.

Or how about Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to graduate from medical school in the United States in 1849? In the 1860s, Blackwell then started a medical school for women, according to biography.com.

There’s also Victoria Woodhull, the first-ever woman to run for president in the United States for a non-major political party, the Equal Rights Party, in 1872. History.com states Woodhull also involved herself in many fields, such as “stockbroking, newspaper publishing, lobbying, public speaking, clairvoyance and philanthropy.”

Sally Ride was the first American woman to take that big ride into space on the shuttle, Challenger, in 1983.

The first female U.S. secretary of state was Madeleine Albright, who took the position in 1997.

Jen Welter was the first female NFL coach of any kind when she held an assistant coach internship in 2015. Welter coached the Arizona Cardinals.

Sarah McBride is the national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign. McBride spoke at the Democratic National Convention July 28 as the first openly transgender woman to speak at a major party convention.

The possibility of a female president is very significant in my and my husband’s life, especially right now. We are in the middle stage of adopting a newborn baby. If Clinton is elected, the president our future child will grow up with will be - and it will be more applicable if she serves two terms - a woman - the first female president! Our daughter or son will never ask, “Mommy, has there ever been a woman president?” or “Daddy, can girls become president, too?”

These are some of the hopes we have for our child and all generations to come. Young girls will really believe they, too, can become president; young boys finally will be able to name a female president in class.

No matter what political party, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, etc., electing a female American president would be an achievement that is commendable and should be celebrated. It’s a step in the right direction toward greater equality, breaking the highest glass ceiling.

Stacey Koch

editorial assistant

Catasauqua Press

Northampton Press

Whitehall-Coplay Press