Lockwood ran for president in 1884 and 1888 on the ticket of the National Equal Rights Party and was the first woman to appear on official ballots.

Earlier in her life, Lockwood was a teacher and school principal, working to equalize pay for women in education.

Her plan, as she explained to Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, was not well received by many of her friends and colleagues; most women did not seek higher education, and it was especially unusual for a widow to do so.

[3] It was a responsible position, but Lockwood found that whether she was teaching or working as an administrator, she was paid half of what her male counterparts were making.

[7] Lockwood's educational philosophy was gradually changing, particularly after she met women's rights activist Susan B. Anthony.

Courses at most girls' schools chiefly prepared female students for domestic life and possibly for temporary work as teachers.

[6] Anthony spoke about how young women ought to be given more options, including preparation for careers in the business world, where the pay was better.

She expanded the curriculum and added courses typical of those which young men took, such as public speaking, botany, and gymnastics.

Reverend Ezekiel Lockwood, an American Civil War veteran, was a Baptist minister and practicing dentist.

Lockwood have progressive ideas about women's roles in society, he helped raise Belva's daughter Lura, from her first marriage.

According to Lockwood's later account to the Chicago Tribune, about 1870 she applied to the Columbian Law School in the District of Columbia.

The District of Columbia Bar admitted her, although several judges told Lockwood they had no confidence in her, a reaction she repeatedly had to overcome.

[6] When she tried to gain admission to the Maryland Bar, a judge lectured her and told her that God Himself had determined that women were not equal to men and never could be.

She applied to the United States Supreme Court bar after having practiced for the minimum three years and secured Albert G. Riddle as sponsor, but her motion was also denied on gender grounds.

Even in 1873, many states refused to allow a married woman to individually own or inherit property, nor did she have the right to make contracts or keep money earned unless her husband gave his permission.

She became known as an advocate for women's issues; she spoke on behalf of an 1872 bill for equal pay for federal government employees.

[3][5] Because her practice was limited in the 1870s due to social discrimination, Lockwood drafted an anti-discrimination bill to have the same access to the bar as male colleagues.

[14][15] She was successful in ensuring the payment of the five million dollar suit, one of the largest made to that date to a Native American tribe for land ceded to the government.

Belva Lockwood was the first woman (or second, depending on one's opinion, after Victoria Woodhull) to run for President of the United States.

She wrote: "I intend if possible to get up an Electoral ticket for each State; and thus get up a grand agitation on the woman question, but am not so anxious about the number of votes polled".

In an 1884 article, the Atlanta Constitution referred to her as "old lady Lockwood" and warned male readers of the dangers of "petticoat rule".

Among the publications in which she appeared in the 1880s and 1890s were Cosmopolitan (then a journal of current issues), the American Magazine of Civics, Harper's Weekly, and Lippincott's.

Her other feminist activities included being appointed Attorney General of the American Woman's Republic, an organization founded by Marietta Stowe and dedicated to preparing women for the rights and responsibilities of full citizenship.

She co-edited a journal called The Peacemaker, and acted as an executive board member of the Universal Peace Union;[16] she was one of its representatives at an exposition held in Paris in 1889.