Law and Society Essay
Nicole Miller
12/26/14
Law and Society For women in the 19th century, marriage was a binding contract that required them to sign their life away to the man that they loved. They lost all of the rights to their property, their income, and basically their independence. Women were expected to keep the household tidy and running smoothly, as well as earn some type of living that didn’t require much of leaving the house. Women were also expected to present their husbands with everything they needed, and wanted, in a timely matter and without complaint. They had virtually no voice. Men were only expected to provide their wife with the necessities of life, and to protect her. This system or way of functioning was called “coverture”. Women were expected to provide a welcoming home and a carefree environment for their husbands, when they returned from a “long, hard day of laboring work.” Laws that were put into place in the early 19th century stated that married women were completely under the control of their husbands, much like a slave was under the control of his master. There was a theory that “If the man killed his wife, it is not really his fault, she must have done something wrong, but if a woman killed her husband, she is punished with an equal fate as it is a capital crime to “bite the hand that feeds you”.” Although some marriages were fine and worked out to the advantages if both partners, troublesome marriages were the issue. When a wife disagreed with her husband, she did not really have any grounds on which to protect herself. Although assault was a crime under the law, the government barely enforced it when it came to domestic cases. Also, women were not allowed to really have any of their own money. The luxuries that they could enjoy were limited and under the complete control of what their husband would allow and pay for. If the two tried to divorce, she would be left with nothing and him with a fortune. Women’s rights were stripped from her when she
12/26/14
Law and Society For women in the 19th century, marriage was a binding contract that required them to sign their life away to the man that they loved. They lost all of the rights to their property, their income, and basically their independence. Women were expected to keep the household tidy and running smoothly, as well as earn some type of living that didn’t require much of leaving the house. Women were also expected to present their husbands with everything they needed, and wanted, in a timely matter and without complaint. They had virtually no voice. Men were only expected to provide their wife with the necessities of life, and to protect her. This system or way of functioning was called “coverture”. Women were expected to provide a welcoming home and a carefree environment for their husbands, when they returned from a “long, hard day of laboring work.” Laws that were put into place in the early 19th century stated that married women were completely under the control of their husbands, much like a slave was under the control of his master. There was a theory that “If the man killed his wife, it is not really his fault, she must have done something wrong, but if a woman killed her husband, she is punished with an equal fate as it is a capital crime to “bite the hand that feeds you”.” Although some marriages were fine and worked out to the advantages if both partners, troublesome marriages were the issue. When a wife disagreed with her husband, she did not really have any grounds on which to protect herself. Although assault was a crime under the law, the government barely enforced it when it came to domestic cases. Also, women were not allowed to really have any of their own money. The luxuries that they could enjoy were limited and under the complete control of what their husband would allow and pay for. If the two tried to divorce, she would be left with nothing and him with a fortune. Women’s rights were stripped from her when she