DOCSLIB.ORG

Coverture the Language of Coverture

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Coverture the Language of Coverture Resource 1: Coverture The Language of Coverture overture was a legal figures, and had few opportunities . By marriage, the husband and wife are one person in law: that is, the principle imported Most young women married, to the American and most widows remarried . very being or legal existence of the woman is suspended during the colonies as part of CEnglish common law . Like other Ironically, William Blackstone marriage, or at least is incorporated and consolidated into that of the common laws, it was based on committed coverture to court decisions and customs that the written record during developed slowly over time, and the Enlightenment, just as husband; under whose wing, protection, and cover, she performs every were unwritten for centuries . In philosophers developed the the 1760s, William Blackstone revolutionary concept of natural thing; and is . under the protection and influence of her husband, collected and published them rights—universal rights that for the first time in his four- do not have to be granted by a her baron, or lord; and her condition during her marriage is called her volume Commentaries on the governing body . Enlightenment Laws of England. A judge and ideas inspired the rebellion coverture . Upon this principle, of an union of person in husband and legal scholar, Blackstone did not brewing in the colonies . Abigail create the law of coverture, but Adams saw an opportunity in wife, depend almost all the legal rights, duties, and disabilities, that either when he committed it to paper, the language of natural rights, he made it real and concrete in and wrote to her husband, John of them acquire by the marriage . [E]ven the disabilities which the a way it had not been before . Adams, in March 1776: “In the new Code of Laws which I The word “coverture” came from suppose it will be necessary for wife lies under, are for the most part intended for her protection and the French term for “covered ”. you to make I desire you would A married woman, according Remember the Ladies, and be benefit . So great a favourite is the female sex of the laws of England . to the law, was included in (or more generous and favorable to covered by) her husband’s legal them than your ancestors . Do identity; she did not exist legally not put such unlimited power apart from him . Married women into the hands of the Husbands . could not make a will or own Remember all Men would be property . They had no rights tyrants if they could ”. She was not to wages they earned, and lost writing generally about women’s control of anything they owned rights, or specifically about the before marriage . If a husband right to vote . She was asking chose to send his child away as an for relief from coverture . John apprentice, his wife had no say in responded, “I cannot but laugh ”. the matter . Unmarried women, including widows, had more legal After the Revolution, the United Sir William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, Book the First: Chapter the Fifteenth: Of Husband and Wife . 4 vols . Oxford: Printed at the © Copyright 2017 New-York Historical Society Historical © Copyright 2017 New-York rights, but they were seen as sad States adopted the common Clarendon Press, 1765–1769 . Saving Washington: The New Republic and Early Reformers, 1790–1860 Unknown artist, Sir Resource 1: William Blackstone, ca . 1755 . Oil on canvas . continued National Portrait Gallery, Coverture London, Primary Collection, 388 . C . Schessele, Mrs. John Adams (Abigail Smith), ca . 1775 . Engraving . New-York Historical Society Library, PR 52 . law system that the colonies had then lived under for more Discussion Questions than a century . The ✮ Under coverture, what is U .S . Constitution and the legal status of a married Bill of Rights used woman? much of the common law language, and specifically With this or similar language, seemed like hard truths: women to work anyway . Their husbands, ✮ Sir William Blackstone, when incorporated bedrock legal some of the ancient laws were were dependent, delicate, and however, controlled their wages . considering the coverture laws, principles, like the right to trial by filtered out—those that related dim-witted, while men were (Attitudes that developed from states that the “disabilities” that jury . Individual states also adopted to the king, for example . Others steady, tough, and rational . The coverture were reinforced, and women suffer under coverture are in fact to their benefit . English common law, often by were soon changed or dropped by cleverest women and the gentlest sometimes challenged, by religious What are these “disabilities”? passing “reception statutes ”. elected legislatures . But coverture, men were all painted with this teaching . For more, see the life What do you think of his Jarena Lee Resource 12. Virginia’s 1776 law was typical: which dated to the middle ages, broad brush . The law affected story of and ) assessment? “The common law of England, was allowed to stand . Impractical unmarried women as well, who insofar as it is not repugnant as it was in the new nation, it were considered “covered” by their Coverture affected the lives to the principles of the Bill of was not “repugnant” because fathers before marriage . Most girls of all American women . It has Sources: Catherine Allgor, “Coverture – The Rights and Constitution of this none of the founding documents received little or no education, been diminished over time, but Word You Probably Don’t Know but Should,” Commonwealth, shall continue addressed the rights of women . and most women lacked the vestiges of it remain even today . National Women’s History Museum, https://www . nwhm .org/blog/coverture-the-word-you-probably- in full force within the same, and preparation and confidence to Only a constitutional amendment don%E2%80%99t-know-but-should/ (accessed be the rule of decision, except as Casting a shadow well beyond hold a job or pursue a profession . would abolish coverture entirely . by M . Waters, 10-15-2016); Linda K . Kerber, No Constitutional Right to be Ladies: Women and the altered by the General Assembly ”. married women’s legal rights, Poor women, white or black, Obligations of Citizenship (New York: Hill and Wang, © Copyright 2017 New-York Historical Society Historical © Copyright 2017 New-York coverture created attitudes that also lacked skills, but they had 1998) . Saving Washington: The New Republic and Early Reformers, 1790–1860.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Art of Judging
    NEW YORK UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW VOLUME 71 JUNE 1996 NUMBER 3 THE ART OF JUDGING STEWART G. POLLOCK* In the second annual William J. Brennan, Jr. Lectur4 New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Stewart G. Pollock explores the relationship between art and adjudication. The separationof powers, the federalist system, and the inherent constraints of the common law confine state courts. Notwithstanding those constraints,state courts have demonstrated creativity when interpretingstate statutes and constitutionsand when adapting the common law to changing conditions. Thus, Justice Pollock fnds artistry in the work of state courts. He begins by exploring creativity in statu- tory interpretation. Then, Justice Pollock examines two areasof substantive law of greatpublic concern: public-school-financelitigation under state constitutions and the common-law redefinition of the modem family. Justice Pollock demonstrates how state appellate courts, through public-school-finance litigation, have shaped the constitutionalright to a public-school education. Justice Pollock then discusses how state courts have reacted to the changing composition of the American family. By recognizing these changes, state courts have redefined the family in areas as diverse as zoning ordinances, surrogacy agreements, and same-sex marriages. Common to all these endeavors is protection of the inherent dignity of the individ- ual Justice Pollock concludes that an appreciationof the similarities between art and judging may lead to a better understandingof the judicial process. Delivering the Brennan Lecture in Vanderbilt Hall is for me deeply moving. Justice Brennan graced the New Jersey Supreme Court for four years before starting his remarkable service on the United States Supreme Court. Also, this building is named for the former dean of this law school and the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court with whom Justice Brennan served, Arthur T.
    [Show full text]
  • Globalizing Bentham
    Globalizing Jeremy Bentham The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Armitage, David R. 2011. Globalizing Jeremy Bentham. History of Political Thought 32(1): 63-82. Published Version http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/imp/ hpt/2011/00000032/00000001/art00004 Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:11211544 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Open Access Policy Articles, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#OAP - 1 - GLOBALIZING JEREMY BENTHAM1 David Armitage2 Abstract: Jeremy Bentham’s career as a writer spanned almost seventy years, from the Seven Years’ War to the early 1830s, a period contemporaries called an age of revolutions and more recent historians have seen as a world crisis. This article traces Bentham’s developing universalism in the context of international conflict across his lifetime and in relation to his attempts to create a ‘Universal Jurisprudence’. That ambition went unachieved and his successors turned his conception of international law in more particularist direction. Going back behind Bentham’s legacies to his own writings, both published and unpublished, reveals a thinker responsive to specific events but also committed to a universalist vision that helped to make him a precociously global figure in the history of political thought. Historians of political thought have lately made two great leaps forward in expanding the scope of their inquiries. The first, the ‘international turn’, was long- 1 History of Political Thought, 32 (2011), 63-82.
    [Show full text]
  • The Crisis of Child Custody: a History of the Birth of Family Law in England, 11 Colum
    University of Florida Levin College of Law UF Law Scholarship Repository Faculty Publications Faculty Scholarship 1-1-2002 The rC isis of Child Custody: A History of the Birth of Family Law in England Danaya C. Wright University of Florida Levin College of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/facultypub Part of the Common Law Commons, Family Law Commons, and the Women Commons Recommended Citation Danaya C. Wright, The Crisis of Child Custody: A History of the Birth of Family Law in England, 11 Colum. J. Gender & L. 175 (2002), available at http://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/facultypub/219 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at UF Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of UF Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE CRISIS OF CHILD CUSTODY: A HISTORY OF THE BIRTH OF FAMILY LAW IN ENGLAND DANAYA C. WRIGHr Ask-may the victim of a hasty vow Ne'er seek release nor remedy? Ah no! A maiden once enclosed in nuptial ties Must wear herfetters till she sins or dies; And suffer as she may, within these bounds, No curefor sorrows and no balm for wounds. Such finished torture England'scode can boast; A formalframework, which at woman's cost, Flings a disguise o'er ruthless tyranny, And drugs men 's conscience with a special tie. 1 -Harriet Grote (1853) Associate Professor of Law at the University of Florida's Levin College of Law.
    [Show full text]
  • From Blackstone's Common Law Duty of Parents to Educate Their
    Forum on Public Policy From Blackstone’s Common Law Duty of Parents to Educate Their Children to a Constitutional Right of Parents to Control the Education of Their Children Robert A. Sedler, Distinguished Professor of Law, Wayne State University, Detroit, Abstract Blackstone’s Commentaries stated that the common law imposed a duty on parents to provide for the maintenance, protection, and education of their children, and of these, the duty to provide an education was “of far the greatest importance.” Early on American courts cited Blackstone for the proposition of the common Iaw duty of parents educate their children. As the nineteenth century progressed, public and private schools were formed in most American states, and a number of states enacted compulsory education laws. American states also sometimes also enacted laws that interfered with the freedom of parents to direct the education of their children. In 1919, in the wake of the anti-German hysteria of World War I, Nebraska passed a law that prohibited the teaching of German in the Lutheran sectarian schools. In 1922, Oregon passed a law prohibiting parents from enrolling their children in private and sectarian schools. The Supreme Court held that both of these laws were unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause, because they interfered with the liberty of parents to control the education of their children. In the United States, Blackstone’s common law duty of parents to provide an education for their children had evolved into a constitutional right of parents to control the education of their children. Introduction American constitutional law is similar in many ways to the common law.
    [Show full text]
  • Individualism, Privacy, and Poverty in Determining the Best Interests of the Child
    Oberlin Digital Commons at Oberlin Honors Papers Student Work 2019 Individualism, Privacy, and Poverty in Determining the Best Interests of the Child Dena Jolie Miller Oberlin College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/honors Part of the Political Science Commons Repository Citation Miller, Dena Jolie, "Individualism, Privacy, and Poverty in Determining the Best Interests of the Child" (2019). Honors Papers. 132. https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/honors/132 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Work at Digital Commons at Oberlin. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Papers by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons at Oberlin. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 1 Individualism, Privacy, and Poverty in Determining the Best Interests of the Child Dena Miller, Politics and Law & Society, Harry Hirsch Honors Thesis April 12, 2019 Abstract This thesis explores the guiding legal standard in child custody law, that custody should be decided ‘in the best interests of the child.’ I begin with the most common critique of the best interests standard: that it is too vague, allowing for the personal biases of judges to play too great a role in custody decision-making. I challenge this critique by examining the standard in a different context, shifting from divorce proceedings to the child welfare system, to ask how the vagueness of the standard is mobilized differently in child protective proceedings. I argue that it is not the individual biases of judges, but rather the historic, systemic biases, enabled by the vague standard, which predominantly harm families and children.
    [Show full text]
  • A Study of the History of Child Protection Law and Jurisprudence in Nova Scotia
    ON THE “POVERTY OF RESPONSIBILITY”: A STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF CHILD PROTECTION LAW AND JURISPRUDENCE IN NOVA SCOTIA by Ilana Dodi Luther Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia August 2015 © Copyright by Ilana Dodi Luther, 2015 DEDICATION PAGE To my husband. ii Table of Contents ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................... vi Chapter 1: Introduction: ..................................................................................... 1 On the “Poverty of Responsibility”: A History of Family Law for the Poor ............. 1 Child Protection Law and Families in Poverty ....................................................... 8 A Critical Historical Analysis of Child Protection Law in Nova Scotia .................. 20 A Feminist Understanding of the Social Regulation of Families in Poverty............ 27 Psychiatry and the Social and Legal Regulation of the Family in Poverty ............. 36 Chapter 2: 19th Century Nova Scotia: The Breakdown of the Victorian Family and the Emergence of Cruelty to Children as a Legal Problem ................... 59 The Legal Regime of the Victorian Family ........................................................... 64 Proliferation of Domestic Relations Legislation in Late 19th Century Nova Scotia .................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Student Surveys of Policy Issues Related to Children. INSTITUTION Boston Univ., Mass
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 113 234 SO, 008 611 AUTHOR Rebelsky, Freda 0 TITLE Student Surveys of Policy Issues Related to Children. INSTITUTION Boston Univ., Mass. School of Law. SPONS AGENCY Office of Child Development (DREW), Washington, D.C. PUB DATE 72 NOTE 109p. EDRS PRICE 8F-$0.76 HC-$5.70 Plus Postage DESCRIPTORS Child Advocacy; Child Care; *Child Development; Educational Research; *Field Studies; Health. Services; Higher Education; Interdisciplinary Approach; Legal Aid; Legal Problems; Mental Health; *Program Evaluation; *Research Projects; *Social Problems; Student Projects ABSTRACT This project is a prototype study which investigates the interaction of graduate students from different disciplinary backgrounds and different educational institutions in exploring social and public policy issues rela,ted to children. The results and evaluation of the research program are presented in this document. Divided into three teams, the students examined three social issues in relation to child development:(11 legal probltms of providing medical care to minors; (2) treatment of children in state mental health facilities; and (3) advocacy and lobbying for children. Three reports from these student teams follow the explanation of the Study. The report concludes that small and delimited research projects can profitably and successfully be Completed,by small teams of graduate students provided that the scope of the research is carefully delineate-d-..and established in advance,, the groups are small and the tasks well structured, and the projedts are closely supervised by staff. (Author/JR) *****************************************************4***************** Documents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpublished * * materials not available from other sources. ERIC makes every eff4-i * *.to obtain the best copy available.
    [Show full text]
  • Utilitarianism in the Age of Enlightenment
    UTILITARIANISM IN THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT This is the first book-length study of one of the most influential traditions in eighteenth-century Anglophone moral and political thought, ‘theological utilitarianism’. Niall O’Flaherty charts its devel- opment from its formulation by Anglican disciples of Locke in the 1730s to its culmination in William Paley’s work. Few works of moral and political thought had such a profound impact on political dis- course as Paley’s Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy (1785). His arguments were at the forefront of debates about the constitution, the judicial system, slavery and poverty. By placing Paley’s moral thought in the context of theological debate, this book establishes his genuine commitment to a worldly theology and to a programme of human advancement. It thus raises serious doubts about histories which treat the Enlightenment as an entirely secular enterprise, as well as those which see English thought as being markedly out of step with wider European intellectual developments. niall o’flaherty is a Lecturer in the History of European Political Thought at King’s College London. His research focuses on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century moral, political and religious thought in Britain. He has published articles on William Paley and Thomas Robert Malthus, and is currently writing a book entitled Malthus and the Discovery of Poverty. ideas in context Edited by David Armitage, Richard Bourke, Jennifer Pitts and John Robertson The books in this series will discuss the emergence of intellectual traditions and of related new disciplines. The procedures, aims and vocabularies that were generated will be set in the context of the alternatives available within the contemporary frameworks of ideas and institutions.
    [Show full text]
  • Revisiting the Presumption of Legitimacy in the Same-Sex Couples Era
    ARTICLES PRESUMING WOMEN: REVISITING THE PRESUMPTION OF LEGITIMACY IN THE SAME-SEX COUPLES ERA ∗ SUSAN FRELICH APPLETON INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 228 I. TRACING THE PRESUMPTION’S TRAJECTORY IN TRADITIONAL CASES .................................................................................................. 232 II. PRESUMING WOMEN: LESBIAN COUPLES............................................ 237 A. A Gendered Rule in an Increasingly Gender-Neutral Regime .... 237 B. Extending the Presumption.......................................................... 240 C. Revisiting the Presumption’s Objectives and Policies in This New Context ................................................................................ 242 1. Child Welfare ........................................................................ 243 2. Public Funds.......................................................................... 246 3. Public Norms: The Model Family......................................... 248 4. Patriarchy and Husbands’ Vanity.......................................... 251 a. “Biological Reality” Versus Appearances...................... 251 b. Ownership of Children .................................................... 255 III. THE PROBLEM CHILD: GAY MALE COUPLES....................................... 260 A. Extending the Presumption to Men: Ignoring Gestation or Recognizing Three Legal Parents................................................ 262 B. A Limited Extension: Presuming
    [Show full text]
  • North Carolina Trial Judges'
    NORTH CAROLINA TRIAL JUDGES’ BENCH BOOK DISTRICT COURT VOLUME 1 FAMILY LAW 2019 Edition Chapter 1 Spousal Agreements In cooperation with the School of Government, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by Cheryl D. Howell and Jan S. Simmons This chapter is one of ten chapters in North Carolina Trial Judges’ Bench Book, ISBN 978-1-56011-955-5. Preparation of this bench book was made possible by funding from the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts, as administered by the School of Government. Copyright © 2019 School of Government, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill blank TOC This page intentionally left blank chapter opening 1 TOC Chapter 1: Spousal Agreements I. Premarital Agreements . 3 IV. Separation Agreements . 20 A . Applicable Statutes . 3 A . G S . 52-10 1 . 20 B . Matters That May Be Included in a Premarital Agreement B . Jurisdiction . .. 21 under the Uniform Act . 4 C . Form of the Agreement . 22 C . Construing a Premarital Agreement . 5 D . Requisites and Validity of Separation Agreements . 27 D . Modifying or Revoking a Premarital Agreement . 7 E . Construing a Separation Agreement . 29 E . Effect of a Premarital Agreement on Various Rights or F . Effect of a Separation Agreement on Various Rights or Interests of the Parties . 8 Interests of the Parties . 31 F . Enforcing a Premarital Agreement . 11 G . Modifying a Separation Agreement . 40 II. Postnuptial Agreements . 13 H . Reconciliation . 49 A . Generally . .. 13 I . Enforcing a Separation Agreement . 54 B . Requisites and Validity of Postnuptial Agreements . 14 J . Effect of Bankruptcy . 78 C . Enforcement of a Postnuptial Agreement .
    [Show full text]
  • Precedent and Justice William D
    Valparaiso University ValpoScholar Law Faculty Publications Law Faculty Presentations and Publications 2011 Precedent and Justice William D. Bader David R. Cleveland Valparaiso University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholar.valpo.edu/law_fac_pubs Part of the Jurisprudence Commons, and the Legal Writing and Research Commons Recommended Citation William D. Bader & David R. Cleveland, Precedent and Justice, 49 Duq. L. Rev. 35 (2011). This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Faculty Presentations and Publications at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Law Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at [email protected]. Precedent and Justice William D. Bader* and David R. Cleveland** Abstract Precedent is the cornerstone of common law method. It is the core mechanism by which the common law reaches just outcomes. Through creation and application of precedent, common law seeks to produce justice. The appellate courts' practice of issuing un­ published, non-precedential opinions has generated considerable discussion about the value of precedent, but that debate has cen­ tered on pragmatic and formalistic values. This essay argues that the practice of issuing non-precedential opinions does more than offend constitutional dictates and present pragmatic problems to the appellate system; abandoning precedent undermines justice itself. Issuance of the vast majority of decisions as non­ precedential tears the justice-seeking mechanism of precedent from the heart of our common law system. In Memoriam Judge RichardS. Arnold (1936 2004) "It is the property of a diamond ..
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Coverture
    CULTURAL COVERTURE: AN EXAMINATION OF THE IMPACT OF EARLY AMERICAN MARRIAGE LAWS ON CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN WOMEN by SUMMER ALLISION STEIB A THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Women’s Studies in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2009 Copyright Summer Allison Steib 2009 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT Under the system of coverture a married woman’s civil identity was covered by her husband’s civil identity and she was viewed to be civilly dead. The system of coverture originated in Europe and was part of the English Common Law system. When settlers first colonized what would eventually become the United States, they adopted English Common Law and with it the system of coverture. Through the system of coverture, married women in the United States had no independent civil identity and they were excluded from the rights and obligations of citizenship. For over two hundred years, activists worked to challenge and change the system of coverture and the cultural attitudes and assumptions that were reflected through coverture. Though legal coverture ended in the closing decades of the twentieth century, the cultural attitudes and assumptions on which coverture was based are still impacting women and limiting their full freedom and agency. This thesis examines the historical foundations of marriage laws/coverture in Colonial America and traces their progression from laws to the cultural practices that women in contemporary America must navigate and negotiate in their lives. ii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my children, Rowan and Ani, in hopes that you will always question, challenge and strive to change cultural practices, laws and attitudes that perpetuate discrimination and oppression.
    [Show full text]