THE LEGAL HISTORY OF THE ANIMAL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN AMERICA: OUR LEGACY By Chelsea C. Little A Project Presented to The Faculty of Humboldt State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Education Committee Membership Gayle Olson-Raymer, Ph.D., Committee Chair Eric Van Duzer, Ph.D., Graduate Coordinator May 2015 ABSTRACT By Chelsea C. Little The Legal History of the Animal Rights Movement in America should be a part of the United States history curriculum of secondary education. The Animal Rights Movement and its legislative victories have been a part of the tapestry of American history since the Puritan settlements of the 1600s. Its inclusion can have important applications in the curriculum of high school courses, highlighting a part of American history that is largely unseen. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I dedicate this project to my son Tully. Words cannot express the gratitude I have to the universe for the blessing of allowing me to be the catalyst to bring you into this world and for being the mother honored to love and guide you. From the moment of your conception I have felt the deepest sense of contentment and fulfillment knowing that you are the very best of everything in me. Each moment with you is a blessing beyond measure. You make me immeasurably proud with your wild spirit, the genuine joy you have that brings everyone you know happiness, your inquisitive mind and your resolute sense of your own voice. You are the world to me and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life on this journey with you, creating adventure and providing love beyond measure. This project exists due to the relentless support, unconditional love and unwavering faith of some truly remarkable individuals I have been lucky to share my life with. To my parents, Ramona and Kevin Little, thank you for instilling in me a lifelong desire for education, a sense of security and unconditional love, and for your never-ending faith in my capacity to succeed. My compassion, altruism, competitiveness and self-confidence sustains because of your examples as parents and extraordinary grandparents. I am indebted to you beyond measure and I only hope to make you proud of me as a mother, and in some way reflect the parents you have been to me. I love you. To my sister and brother, Sunshine and Bentley Little. You are the security I have in the world that people are good. You both have integrity, an amazing work ethic and are incredibly loving. I feel so lucky to be sharing this journey with you as we work towards our dreams and hopefully build huge families, with lots and lots of cousins for Tully. No pressure. I love you both so much. To Ajay, for showing me both the light and dark in love and for giving me a newfound sense of connection to the world as it is and not just as I wish it was. I know our son carries with him all the beauty and inspiration your love provided me and which brought him into this world in all his glory. To my mentor, Gayle Olson-Raymer. I met you when I was barely 18 and newly enrolled as freshman at Humboldt State University almost 13 years ago. I can remember those days as if they were yesterday; sitting in your lecture hall and being inspired by your intelligence, the amazing ability you have to teach with passion and conviction, and for providing an example of true academic integrity and faithful honesty to a narrative of history based in truth and not fiction. Thank you for being what brought me back to Humboldt State for my credential degree, for your countless hours of lecture and feedback, and for your unconditional support and inspiration throughout all of these years. I look forward to following you on your next adventure in life, I am forever your student and grateful to have found you. To my teachers, Ann Diver-Stamnes and Eric Van Duzer. Ann, being your student was a remarkable and life changing experience. I looked forward to every moment with you in the classroom, being inspired by your passion for education and your amazing, joyful and incredibly nurturing presence. Thank you so much for your support throughout my journey through my iii credentialing year and into my graduate degree. Eric, you have been the rock that has keep me tethered to this degree. I cannot thank you more for your constant support and your endless patience in answering all of my questions, signing all of my documents and teaching me the methodology that I have hopefully presented here well enough to make you proud. To my graduate cohort Gwen, Tim and Leif. You are all such amazing people and I feel lucky to have shared my Teaching American History days and East Coast history/brewery tour extravaganza with you during our years together at HSU. Thank you for being supportive, super cool and so very inspiring with your own thesis projects. I also want to thank Jack Bareilles from the bottom of my heart for everything he brought into my life so generously. The TAH experience truly changed my life and I am forever grateful to have been a part of the community he helped build and support. To my friends Melissa, Rose, Tiffany, Megan, Allison and Cathy. Thank you for sharing my journey at Humboldt State from 2002 to the present. You ladies have my unending love, respect and gratitude for sharing many of the best moments of my life thus far and for being incredibly lovely human beings. I cannot wait for the adventures that await us together in the future. Someday I look forward to the day when we are old ladies, hopefully living on a commune together, sharing stories of our glory days and having a constant stream of grandbabies visiting us. I love you all so much! To my aunt Sunday Larson, for being honest with an inquisitive eight year old when she asked where her (last) hamburger came from. Thank you for answering all of my questions about the nature of life and love, for cultivating my creativity and inspiring me with yours, for gifting me as a child with cards from wild wolf sanctuaries who sent me pictures of “my wolf” for birthdays and holidays, for introducing me to your feminist animal rights activist friends, who like you, became my childhood heroines, and for being my fairy godmother who protects the integrity of the sweet little girl who loved animals fiercely and reminds me of her own inherent right for happiness always and unconditionally. Thank you for telling me that education is the only thing no one can take away from you, teaching me to value a universal education and continue it for life. And finally, to all of the passionate, dedicated, fearless, and compassionate animal rights and environmental protection activists I have met (and not met) fighting for your convictions to protect life in all of its beautiful incarnations. You do it for our children and for the generations that follow and you do it for those that cannot speak for themselves, who wait for their inherent right to a life free of needless suffering. You are my heroines and heroes and I live my life hopefully in some measure being worthy of sharing in the world that you manifest through your blood, sweat and tears. I hope to honor those both waiting and fighting for justice, by some small measure, through my attempt to document their legacy within this project. Particular love goes out to both my son and I’s favorite animal, the humble cow. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iii CHAPTER I: NATURE AND SCOPE OF THE PROJECT .............................................. 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ............................................................ 3 Universal Animal Rights Beginning in the American Colonies ..................................... 3 Legal Context .................................................................................................................. 4 Anti-Cruelty Legislation ................................................................................................. 4 Legal Rights for Animals ................................................................................................ 6 The Origins in Detail: Early Vegetarianism ................................................................... 6 Early Western Civilization .............................................................................................. 7 Rome ............................................................................................................................... 8 Middle Ages .................................................................................................................... 8 1600s: Massachusetts Bay Colony ............................................................................... 10 Anti-Cruelty Societies ................................................................................................... 11 Henry Bergh and George Angell: ................................................................................. 12 Institutional Backlash.................................................................................................... 15 The Rise of the Modern Animal Liberation Movement ............................................... 16 Federal Anti-Cruelty Law ............................................................................................