The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1838-01-23
From he ". Y. EpcniHg Star
THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN.

It will be recoected that Judge Hertell made Sc
veral Jealous and able efforts 10 carry through the
Legislature Of this State bill entitled An act for
the protection and preservation of The rights and pro-
perry of Married Women" and although 10 sound
objections were made to the bill at any time, yet from
causes difficult 10 explain, it was not passed into
law We have given the subject very serious
consideration, and from no motive of fictitious SYM
patty romance or gallantry, we have been con-
WINGED that the good Of societythe preservation OF
tamilies-the cause OF good MORALS and a sense of
Justice and PROPHECY demand the passage OF such an
act, and with the view of bringing the subject be-
forethe Legislature of this State shall from time
10 time advance such reasons in favor of the law as
strike us to be unanswerable in urging its passage
The principle is no doubt sound one that married
women should possess control over their 0trn pro-
perry, real personal, and that by mere marriage
contract il should not revert TO the husband be by
him wasted in improvdent, prodigal, Incorporate
and dissoiute practices, should he be disposed TO
avail himself of right which the law now gives
him, 10 squander his wfes property Also, indepen-
dent Of this principle The wife, for the sake of expo
dlency, should be legally invested with the right of
controlling her own property, in order that il might
not be exposed to the risk OF trade the vcssiudes
of commerce, and that family might not be reduced
10 beggary, either through unavoidable misfortune,
or through bad management.
Il is by the Cannon La,c of England still partial
ly in force in this State, that the property of mar
ried woman is taken from her without any written
or express conveyance and transferred to her huS-
band; the mere marriage ceremony invests the man
Win every power over ner person ana property
This law passed in the dark ages in a county
where properly is entasled and adopted by men hav-
ing an interest in IFS operation il is difficult 10
show IS hostile TO the spirit of our Constitution, at
variance with our free government, and is at once
unjust and impolitic.
BY the existing laws, an unmarried woman can
hold, manage, and dispose of real and personal
tate the same as man can do--she has every right
in this respect that man has. This is Just and
proper. But married woman is debarred bv law
from controlling her property matter whether
she inherited it. or earned il by her own labor or il
was gift from friend, it passes out of her hands,
and while on this point the single is Free the
married woman becomes forthwith slave the in
teres rents issues and profits of the real estate 90
the husband 10 be used as he pleases, without any
accountability and the evil does not stop here If
a child is born and merely brealheS, and then dies
with the mother the income of her estate goes TO her
husband during his life TO be used, probably for the
benefit of another wife--probably in extravaganza
and dissipation. A woman any time after marriage,
may inherit property from the death of relation;
the personal estate the husband may sell, also his
life estate in the real property and then after dvest-
ing his wife of all her estate abuse and abandon her.
and the law which has thus Invested her Of a control
over her own property, gives her the privilege, in
her extreme distress of compelling The husband to
allow her bare subsistence. She is thus deprived
OF rights, liberty, and properly This is hard case
and probably Is not generally known when the in
teresis OF men are paramount they not apt TO es-
pouse the weakside But twill be asked have married
women no rights in relation to propertyl We an
swer, Yes, and will show hereafter the width and
breadth, extent and operation of those laws for the
protection Of Married Women.