This book discusses about the marital power embodied in the trial of Mrs. Packard and the self-defense of the husband who was sentenced to three years imprisonment due to insanity or religious belief for the arbitrary will of the husband. This work aims to call on the government to so change the laws as to protect the rights of married women.

"[...] Who was confined for three years in the State Asylum, of Illinois, charged by her husband, Rev. Theophilus Packard, with being insane. Her discharge from the Asylum, and subsequent imprisonment at her own house by her husband. Her release on a writ of Habeas Corpus, and the question of her sanity tried by a jury. [...]."

I told my husband I should not go voluntarily into the Asylum, and leave my six children and my precious babe of eighteen months, without some kind of trial; and that the law of force, brute force, would be the only power that should thus put me there. I then begged of him to handle me gently, if he was determined to force me, as I was easily hurt, and should make no physical resistance. I was soon in the hands of the sheriff, who forced me from my home by ordering two men to carry me to the wagon which took me to the depot. Esquire Labrie, our nearest neighbor, who witnessed this scene, said he was willing to testify before any court under oath, that "Mrs. Packard was literally kidnapped." I was carried to the cars from the depot in the arms of two strong men, whom my husband appointed for this purpose, amid the silent and almost speechless gaze of a large crowd of citizens who had collected for the purpose of rescuing me from the hands of my persecutors.

Excerpt from Marital Power Exemplified in Mrs. Packard's Trial, and Self-Defence From the Charge of Insanity, or Three Years Imprisonment for Religious Belief, by the Arbitrary Will of a Husband: With an Appeal to the Government to So Change the Laws as to Afford Legal Protection to Married Women About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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