Excerpt from The Legal Rights, Liabilities and Duties of Women; With an Introductory History of Their Legal Condition in the Hebrew, Roman and Feudal Civil Systems The idea of the following work was suggested to me by ladies of distinguished intelligence and worth. So far as regards the plan, then, I may fairly claim to hold the sex responsible for its success. Not so, however, in respect to its very imperfect execution. The plan embraced more than could be brought within the limits of this volume; and it embraced a more suggestive and even a more practical form. It was intended to do, not only what has been done, but to have, also, some reflections on proposed amendments to existing laws, and some of the practical forms of business. The former, I have been obliged to limit to brief observations, scattered throughout the treatise, and the latter to omit altogether. There is room, however, on this subject, for another volume, and should this find favor with my intelligent countrywomen, it is intended to produce another, which shall be a sort of guide for them, in the every day business of life. The work as now published, consists of four parts. The first may be called, a History of the Civil Condition of Women. The second, is an Account of her Civil Eights, as a Citizen of the Republic. The third, gives the general principles of the Laws of Property, common to all citizens. The fourth contains the Eights, Liabilities and Duties of Women in the Domestic Relations. Of course, these subjects are briefly treated. 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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Mansfield, Edward D. The Legal Rights, Liabilities and Duties ofWomen; With an Introductory History of Their Legal Condition in the Hebrew, Roman and Feudal Civil Systems. Including the Law of Marriage and Divorce, The Social Relations of Husband and Wife, Parent and Child, of Guardian and Ward, and of Employer and Employed. Salem: Published by John P. Jewett & Co., 1845. 369 pp. Reprinted 2005 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN-13: 978-1-58477-469-3. ISBN-10: 1-58477-469-X. Cloth. $150.* Published three years before the Seneca Falls Convention, this lay guide for women is probably the first ever published in the United States. It is infused with the spirit of early feminism. As Mansfield [1801-1880] states in the preface: "Rights, and the knowledge of rights are no longer hidden from the masses of men; and why should they be from women?" (6). The book has four parts. The first is a general history of woman's legal status from biblical times to the 1840s. The second is an account of the American woman's civil rights. The third reviews the laws of property common to both genders. The final section reviews the rights, liabilities and duties of women in domestic relations. Mansfield was a Connecticut lawyer who later moved to Cincinnati, where he became professor of constitutional law and history at Cincinnati College.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.