Declaration of Rights & Articles of Impeachment
Title
Declaration of Rights & Articles of Impeachment
Description
The 1876 Declaration of Rights drafted by Matilda Joslyn Gage for the Centennial direct action (see yesterday) included nine articles of impeachment.
They are still arresting today; I’ll summarize some and quote directly from others. 👉Â
BILLS OF ATTAINDER “have been passed by the introduction of the word “male†into all the State constitutions, denying to women the right of suffrage…â€
In 1876 the not-yet-states Wyoming & Utah allowed white women to vote. Some New Jersey women voted until 1807.
2. THE WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS…“is held inoperative in every State of the Union, in case of a married woman against her husband--â€
In other words, married women are legal prisoners. Worse than prisoners.
3. The RIGHT OF A TRIAL BY A JURY of one’s peers.
The Declaration describes the unfairness of male juries to women accused of crimes. It does not discuss the harm to society of the absence of women on juries generally.
4. TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION. Nuff said.
5. UNEQUAL CODES FOR MEN AND WOMEN. “The fact of sex, not the quantity or quality of work, in most cases, decides the pay and position…†(Followed by discussion of prostitution, immigration, and double standards.)
6. SPECIAL LEGISLATION FOR WOMAN. “In some States, a married woman may hold property and transact business in her own name; in others, her earnings belong to her husband. In some States, a woman may testify against her husband, sue or be sued in the courts;
"in others, she has no redress in case of damage to person, property, or character. In case of divorce on account of adultery in the husband, the innocent wife is held to possess no right to children or property, unless by special decree of the court.
"But in no State of the Union has the wife the right to her own person, or to any part of the joint earnings of the co-partnership during the life of her husband. In some States women may enter the law schools and practice in the courts; in others they are forbidden. . . .
"Laws passed after years of untiring effort, guaranteeing married women certain rights of property, and mothers the custody of their children, have been repealed in States where we supposed all was safe.â€
7. REPRESENTATION OF WOMAN. None.
8. UNIVERSAL MANHOOD SUFFRAGE. “The aristocracies of the old world are based upon birth, wealth, refinement, education, nobility, brave deeds of chivalry; in this nation, on sex alone…â€
9. THE JUDICIARY ABOVE THE NATION “has proved itself but the echo of the party in power…. When the slave power was dominant, the Supreme Court decided that a black man was not a citizen, because he had not the right to vote; and when the constitution was so amended as
"to make all persons citizens, the same high tribunal decided that a woman, though a citizen, had not the right to vote. Such vacillating interpretations of constitutional law unsettle our faith in judicial authority, and undermine the liberties of the whole people.†#Suffrage100
They are still arresting today; I’ll summarize some and quote directly from others. 👉Â
BILLS OF ATTAINDER “have been passed by the introduction of the word “male†into all the State constitutions, denying to women the right of suffrage…â€
In 1876 the not-yet-states Wyoming & Utah allowed white women to vote. Some New Jersey women voted until 1807.
2. THE WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS…“is held inoperative in every State of the Union, in case of a married woman against her husband--â€
In other words, married women are legal prisoners. Worse than prisoners.
3. The RIGHT OF A TRIAL BY A JURY of one’s peers.
The Declaration describes the unfairness of male juries to women accused of crimes. It does not discuss the harm to society of the absence of women on juries generally.
4. TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION. Nuff said.
5. UNEQUAL CODES FOR MEN AND WOMEN. “The fact of sex, not the quantity or quality of work, in most cases, decides the pay and position…†(Followed by discussion of prostitution, immigration, and double standards.)
6. SPECIAL LEGISLATION FOR WOMAN. “In some States, a married woman may hold property and transact business in her own name; in others, her earnings belong to her husband. In some States, a woman may testify against her husband, sue or be sued in the courts;
"in others, she has no redress in case of damage to person, property, or character. In case of divorce on account of adultery in the husband, the innocent wife is held to possess no right to children or property, unless by special decree of the court.
"But in no State of the Union has the wife the right to her own person, or to any part of the joint earnings of the co-partnership during the life of her husband. In some States women may enter the law schools and practice in the courts; in others they are forbidden. . . .
"Laws passed after years of untiring effort, guaranteeing married women certain rights of property, and mothers the custody of their children, have been repealed in States where we supposed all was safe.â€
7. REPRESENTATION OF WOMAN. None.
8. UNIVERSAL MANHOOD SUFFRAGE. “The aristocracies of the old world are based upon birth, wealth, refinement, education, nobility, brave deeds of chivalry; in this nation, on sex alone…â€
9. THE JUDICIARY ABOVE THE NATION “has proved itself but the echo of the party in power…. When the slave power was dominant, the Supreme Court decided that a black man was not a citizen, because he had not the right to vote; and when the constitution was so amended as
"to make all persons citizens, the same high tribunal decided that a woman, though a citizen, had not the right to vote. Such vacillating interpretations of constitutional law unsettle our faith in judicial authority, and undermine the liberties of the whole people.†#Suffrage100
Creator
Daily Suffragist
Source
Date
05/07/2020
Files
Collection
Citation
Daily Suffragist, “Declaration of Rights & Articles of Impeachment,” Daily Suffragist, accessed April 25, 2024, https://dailysuffragist.omeka.net/items/show/435.