| Married Women and the Law of Property in Victorian Ontario Contributor(s): Chambers, Lori (Author) |
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ISBN: 0802008542 ISBN-13: 9780802008541 Publisher: University of Toronto Press OUR PRICE: $86.45 Product Type: Hardcover Published: November 1997 Annotation: Until This Century, Married Women Had No Legal Right To Hold, Use, or dispose of property. Since the ownership of property is a critical measure of social status, the Married Women's Property Acts of the nineteenth-century were important landmarks in the legal emancipation of women. Reform campaigns represented the first organized attempt by women in Upper Canada to challenge their societal status. Ironically, emancipation was not the first goal of reformers: their demands reflected a concern with protection from economic instability. The Acts granting women new rights and privileges were designed to force men to behave more responsibly and to mitigate the worst hardships imposed on wives by negligent husbands. This emphasis has had on-going implications for women in the twentieth century. This is a meticulously researched and revisionist study of a significant topic that has received little attention from Canadian historians. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Women's Studies - Law | Gender & The Law - History | Canada - General |
| Dewey: 346.713 |
| LCCN: 97210553 |
| Series: Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History |
| Physical Information: 0.93" H x 6.42" W x 9.22" (1.11 lbs) 272 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 19th Century - Cultural Region - Canadian - Geographic Orientation - Ontario - Sex & Gender - Feminine |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Until this century, married women had no legal right to hold, use, or dispose of property. Since the ownership of property is a critical measure of social status, the married women's property acts of the nineteenth century were important landmarks in the legal emancipation of women. Reform campaigns represented the first organized attempts by women in Upper Canada to challenge their status in society. Ironically, emancipation was not the first goal of reformers: their demands reflected a concern with protection from economic instability. The laws granting women new rights and privileges were designed to force men to behave more responsibly and to mitigate the worst hardships imposed upon wives by abusive or negligent husbands. The most detailed and complete account of married women's property law reform yet written for any North American jurisdiction, this fascinating study will be of interest to those in the areas of law, women's studies, and nineteenth-century social history. |
Contributor Bio(s): Chambers, Lori: - Lori Chambers is a professor in the Department of Women's Studies at Lakehead University. |