Marriage ProtestLucy Stone and Henry Blackwell, 1855

When Lucy Stone and Henry Blackwell were married, they protested against laws of the time in which women lost their legal existence upon marriage (coverture), and stated that they would not voluntarily comply with such laws. The following was signed by  Lucy Stone  and Henry Blackwell prior to their  May 1, 1855  marriage. The Rev. Thomas Wentworth Higginson, who performed the marriage, not only read the statement at the ceremony, but also distributed it to other ministers as a model that he urged other couples to follow. While acknowledging our mutual affection by publicly assuming the relationship of husband and wife, yet in justice to ourselves and a great principle, we deem it a duty to declare that this act on our part implies no sanction of, nor promise of voluntary obedience to such of the present laws of marriage, as refuse to recognize the wife as an independent, rational being, while they confer upon the husband an injurious and unnatural superiority, investing him with legal powers which no honorable man would exercise, and which no man should possess. We protest especially against the laws which give to the husband:1. The custody of the wifes person.2. The exclusive control and guardianship of their children.3. The sole ownership of her personal, and use of her real estate, unless previously settled upon her, or placed in the hands of trustees, as in the case of minors, lunatics, and idiots.4. The absolute right to the product of her industry.5. Also against laws which give to the widower so much larger and more permanent interest in the property of his deceased wife, than they give to the widow in that of the deceased husband.6. Finally, against the whole system by which the legal existence of the wife is suspended during marriage, so that in most States, she neither has a legal part in the choice of her residence, nor can she make a will, nor sue or be sued in her own name, nor inherit property.We believe that personal independence and equal human rights can never be forfeited, except for crime; that marriage should be an equal and permanent partnership, and so recognized by law; that until it is so recognized, married partners should provide against the radical injustice of present laws, by every means in their power... Also on this site: About Lucy Stone:  More resources on this site for Lucy Stone: biography, links, quotations. The Progress of Fifty Years:  A talk by Lucy Stone in 1893 at the Columbian Exposition. Marriage Protest - 1832:  The protest of Robert Dale Owen against womens legal status after marriage. Emily Dickinson: Continuing Enigma:  Includes the story of Dickinsons correspondence with Thomas Wentworth Higginson, and the editing of her poems after her death by Higginson and Mabel Todd. Womens Property Rights  and  Coverture:  Information on the legal status of women and changes over time in related laws.