Legal Personhood at America 250: Women, Property Rights and Political Participation

At the time of our nation’s founding, what did it mean—legally—to be a woman? 

When the Declaration of Independence was signed, women had very few legal rights and no political rights. They could not vote, serve on juries, or run for office. A woman’s legal personhood was dependent upon her marital status. While single women could own property, enter into contracts, and control their own wages, these rights largely disappeared once they married because, under the English common law, a husband and wife were considered a single legal person: the husband. Even mothers possessed no legal rights to their children, who, by law, belonged to their husbands.  

Our discussion will celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence by considering how women’s legal personhood has evolved from 1776. We will trace constitutional and statutory developments that expanded women’s rights—as well as constitutional and statutory developments that now threaten women’s rights and personhood. 

To help illuminate these issues, we will hear from two experts:

1. Professor Reva Siegel is the Nicholas deB. Katzenbach Professor of Law at Yale Law School, where she teaches and writes about constitutional law, law and inequality, and reproductive justice, among other subjects. https://law.yale.edu/reva-siegel  

2. Hazel Weiser is a lawyer and member of the League of Women Voters who has taught the history of voting rights and voter suppression in high schools and colleges, and has worked extensively on voting-related advocacy and education.