The Other American Revolution – Part 2 – Women’s Property Rights

Property rights in the American colonies generally followed the same laws of their mother countries, usually England, France, or Spain. According to British law, husbands controlled their wives’ property. Once the marriage became official, any property – dowery, land, a business, and children – became the property of the husband.

The Thirteen Colonies and then the United States inherited this practice from the U.K. These laws were put in place in England to protect the titles of the nobility and primarily their land, and the people who worked it. Philosophically, they had no place in the new United States.

Some colonies or states, however, began to give women limited property rights before the American Revolution. In 1771, New York passed the Act to Confirm Certain Conveyances and Directing the Manner of Proving Deeds to be Recorded. This law required two key steps before the husband could sell a piece of property that his wife brought into the marriage.

First, before the asset was sold, the law required the wife to meet privately with the judge to confirm her approval of the sale. Second, the husband was now required to have the woman sign the document selling the asset.

Three years later, in 1774, Maryland passed a similar law requiring the woman to meet with a judge prior to approving any sale of property she brought into the marriage. While women could not, under the law, own property, both New York and Maryland laws prevented a husband from selling a woman’s assets if she objected. This law was put to the test in the 1782 Maryland case Flannagan’s Lessee vs. Young, in which the judge invalidated a land deal because no one had verified whether the wife had approved the transaction.

After independence in 1787, Massachusetts passed a law allowing women to be femme sole traders, i.e., to conduct business on their own or, if their husbands were away, in order to keep the business running. Ultimately, it was extended to include the husband’s death.

In 1809, Connecticut’s General Assembly passed a law permitting married women to execute wills and enabling its courts to enforce prenuptial agreements. An interesting provision is that the law allowed the woman to place her assets into a trust that could be managed by either her husband or a third party chosen by her. This was groundbreaking because the husband no longer had sole control over his wife’s property.

While these laws started the ball rolling to enable women to have complete control over their property, the New York State Assembly took the lead with its 1848 Married Women’s Property Act and, 12 years later, the 1860 Act Concerning the Rights and Liabilities of Husband and Wife. These laws expanded the legal rights of women to sign contracts, run a business as its sole proprietor, retain possession of any gifts they received, and file lawsuits. They also gave married women legal authority over their children by recognizing them as legal guardians.

Unfortunately, it was not until 1900 that every state had granted women the same property rights as men. And it took another 70 years before women were allowed to apply for credit cards. Even 1970, they needed their husband’s signature! Nonetheless, women’s fight for equal rights began right around the American Revolution.

1790 Ralph Earl painting of Mrs. Benjamin Tallmadge, son Henry Floyd, and daughter Maria Jones