Analysis Of The Remonstrance By Thomas Paine

This unfair treatment of women by the laws actuated Thomas Paine who asserted that women were robbed of freedom of will by both the civil and the common law.

The remonstrance by Thomas Paine and other concerned legal scholars against the oppressive nature of these laws evoked a language of rights in relation to women in the 1890’s. Inspired by the ideas and thoughts of Paine, John Stuart Mill argued that women deserve the right to vote and he, therefore, proposed that the term “man” be replaced with a more neutral terminology like “person.” His proposal, at that stage, won little support amongst contemporaries and was met with ridicule. It was subsequently divulged that Mill’s bold stand reaps the fruits when the issue of suffrage to women

Women’s participation in the public sphere during the 12th century was confined to suffrage. The rationale of the legal fraternity was sufficient reason for Courts, as adumbrated in this study, to refuse to admit women to the bar. The other factor that could be added to the barring of women was that they were also not able to hold office during this period under common law. It was proposed by the legal profession that the inability for women to hold office was that their mental and physical nature rendered them unfit for legal practice. It was further contended by a stereotypical thought that women did not possess a “legal mind.” Womenwere thought to be emotional rather than rational and logical. It was also noted that women did not have the natural proclivities to perform the duties required by the legal profession. Weisberg interpreted the assertions of a woman lawyer by saying that women have been told that a successful lawyer must have a logical mind, and since the mind of woman is sadly lacking in this respect, her unfitness for the legal profession is obvious. According to Weisberg women possessed a delicate constitution which could not withstand the conflicts of the courtroom. She made reference to women’s mental and physical nature in a story portrayed by Charles C. Moore. The anecdote by Moore featured Miss Padelford who has

It has been averred that the female sex is garrulous and wanting in discretion. Because of this assertion, the interests of clients are less likely to be entrusted into women’s hands. It was thought that judgment would no longer be impartial if women lawyers were present in the courtroom. This notion can be demonstrated in the following rendition whereby a woman lawyer asked her client why he came to her for legal assistance. This client, who had been tried and convicted of a crime and awarded a new trial by an Appellate Court, replied: “Well, ma’am, I reckon I’ve had justice. What I need now is mercy, and I figure them jurors will feel mighty sorry for me if all I have is a woman to defend