Harms88
Sergeant
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2019
I am currently writing a alternative Civil War history book and the main character's father is an abusive alcoholic.
Now, I have read that during Colonial times, that if there was a known wife beater in the community, the offender could be fined, whipped, jailed and called out publicly in church and even expelled from the congregation. I also want to say that I read in The Whiskey Rebellion by William Hogeland that some communities were known to drag the offender out of his house and basically throw him out of town with people drumming pots and pans and kicking him in the butt the entire trip.
I know that the law at that time (Civil War) was supposed to protect women from being "bodily chastised" by their husbands and most women who went before judges with accusations of spousal abuse were believed and resulted in some form of legal action against the man. The only punishment that seems to be generally shied away from was prison due to women not being allowed a great role in the workforce and they didn't want families to become destitute due to lack of an income.
So, what was the most common punishment for known wife-beaters during the Civil War era?
Now, I have read that during Colonial times, that if there was a known wife beater in the community, the offender could be fined, whipped, jailed and called out publicly in church and even expelled from the congregation. I also want to say that I read in The Whiskey Rebellion by William Hogeland that some communities were known to drag the offender out of his house and basically throw him out of town with people drumming pots and pans and kicking him in the butt the entire trip.
I know that the law at that time (Civil War) was supposed to protect women from being "bodily chastised" by their husbands and most women who went before judges with accusations of spousal abuse were believed and resulted in some form of legal action against the man. The only punishment that seems to be generally shied away from was prison due to women not being allowed a great role in the workforce and they didn't want families to become destitute due to lack of an income.
So, what was the most common punishment for known wife-beaters during the Civil War era?