to dower in her husband's property, denied to women the right of appeal
except in case of the death of their husbands. The right of appeal was
the privilege of private prosecution for crime. (Analogus to our present
method of commencing prosecutions by information.)

According to Blackstone, even the disabilities of the wife were for the
most part intended for her protection and benefit, and he adds: "So
great a favorite is the female sex of the laws of England!"

[Sidenote: Reason for discrimination.]

The discrimination made by the common law between men and women, was
based alone upon the assumption that women were, and must be always
dependent by reason of their sex. In the light of a broader humanity,
the distinctions seem cruel and barbarous, but that they were the result
of any spirit of injustice or intentional tyranny, or of any desire on
the part of men to oppress women or impose upon them any hardship or
burden because of their physical weakness, is not at all probable. They
were merely the outgrowth of the conditions incident to ruder stages of
social development, and were, perhaps, as favorable to women at that
period, as the laws of our own times will be considered when judged in
the light of the civilization of the future, after successive centuries
of intellectual and moral growth have been added to the enlightenment of
to-day.




Law of Iowa.