Uniformity and Conformity: Regionalism and the Adjudication of the Married Women's Property Acts

Abstract

Marriage law was determined by the states, but displays few of the regional differences marking other areas of law in early nineteenth-century America. While there were some regional variations in the statutory law defining married women's property rights, these were reduced as judges applied common law standards and techniques of interpretation to their application in particular cases. Judicial discretion and use of a common standard meant that there was considerable uniformity in this area of law across the nation. This study supports arguments that an accurate understanding of nineteenth-century America requires acknowledging the unevenness of sectional differences in various spheres of law and public life.