MENTAL HEALTH REFORMER ELIZABETH PACKARD

Elizabeth Packard was born in Massachusetts in 1816. She became a teacher at age 16, and married Theophilus Packard Jr. in 1839. She expressed religious views that differed greatly from those of her husband, who forcibly committed her to an asylum in 1860 because of this. Elizabeth was not legally able to challenge her husband’s decision, and she wrote about this in her book, Marital Power Exemplified (1867):

I regarded the principle of religious tolerance as the vital principle on which our government was based, and I in my ignorance supposed this right was protected to all American citizens, even to the wives of clergymen. But, alas! my own sad experience has taught me the danger of believing a lie on so vital a question. The result was, I was legally kidnapped and imprisoned three years simply for uttering these opinions under these circumstances.

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              When Packard was released from the mental health institution three years later, her husband decided to lock her in the nursery of their house and seal the windows shut to prevent her escape. This case eventually went to court, where Packard was found to be sane despite her husband’s objections. She went on to successfully advocate for changes to the way individuals were committed to mental health institutions. These were known as the Packard Laws, in which individuals were no longer allowed to be forcibly confined. In addition to the Packard Laws, Elizabeth was also successful in advocating for divorced women to have custody of their children.

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Sources:

“Science Museum. Brought to Life: Exploring the History of Medicine.” Elizabeth Ware Packard (1816-97), broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/people/elizabethwarepackard.

“Elizabeth Packard – Legal and Mental Health Reformer.” Illinois History Lincoln Collections, 27 Mar. 2019, publish.illinois.edu/ihlc-blog/2019/03/28/elizabeth-packard-legal-and-mental-health-reformer/.

Portrait of Elizabeth Packard, www.utoledo.edu/library/virtualexhibitions/dvx/large/ex1/ex1_EWPackard.html.