Elizabeth Packard (1816-1897) fought for her own freedom after her husband forced her into a mental institution for expressing her religious beliefs. Her experiences inspired her to dedicate her life to advocating for the rights of mental health patients and married women.
Elizabeth Packard (1816-1897) fought for her own freedom after her husband forced her into a mental institution for expressing her religious beliefs. Her experiences inspired her to dedicate her life to advocating for the rights of mental health patients and married women.
You’re probably familiar with rebels without a cause, but what about rebels with a cause? This month on Womanica, we’re talking about women who broke rules that were meant to be broken. From the “Godmother of Title IX” Bernice Sandler, to the most prominent figure of the People Power Revolution, Corazon Aquino, to the “Queen of Civil Rights” Ruby Hurley, these women took major risks to upend the status quo and create meaningful change.
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Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan. And this is Womanica.
This month, we’re talking about Rebels WITH a cause: women who broke rules that were meant to be broken. These women took major risks to upend the status quo and create meaningful change.
Today’s Womanican fought for her own freedom after her husband forced her into a mental institution for expressing her religious beliefs. Her experiences inspired her to dedicate her life to advocating for the rights of mental health patients and married women.
Let’s meet Elizabeth Packard.
Elizabeth Parsons Ware was born in Ware, Massachusetts on December 28, 1816. Her father was a Calvinist minister, and her family took in boarders from Amherst College. One guest was Henry Ward Beecher – the younger brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe. Henry would become one of the most popular preachers in the country. Elizabeth was one of many people inspired by his reformist ideas.
When Elizabeth was 19, she came down with what was then called “brain fever.” It’s now thought that this term described infections like meningitis, or encephalitis. The symptoms often included a high fever, headache, and delirium. Doctors of the time didn’t have much knowledge about contagion, viruses, or bacteria. And so, they recommended bleeding and purging as treatment. As you might expect, Elizabeth’s condition did not improve. So Elizabeth’s father committed her to an asylum in nearby Worcester, where she stayed for six weeks. Elizabeth said the poor treatment she experienced during that time created worse symptoms than the ones she went in with. She insisted she recovered simply due to the passage of time, not from any care she received. This was just the first of many negative experiences Elizabeth would come to have with the medical system.
In 1839, Elizabeth married Theophilus Packard Jr. Theophilus was a Calvinist minister and friend of her father’s – he was also 14 years older than Elizabeth. The couple went on to have six children together. And in the 1850s, the family left New England and settled in Illinois.
Elizabeth explored life outside of being a housewife and became more adventurous and independent. She traveled alone, conducted missionary work, and explored different religious philosophies. She adopted ideas from Universalism, Swedenborgianism, and Spiritualism — much to her husband’s outrage. Theophilus was still preaching Calvinism, Elizabeth’s religious exploration was in direct opposition to his Church’s teachings..
Theophilus became more controlling. He knew about Elizabeth’s time in an asylum as a teen and used that to question her sanity. In 1860, he committed Elizabeth to the Illinois Hospital for the Insane. This was a completely legal and acceptable thing for a husband to do at the time. A man was entitled to a hearing or trial to assess his sanity before being committed. Married women were not granted that right. If a husband requested it, his wife could be committed without any evidence of mental health issues. This was the case in many states across the country.
Elizabeth was institutionalized for three long years. In the spring of 1863, she was declared incurably insane and released. But she wasn’t free. She was sent home to her husband, again. Theophilus locked Elizabeth in their home nursery and nailed the windows shut. She managed to drop a letter out the window explaining her imprisonment. A friend delivered it to Judge Charles Starr, who then scheduled a jury trial to assess Elizabeth’s sanity.
Theophilus tried to argue that Elizabeth’s insanity justified confining her at home under such conditions. Physicians from the Illinois State Hospital testified against Elizabeth, claiming her feelings toward her husband and religious beliefs indicated insanity. Elizabeth’s neighbors and friends testified on her behalf. A doctor and theologian named Dr. Duncanson also defended Elizabeth. He said her religious beliefs were embraced among many intellectual and theological circles in Europe.
He said, “On every topic I introduced, she was perfectly familiar, and discussed them with an intelligence that at once showed she was possessed of a good education, and a strong and vigorous mind. I did not agree with her in sentiment on many things, but I do not call people insane because they differ from me, nor even a majority, even, of people.”
On January 18, 1864 the jury deliberated for just seven minutes before reaching a verdict. They found Elizabeth to be sane. Judge Starr ordered that Elizabeth “be relieved of all restraints incompatible with her condition as a sane woman.”
Elizabeth was finally free from her husband’s control. But that freedom came at a cost: her husband made sure that she now had no home, no money, and no access to her children. And again, it was all well within the bounds of the law. So, Elizabeth made it her mission to defend mental health patients and married women with limited rights like herself. She traveled around the country, telling her story and convincing politicians and citizens to support her causes. She fought for more oversight in mental institutions in multiple states. In Iowa, she helped pass “Packard’s Law,” which made it illegal for mental health care workers to intercept a patient’s mail. And in Illinois, she helped pass a law that granted jury trials for women, before they could be committed to an institution. Many other states followed suit – ensuring other married women would not endure the suffering she had.
Eventually, Elizabeth was able to make enough money from book sales and speaking to support herself and buy a house. In 1869, she was able to regain custody of her three youngest kids. She continued her activism work through the 1880s..
Elizabeth and Theophilus never divorced, but they remained separated. Near the end of her life, she spent time in California, living with one of her sons and his wife. She passed away in 1897 in Chicago.
All month, we’re talking about rebels with a cause. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram @womanicapodcast.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!