Elizabeth Ware Packard’s life’s work went beyond the typical “womanly” sphere of raising her children and keeping a clean house. After a horrific experience of being legally imprisoned by her husband in a mental hospital, she spent the rest of her life bringing awareness and legal change to the rights of married women, and the treatment of women with mental illness by their husbands, society, and the medical establishments that were intended to protect them.
Elizabeth (Betsy) Parsons Ware Packard was born in Ware, Massachusetts, on December 28, 1816. Papa was a gregarious minister, Mama was an extraordinary homemaker, and Elizabeth was raised in a home that prioritized education, conversation, and curiosity for all.
At 19, Elizabeth contracted a mysterious illness that left her father with few options and he had her admitted to a mental hospital. Her stay was several months of traumatic treatments for her diagnosis of “brain fever,” a name for any number of physical or mental illnesses, from depression to meningitis.
At 22, she married Theophilus Packard Jr., a minister 15 years her senior. Elizabeth was a phenomenal preacher’s wife: she perfectly managed the house, made all her family’s clothes, raised their six children, and was creative and curious. When her husband wanted to move from Massachusetts to the Midwest, she was game for the adventure.
The family settled down in Manteno, Illinois, where Theo was a minister at a Calvinist church, but here is where the couple and their church both had a schism. The old school of Calvinist thought was very strict- our way or the highway to hell; the new school of thought was more tolerant of other beliefs and progressive. Theo was of the old school, and Elizabeth was not only in agreement with the new school of thought, but her brain kept going and learning about the thoughts of all kinds of other religions, too.
Elizabeth and Theopolis, Jr.We are pacifists and think violence is never the answer… but dang, does he not have a punchable face?
Leo wanted his wife to obey him and his teachings without question; Elizabeth didn’t want to obey this man alone. She loved questioning, debating, and learning of things outside of church doctrine. She was also engaging and likable, and he was…not. Because of the laws of the time, he was able to have her committed to the Jacksonville Insane Asylum in Illinois. Obviously, there is more to the story. Give a listen to the podcast to hear all the scheming of her husband to have her sent away, the horrible treatment that Elizabeth saw and experienced in the hospital, and her utter lack of freedom and control over her life when she was demonstratively not mentally ill.
All this for the “crime” of speaking her mind.
Illustration from one of her books, 1870Illustration of her kidnapping.
For over three years, Elizabeth was held in the mental hospital, away from her children. Theo even found ways to “punish” her from his home, where he was allowed to raise their children and tell them that their mom was “insane.” It will make your blood boil with anger, we promise.
Elizabeth made good use of her time in the hospital. She helped other women, and she wrote down everything. She wanted to be able to support herself once she was released and not have to rely on Theo for anything, and thought writing about her experience would be a way to do that.
While her doctor insisted that she was “incurable,” she was released in 1863 when she was 47. When she arrived home, Theo hadn’t changed at all, he still wanted to oppress his wife. Neither wanted a divorce, but they did land in court where she successfully sued him to have herself declared legally sane.
Elizabeth didn’t stop there; she had come out of the asylum with a ream of paper filled with her experiences. While her no-good husband absconded with the minor kids, she started writing. And writing. And writing. She sold so much of what she wrote, and gave talks about her experience, that she was able to not only support herself, but her kids, too. She spoke to groups, legislatures, even a meeting with the President himself. She was able to help change state and local laws, and brought awareness to the plight of the mentally ill and the lack of legal rights for married women.
Elizabeth died on July 28, 1897 at the age of 80.
Time Travel With The History Chicks
Books!
By Kate Mooreby Linda Carlisleby Barbara SapinskleyTechnically, this is a play but you can get the script in book form. By Emily Mann
You can read some of her books online, including this one with a very long title: MARITAL POWER EXEMPLIFIED IN MRS. PACKARD’S TRIAL AND SELF-DEFENCE FROM THE CHARGE OF INSANITY; OR THREE YEARS’ IMPRISONMENT FOR RELIGIOUS BELIEF BY THE ARBITRARY WILL OF A HUSBAND WITH AN APPEAL TO THE GOVERNMENT TO SO CHANGE THE LAWS AS TO AFFORD LEGAL PROTECTION TO MARRIED WOMEN. ( The title seems impressive enough to shout.)
Journalist Nellie Bly wrote about the conditions at a mental “hospital” and you can learn more about that, and her, on our Nellie Bly episode #20 (in the way, way back machine!)
End music: Drag Me Down by Conditional, used with permission by Epidemic Sound
As the last legitimate heir to a powerful family, Catherine de Medici was married at only 14 into one of the most powerful royal houses in Europe. The two halves of her story are VASTLY different, and here in Part One, we’re going to tell you about how her only resources were INNER resources – and the character that developed from the circumstances in which she was placed.
In late June, 2025, 50 people gathered to tour places we’ve talked about on the podcast, and learn more about the women of the Philadelphia area. Here we are at one of the favorite stops: The Alice Paul Center for Gender Justice in Mount Laurel, New Jersey!
Our Field Trip to Philadelphia was what we call a “long weekend.” From Wednesday evening until Sunday morning, we packed a lot of learning, exploring, general merriment , and LOTS of women’s history into our days. In this episode, we let our travelers call in from the road, or after they returned home, to share their experiences.
Suzanne’s first self-portrait, 1883 age 18How Pierre-August Renoir painted her that same year, 1883 (You’ve seen this one, right?) How Renoir saw her two years later, 1885Casting the Nets, Suzanne Valadon, 1914
Shownotes are under construction, please come back later for all the things Beckett talked about in this episode!
Time Travel With The History Chicks
Books!
by Rosinsky Therese Diamond (The “small” biography)by June Rose (the “middle” book)by Catherine Hewitt ( the “big” book)by Henri Perruchot
Web!
You can visit one of her studios (and the original Le Chat Noir poster) at the Musée de Montmartre! It’s a “must-see” from us for a day spent in Montmartre!
The chateau she lived with Andre Utter, Château de Saint-Bernard, you can visit or even have your wedding there.
We have a Pinterest board for every subject, you should check it out and maybe start with Suzanne’s!
Moving Pictures!
Once again, we have the perfect subject for a movie and Suzanne’s is a story ripe for a biopic! Scandal! Relationships! The rise of an underdog! A woman in a man’s world! Art! Paris! A scoundrel son! Invite us to the premier, please and thank you! Until such a film exists, the only documentary we could find was one in French, Suzanne Valadon, peintre sans concession , here’s the IMDB page.
We left Alice as she completed the project that the leadership of NAWSA (National American Women’s Suffrage Association) didn’t think was possible: In just three months, organize a parade of thousands of suffragists from around the country to march down Pennsylvania Avenue the day before President Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration. While this dazzling feat of organization and spectacle was stunning for a couple of blocks, a large group of rowdy men violently disrupted the event. The parade limped to the finish line. What it did succeed in doing was put women’s suffrage, the purpose of the parade, in all the papers for several weeks which was a score for Alice and Lucy Burns’ mission to get the country talking, but they didn’t stop there and built on the mounting momentum for the cause.
What followed was six years of parades, rallies, growing suffrage groups around the county, lobbying strategy, campaigning for pro-suffrage politicians, and failed attempts to get President Wilson to put suffrage in front of Congress so they could vote it into law. Alice’s organization was kicked-out of NAWSA and created their own suffrage group, the National Women’s Party (NWP), whose sole purpose was to get women’s right to vote as a constitutional amendment. To that end, Alice dug into her toolkit and pulled out a bold demonstration, the first of its kind, picketing in front of the White House. Over two and a half years, approximately 2,000 women participated as silent sentinels all day, every day but Sunday, regardless of weather or public opinion.
The Silent Sentinel protest, circa 1917 LOCThe NWP paper, The Suffragist, was used to share news of the battle for women’s suffrage. This cover is during the Silent Sentinel protest circa 1918, LOC.
When emotions got dark during WWI, and Alice still had women on the picketline, things turned violent. Women were arrested and beaten, and Alice once again was force-fed. Eventually public opinion turned the tide of politics and the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote, was ratified into law in May of 1919.
Lucy Burns during one of her prison terms, this one was at the Occoquan Workhouse prison (where she also underwent violence and force-feeding) for the “crime” of blocking the sidewalk. LOC
But Alice was only in her mid-30s and her work was far from over. She set out to get an amendment guaranteeing equal rights for all into the Constitution and co-wrote what we know as the Equal Rights Amendment. She would live to see it passed in both houses of Congress.
She was not without mistakes, for instance, Alice didn’t land on the right side of history as far as the rights of Black Americans were concerned (we go into it in this, and several other episodes.) The W column was much longer than the L, and, all totaled, Alice and her NWP were involved in over 300 pieces of legislation that became laws.
Alice Paul died on July 9, 1977, at the age of 92.
The Equal Rights Amendment has yet to be ratified as of today, July 9, 2025- 48 years to the day after her death.
Alice Paul Memorial March for the ERA 1977, LOC
TIME TRAVEL WITH THE HISTORY CHICKS
Books!
by J.D. Zahniser and Amelia R. Fryby Tina Cassidyby Mary Waltonby Bernadette Cahillby Ellen Carol Duboisby Doris Stevens
by Susan Cambell Bartoletti and Ziyue Chenby Nancy Kennedy
Web!
You can visit Alice Paul’s family home, Paulsdale, in Moorestown, New Jersey, OR take a lovely virtual tour online (scroll down VISIT page for this): Alice Paul Center for Gender Justice
Have some questions about the ERA? Congress.gov might have some answers.
Here’s a timeline of the Women’s Right’s movement (you might have to scroll down the page…and not be tempted by any of the other subjects. Good luck with that, and an article on the 1977 memorial march for Alice Paul and the ERA, from The Smithsonian.
Mixed Media!
We mention several of our former episodes to give you more information about this era, including Mary Church Terrell, Ida B. Wells Barnett, Fannie Lou Hamer, and 50’s Housewives to name a few. YOu can find any of these on your favorite podcatcher! (Transparency: The audio may not be here on our website due to a behind-the-scenes move that disabled our podcast players.)
Suffs, a Tony Award-winning musical about Alice Paul, has closed on Broadway, where we saw it, BUT, it’s starting a large tour this year. We HIGHLY recommend that you see it if it comes to your area- it’s a delight. And, hello? How do we get this to come to Kansas City?? SUFFS TOUR SCHEDULE
2004 with Hilary Swank but why it’s also with Patrick Dempsey we just don’t know. (Ooooh…maybe because they couldn’t have a movie with an all-female, lead character cast? naaaw, couldn’t be that.)
Alice Paul, circa 1913 in college robes, this is what she wore in the parade when she tried to march in the college women’s section of the Suffrage Procession. CC via LOCEmmaline, Christabel, and Sylvia Pankhurst, circa 1911 CC via wikicommonsOooh, Alice, the places you’ll go! Circa 1900 CC via LOC
SHOWNOTES UNDER CONSTRUCTION, come back in a little bit for more photos and some details from the episode!
Time Travel With The History Chicks
The Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Suffs is hitting the road for a national tour! We saw it last fall in New York and LOOOVED it, but relevant to this episode, Alice Paul is the main character and the show focuses on her life and work. If the touring company is in your neighborhood, we strongly recommend you try to see it. (This isn’t sponsored, we just really loved the musical.) SUFFS TOUR DATES
Media recommendations will be on the shownotes for Part Two.
End song: We’re Dynamite by Craig Reever (featuring Willow) used by permission of Epidemic Sound
