Frank Beating Ruth
Why didn't Ruth tell the judge that Frank beat her when he asked her why she left him? Julian was there when they went to get Ruth and could have testified as to her bruised face.
shareprobably wasn't illegal back then. you know, the whole "rule of thumb" thing?
tell him about the twinkie.
Back then slapping around your wife was probably considered "domestic correction." Putting the woman in her place. These days it is different.
shareThe origin of "rule of thumb" being related to wife beating is a myth. There is zero historical evidence for such an actual rule, written or unwritten.
"You didn't come into this life just to sit around on a dugout bench, did ya?" - Morris Buttermaker
the 1874 case State v. Oliver (North Carolina Reports, Vol. 70, Sec. 60, p. 44) states: "We assume that the old doctrine that a husband had the right to whip his wife, provided that he used a switch no larger than his thumb, is not the law in North Carolina."
shareWhich just shows that the concept of urban myth wasn't limited to the 20th century. This is my point, that document you cite is referring to a commonly held belief that never actually existed.
From Wikipedia:
"It is often claimed that the term's etymological origin lies in a law that limited the maximum thickness of a stick with which it was permissible for a man to beat his wife. English common law before the reign of Charles II permitted a man to give his wife "moderate correction", but no "rule of thumb" (whether called by this name or not) has ever been the law in England. Such "moderate correction" specifically excluded beatings, allowing the husband only to confine a wife to the household.
"Belief in the existence of a "rule of thumb" law to excuse spousal abuse can be traced as far back as 1782, the year that James Gillray published his satirical cartoon Judge Thumb. The cartoon lambastes Sir Francis Buller, an English judge, for allegedly ruling that a man may legally beat his wife, provided that he used a stick no thicker than his thumb, although it is questionable whether Buller ever made such a pronouncement."
So, at best, people today erroneously attribute historical truth to what was probably just an 18th century jest.
Interesting post-script, also from Wikipedia: "in 1976, feminist Del Martin used the phrase "rule of thumb" as a metaphorical reference to describe such a doctrine. She was misinterpreted by many as claiming the doctrine as a direct origin of the phrase and the connection gained currency in 1982, when the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights issued a report on wife abuse, titled "Under the Rule of Thumb".
So, we have a media report getting a quote slightly wrong or out of context and years later, people take have accepted a mistake as truth.
"You didn't come into this life just to sit around on a dugout bench, did ya?"
Interesting.
Thanks.