In 1860, after 21 years of marriage and six children, Elizabeth Packard was locked away in an Illinois asylum.
Her crime wasn’t violence or illness—
it was simply disagreement.
Under Illinois law, a husband could commit his wife without a trial, proof, or her consent.
Elizabeth’s refusal to accept her husband’s religious views was enough.
Inside the asylum, she made a startling discovery:
many women labeled “mad” were just like her—wives who resisted, daughters who disobeyed, women who spoke too boldly.
While others broke, Elizabeth began to write.
She observed, documented, and waited.
After three years, she finally faced a jury—and defended her right to think for herself.
They declared her sane and set her free.
But she didn’t stop at freedom.
Through books, speeches, and relentless lobbying, Elizabeth exposed the cruelty of asylums and helped pass new laws that ended a husband’s sole power to confine his wife.
Elizabeth Packard nearly lost everything.
Instead, she gave generations of women a legal shield and an enduring lesson in courage.
