Paternalistic Sexism & Liberty to Contract

However, though the issues of freedom or liberty to contract existed, so also existed the view at that time that women were inferior to men – both physically and psychologically. This led to state laws giving women special protective status. This could be a double-edged sword as, though times were tough for the poorer classes and labor reform was important, giving only women special labor reform while ignoring the reforms needed for men could lead to a new set of issues. For instance, if only women were “protected” from working more than a set number of hours per week, then busin

In Allgeyer v. Loiusiana, Lousiana attempted to invoke a law against Allegyer which prohibits out-of-state insurance companies from conducting business in Louisiana without have at least one agent in Louisiana and least one physical place of business in Louisiana. This could be construed as Louisiana’s application of its police powers to shield its citizens from unscrupulous or fraudulent insurance companies. However, in this case, the insurance was actually purchased in another state, not Louisiana, thereby bringing into question Louisiana’s jurisdiction in the case. The Supreme Court ruled that the Louisiana law violated Allegeyer’s fourteenth Amendment’s due process, protecting its right to enter into businesses of its choice. This case was important as it gave legal teeth to the new doctrine of “freedom of contract”.

The other cases detailed in this chapter are Ritchie v. The People, Allgeyer v. Loiusiana, Holden v. Hardy, Muller v. Oregon and Adkins v. Children’s Hospital. In Ritchie v. The People, the defendant, William Ritchie hired a female over eighteen years of age in Cook County, Illinois, for a work day of over eight hours per day. In doing so, he violated the Factory Act, which limits a female’s workday eight hours. When Ritchie lost his case, the Illinois Manufacturer’s Association chose this case as a test case and assisted in Ritchie’s appeal. The court sided against the state of Illinois deciding that the Factory Act impairs a woman’s freedom to contract.

In AFL Leaders Samuel Gompers on Why Married Women Should Not Work, 1906, shows the difference in mentality from that time period to today. In this essay, this man actually said that it would take a woman much longer to complete the same amount a day of work would take a man due to the woman’s “comparative lack of organization”. (Hall p. 99) He went on to say that the female worker brings down the wages for the man. With views such as this, it is understanding why perceptions of women were as they were.

In Roscoe Pound’s essay on Liberty of Contract, 1909, he discusses that this right to contract is natural law and as such is a fundamental assumption in not only our studies, but also in our bill of rights. He points out that the framers of the constitution intended to protect individuals from unpredictable governmental acts, not against each other.

Though

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