No Constitutional Right to Be Ladies

"Brilliant—a major work."—Gerda Lerner

"An immensely pleasurable read as well as an important contribution to American legal history . . . The author is too good a storyteller, however, to lay this all out without drama . . . Few have made the case so cogently or entertainingly."—Sara L. Mandelbaum, New York Law Journal

"A thoughtful book of formidable research and clear prose . . . Kerber weaves broad constitutional and legal history around fascinating case studies [and] makes a powerful case that, on balance, liberation is the trajectory of history."—Michael Sherry, The New York Times Book Review

"An ambitious exploration of the history and meaning of women's civic obligations . . . A carefully crafted work that tells its complex and persuasive story at many levels. By its focus on the law of civic obligation, it makes an innovative contribution to the study of citizenship as both a legal and political institution in the United States. By following the 'antique legal tradition' of coverture out of the treatises and into the arena of public law, this absorbing book also represents a significant expansion of the legal and social history scholarship of that doctrine in America. Its sweeping survey provides a timeline of the status of women as citizens that is a provocative reminder of how much in the past we still live. Informative and accessible, this study will be useful to legal historians and feminist theorists as well as to more general students of American history . . . So full of interesting ideas and thought-provoking questions that it will inspire the research agendas of scholars for years to come."—Ann F. Thomas, H-Net Book Review

"Combining micronarrative with feminist theorizing, impeccable research with passionate engagement, Linda Kerber reshapes the history of American political development . . . A model study."—From the Citation for the American Historical Association's 1999 Joan Kelly Memorial Prize

"A capacious mind is at work in this richly textured and imaginative book. Putting obligations rather than rights in the forefront, Linda Kerber sees anew the past, present, and future of women's citizenship in the United States and in doing so illuminates the limits and possibilities of American democracy."—Nancy Cott, Yale University

"Kerber makes a compelling case for a difficult proposition. This is history as it ought to be written."—Stan Katz, President Emeritus, American Council of Learned Societies

"Kerber approaches the subject by a little-used path, and reveals much about how women have been treated and why . . . Startling."—John B. Saul, The Seattle Times