Norman

6. Describe the social wrongs that led to the circumstances of Norman, according to Lydia Child.

In November of 1843, Amelia Norman of New Jersey was arrested for the attempted murder of successful merchant, Henry S. Ballard. The defendant claimed to be a victim of seduction, which in the mid-nineteenth century was a felonious crime punishable by anywhere from 5-20 years in prison (Murray 5) and defined as "the act of a male person in having intercourse with a woman of chaste character under promise of marriage, or by the use of enticement or persuasion" (Humble 145-146). In February of 1844, noted columnist, feminist, and abolitionist Lydia Child published "Letter from New York [The Trial of Amelia Norman]," detailing the extraordinary fanfare that surrounded Norman's trial, including the surprisingly strong (and favorable) tide of public sympathy. Legally, Norman's case is rarely mentioned except in reference to a particular period in American jurisprudence where legislation (and its inevitable influence on social consciousness) was remarkably provincial.

In 1841, Amelia Norman was a 16-year-old girl who had been in steady employ as a servant for a wealthy New York family since the age of thirteen. That year, she was introduced to the successful (and significantly older) clothing merchant Henry Ballard, and they immediately began a relationship. Dispassionate, strictly objective accounts of the nature of the relationship are scarce, and the available details do not lend themselves to an above-board courtship. According to sources, Ballard took great pains to ensure the relationship remained largely clandestine, financing the termination of two of Norman's pregnancies he was directly responsible for (Jones 178). In 1843, Ame...

... middle of paper ...

...The belief in "just dessert" is no longer politically correct, and therefore enjoys substantially less front-page prominence in the more heavily-circulated newspapers. Although Norman's tribulations would probably still elicit sympathy from the contemporary public, Ballard would not be simply dismissed as a lech with a contemptuous reputation. Rather, sympathy for his prolonged and raging psychiatric disorder would be overwhelming, with at least one mental health professional asserting that Ballard was likely the victim of sexual misconduct himself - though he's buried any recollection of the event deep in his subconscious. Norman would still be acquitted, but only because her team of handsomely compensated attorneys launched a successful argument for self-defense against a raging lunatic. Her virtue would have little (if any) significance in the trial proceedings.