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EP319: Eilene Lyon: One Way Or Another, America’s First Real Life Superhero and Homestead Laws Saving Women From Homelessness

Our American Stories / Lee Habeeb
The Truth Network Radio
May 24, 2022 3:00 am

EP319: Eilene Lyon: One Way Or Another, America’s First Real Life Superhero and Homestead Laws Saving Women From Homelessness

Our American Stories / Lee Habeeb

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May 24, 2022 3:00 am

On this episode of Our American Stories, Eilene Lyon shares the story of observing two eagle families that couldn't be more diametrically opposed to one another. Former Air Force Captain and Air Force OSI Special Agent Vince Benedetto shares his story of going to a school to teach students about why we honor our veterans. Dr. Jean Stuntz from West Texas A&M University gives us some history on what it was like before women could own property or make any money of their own.

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Time Codes: 

00:00 - Eilene Lyon: One Way Or Another

12:30 - America’s First Real Life Superhero

37:00 - Homestead Laws Saving Women From Homelessness

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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That's ouramericanstories.com. They're some of our favorites. Up next, a story from Eileen Lyon on eagles. And more specifically, two eagle families she watched in Arizona that couldn't be more diametrically opposed to each other.

Here's Eileen with her story one way or another. My partner and I sat in the bass tracker on the calm waters of Saguaro Lake, actually an impoundment of the Salt River near Scottsdale, Arizona, scanning the skies in this narrow section, a sheer cliff rose ahead of us and hills on both sides. Suddenly, a bald eagle bolted like a spear from above, aiming for an American coupe, placidly oblivious to its impending doom. The male eagle clutched his prize on top of a lakeside boulder. Soon, his vice-grip beak was flinging feathers like a pillow fight gone bad, working his way to a foul meal. After getting his fill, he seized the carcass and flapped off the rock until he'd achieved some height. Surely, we thought, he'd take it to the nearby cliff nest where the female and their nestling waited.

But no, once again, as he'd done for months, he ignored them and flew away out of sight. Dang, what a deadbeat dad that bird turned out to be. Before taking on this contract job to observe breeding eagles for Arizona Game and Fish, all nest watchers had to read up on bald eagle behavior. The standard story is that pairs mate for life, and both adults share responsibility for nest construction, incubation, and rearing the clutch of one to three nestlings.

Once they've fledged, the parents spend roughly ten weeks teaching them to hunt before they become independent. Sounds great in theory, but every animal, human or otherwise, has its own personality and quirks. With our domestic animal companions, also known as pets, we see that readily. It's true in the wild as well. We tend to think, a mouse is a mouse is a mouse, a bear is a bear is a bear. We expect eagles will behave a certain way.

Then they don't. We started off with one assigned nest, which is the norm, but we discovered a second nest on our first trip out on the lake with our supervisor. Arizona Game and Fish asked us to check on it, too. The first nest had been observed in previous years. For some reason, this year, the male decided not to participate in the breeding process once the eggs were fertilized. We watched as the female took sole responsibility for incubating. When hungry, she had to leave the nest to procure her own food. She selected a perch on a low cliff, waiting with infinite patience, until she spotted the right fish. She would nail her quarry on the first try nearly every time.

Her mate, on the other hand, lacked that skill. Every time we saw him dive for a fish, he got wet, not dinner. Sitting ducks were more hisspeed. Our supervisor informed us that it can take five years for an eagle to learn to fish. But maybe it takes longer.

Or, dare I say, never? At our nest observation point one day, amazingly, it began snowing. Hard. Mrs. Eagle had flown off to hunt and was gone so long, we reported it to headquarters.

They told us the eggs would no longer be viable in those conditions. We should switch over to observing nest two. The contrast couldn't have been more stark. This eagle pair was in love. They did everything together, even, you know.

By the way, it happened so fast that you really better not blink. Soon, they had three voracious young to feed. Two is actually a better number. Females are larger than males, and eggs hatch in the order they are laid. If the first to hatch is female and the last is male, well, he's likely toast. Eventually, there were only two nestlings left. All the while, both adults fulfilled their roles as responsible bird parents.

They showed no favoritism. The strong survived. Just around sunrise one day, as we cruised the perimeter of the lake doing a waterfowl survey, we came around a turn to find this pair had caught what appeared to be a submarine-sized catfish. It took the two of them, flapping their wings in the water like Michael Phelps doing the butterfly stroke, to wrestle their catch to shore, landing it on a partially submerged rock. Several turkey vultures, maintaining a respectful distance, perched above them amidst the desert scrub, sure there would be some scraps for them. On a whim, we decided to return to nest one. To our pleasant surprise, we found that an egg had hatched and there was a nestling. We began dividing our time between the two nests.

We even hiked up a canyon one day to check on a third nest. Papa Eagle at nest one continued to ignore his mate in offspring, with one exception. An immature adult eagle appeared one day and tried to fly into the nest while Mama and Munchkin, as we called them, were in it.

This bird may have been one of hers from a previous year, or maybe a young male looking for some action. Either way, Mr. Eagle was having none of it. He came at the interloper in a full-on dive and knocked the juvie for a loop. The aerial combat went on for many minutes.

Eventually, the grappling, whirling pair disappeared beyond the hilltop. We had many exciting moments amid endless hours of tedium during our four months of nest watching. Those hundreds of hours of eagle observation impressed on us one important lesson. When you've seen one, you have not seen them all.

And a special thanks to Monty for producing the piece. And it is so true not all eagles are created equal, and certainly not all eagle dads. Papa Eagle in nest one, the only thing that seemed to get his attention, was the wandering eye of another male eagle and a visitation to his nest.

Otherwise, a pretty useless provider and a pretty useless husband. The tale of two very different eagle families here on Our American Story. Folks, if you love the great American stories we tell and love America like we do, we're asking you to become a part of the Our American Story. the great American stories we tell and love America like we do. We're asking you to become a part of the Our American Stories family. If you agree that America is a good and great country, please make a donation. A monthly gift of $17.76 is fast becoming a favorite option for supporters. Go to OurAmericanStories.com now and go to the donate button and help us keep the great American stories coming.

That's OurAmericanStories.com. Hey you guys this is Tori and Jenny with the 9021 OMG podcast. We have such a special episode brought to you by NERD Tech ODT. We recorded it at I Heart Radio's 10th poll event Wango Tango. Did you know that NERD Tech ODT Remedipant 75 milligrams can help migraine sufferers still attend such an exciting event like Wango Tango? It's true! I had one that night and I took my NERD Tech ODT and I was present and had an amazing time. Here's a little glimpse of our conversation with some of our closest friends. This episode was brought to you by NERD Tech ODT Remedipant 75 milligrams.

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Call your local State Farm Agent for a quote today. And we return to our American stories. Up next a story from Vince Benedetto, a friend and a veteran and founder, president and CEO of Bold Gold Media Group which owns and operates radio stations throughout Pennsylvania and New York. Today Vince shares with us the story of who he considers to be America's first true superhero.

Take it away Vince. Over the past several years I've been invited to be the Veterans Day speaker at area public high schools and middle schools throughout Northeast Pennsylvania. As a graduate of the Air Force Academy and a former Air Force captain and OSI special agent I'm frequently asked to speak at events honoring our military. However speaking to teenagers is an altogether different and terrifying experience. During more typical speaking engagements the audience are there to hear what I have to say specifically. Speaking at a high school, well they have to be there. One's thoughts immediately go to how to say things differently to them in a way that will connect, keep their attention and hopefully illuminate something that will contribute to their lives during their most formidable years.

In my most recent remarks I decided to go big to challenge the very notions whatever they may be of why they should even care at all about our veterans. Preceding my remarks and to set the mood I asked that a short clip from Ronald Reagan's first inaugural address be played. It's the part where the newly sworn-in president is essentially giving his audience a tour of the Washington Mall. He's pointing out the major monuments representing the Giants from our history. Standing here one faces a magnificent vista.

At the end of this open mall are those shrines to the Giants on whose shoulders we stand. Directly in front of me a monument to a monumental man George Washington father of our country a man of humility who came to greatness reluctantly. Those to Washington to Jefferson and to Lincoln but shortly after he turns his attention to those quote sloping hills just beyond you know to Arlington National Cemetery. With its row upon row of simple white markers bearing crosses or stars of David they add up to only a tiny fraction of the price that has been paid for our freedom. From amongst those thousands upon thousands of white markers he resurrects the story of Martin Treptow. Under one such marker lies a young man who left his job in a small-town barbershop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division. There on the Western Front he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire. On his person was found a diary under the words my pledge. Martin had written these words America must win this war therefore I will work I will save I will sacrifice I will endure I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone. Strikingly during this tender moment of his remarks and in front of the whole world Reagan's voice cracks as he's fighting back tears during the telling of this remarkable young hero.

So upon the completion of this clip the hundreds of teens in the audience are paying attention some even have some tears in their eyes along with nearly all of the teachers in attendance. Now that I feel the mood has been said it's my turn to begin my Veterans Day remarks and I ask them some blunt questions that surprise them. I ask why do we celebrate our military and our veterans? Why do you even care that I am a veteran? And for that matter why do we honor and celebrate Armed Forces Day and Memorial Day? I probed them for some audience participation and a few hands go up some of the students answer with quote they serve their country quote our military protects our freedom and freedom isn't free and I'm pleased with these responses as they are all excellent answers to my questions. I then ask another question. I ask who here has seen an American soldier in uniform?

Every hand in the room goes up every single one. I ask well what did you feel when you saw those soldiers in uniform? And I kind of prod them to to shout out some answers and some some said pride patriotism safety. I proceed with my line of questioning so I say who here has seen an American soldier and felt afraid?

Not one hand goes up but I prod them a little more I say no one? I mean our soldiers are very powerful people they are trained to fight they have guns. No one here has ever felt fear in their hearts upon seeing a uniform American soldier and still not one hand was raised. And at that moment I tell them I said this this is why we celebrate Veterans Day this is why we celebrate our military in America and I share with them that in much of the world people do not celebrate their military they fear it.

In much of the world the military is viewed as a tool of the government to oppress them not to serve them. I tell them that in order to understand all this we need to have a short American history lesson. I ask them to imagine the world as it was on July 3rd 1776. At this time everyone alive on the planet lived under some form of a dictatorship but on July 4th 1776 it all changed. Suddenly Americans had declared their independence more importantly Americans had declared that they were free.

However this still did not fully answer the question of why we do not fear our military in America. To understand this I told them we would have to turn to a person who is often considered our first American soldier and a real-life superhero George Washington. So Washington in 1775 having been appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and I reminded them this is an army that for the most part didn't even exist at that moment had the enormous task of building and leading a fighting force against the British Empire the most powerful military force in the world at that time. As I began to share with them the story of General George Washington on the screen behind me was an image of Washington's command flag during the American Revolution. As an early testament to his brilliant leadership instincts the flag has 13 equally sized six-pointed white stars against the blue field. Washington well understood the parochial and rivalrous mindset of those who would now need to unite under seemingly impossible odds.

In the 18th century most Americans never traveled outside of their city let alone their state I told them. His battle flag did not represent him it represented them. As a soldier in this new army under this bold Virginian as they marched into battle behind him whether you were from a small state or one of the large states you knew that one of those stars on his flag represented you and your home. I asked these young kids I said to further try and imagine something else to imagine that after the war having won our independence George Washington was now one of the most famous people in the world. Throughout not only Britain but also the halls of Europe it was assumed that Washington would now become a king in America. This was just the way it always had been the general of the victorious army becomes the new ruler. It was of course assumed by King George III who reportedly believed that the Americans were merely changing quote one King George for another.

The King having learned that Washington was to resign his commission and return to his home at Mount Vernon believed Washington was the greatest man in the world and the greatest character of the age. And when we come back more from Vince Benedetto on the story of George Washington here on Our American Stories. Hey you guys this is Tori and Jenny with the 9021 OMG podcast. We have such a special episode brought to you by NERTEC ODT. We recorded it at I Heart Radio's 10th poll event Wango Tango. Did you know that NERTEC ODT Remigipant 75 milligrams can help migraine sufferers still attend such an exciting event like Wango Tango? It's true! I had one that night and I took my NERTEC ODT and I was present and had an amazing time. Here's a little glimpse of our conversation with some of our closest friends. This episode was brought to you by NERTEC ODT Remigipant 75 milligrams.

Life with migraine attacks can mean missing out on big moments with friends and family but thankfully NERTEC ODT Remigipant 75 milligrams is the only medication that is proven to treat a migraine attack and prevent episodic migraines in adults. So lively events like Wango Tango don't have to be missed. Soon millions will make Medicare coverage decisions for next year and UnitedHealthcare can help you feel confident about your choices. For those eligible Medicare annual enrollment runs from October 15th through December 7th. If you're working past age 65 you might be able to delay Medicare enrollment depending on your employer coverage.

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Call your local State Farm agent for a quote today. And we return to Our American Stories. When we last left off Vince Benedetto was tasked with telling a group of school students why we respect and love our veterans here in this country. He mentioned that to understand why we have to look back to who and that's to George Washington.

Let's continue with the story. I then asked the students to travel with me in their minds to another moment and place in time in the final days of the Revolutionary War to Newburgh, New York 1783. The new nation was financially struggling and the Congress was unable to meet its payment obligations to the Continental Army. This was leading to severe unrest amongst the officers and soldiers. A plan was actually hatched among some high-ranking officers to use the military to take over or threaten the government until their demands were met.

However one indispensable man would stand in their way. George Washington. Learning of the growing plans within his army Washington called for a meeting of his officers at their headquarters in Newburgh.

Washington indicated that he would not himself be in attendance essentially deferring to the commander below him. General Horatio Gates therefore started off the meeting feeding into the growing frenzy for hostile action against the Congress. Suddenly General Washington walked into the room and took command of the events in progress. Many of the officers had not seen the general for some time. They noticed that he had aged and the general then did something profound. He explained to them that this was the moment at the end of the war where their example was most important. Washington told them they were men of honor and this precious moment would require their greatest patriotism and virtue.

In essence this was their ultimate test. Washington then assured them he was working on their behalf to resolve their grievances. He pulled a letter from Congress out of his vest. He began to read it to them but his eyesight was failing him and he was struggling to see the letter. Perhaps sensing his officers noticed this moment of vulnerability he paused.

He then reached into his pocket and pulled out his eyeglasses. The general then looked solemnly at his military family and said to them, Gentlemen, you must pardon me for I have not only grown gray but almost blind in service to my country. By all accounts at that very moment the coup was over.

There were tears in the eyes of his officers. They loved their general and Washington who himself had sacrificed so much and who had at all times had placed the principles for which they fought above himself was holding true and his example at that moment became their example. Once again Washington had saved the revolution. Later that same year Washington would do what the whole of the world doubted would ever have been done. On December 23rd 1783 one of the greatest days in recorded history General George Washington the most popular and powerful person in the United States resigned his commission before the Continental Congress and returned to his home at Mount Vernon. The world was stunned.

This had not and does not happen until now. Of course this would not even be the last time Washington would willingly walk away from power. When he later went on to be our first president the rulers of other nations again assumed he would serve until his death but once again Washington defied the forces of history and of human nature and after his second term he stepped away and retired again to his beloved Mount Vernon. Sensing that the students were gaining a new respect for their history and the father of our country I desired to make some final points about what underlines his sense of trust and love that Americans have for our veterans. I shared with them that every American who joins our armed forces takes an oath. Of course taking an oath prior to joining a military is not all that special but the oath we take to join the American military is very very different. I explained to them that in our oath our soldiers do something quite peculiar. We swear an oath not to the president or the government and not even to the country itself. We swear an oath to a certain thing the Constitution. I pointed out the historical significance and beauty of swearing to quote support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic.

Again we as Americans sense and feel that our military is not to be feared but loved for they are a powerful force that represents our rights. As Americans our sense that government serves the people and not the other way around is commonplace but I had to tell them throughout most of the world and throughout almost all of history this was not the case. What we have here in America is quite miraculous and all of this would not be if not for George Washington. It was George Washington who defied the way of things. It was George Washington who enabled the feeling that our military represents the entirety of the nation.

It was George Washington who started the tradition of the military being subservient to the people's elected civilian representatives. It was George Washington who had unwavering fidelity to representative government and our eventual constitutional order. It was George Washington who successfully was able to help the American people transfer their love and trust in him into faithfulness to our Constitution and its principles. It was George Washington who said quote the Constitution is the guide which I never will abandon. It was George Washington who more than any other American was able to get the people to begin to look beyond their parochial visions and to think continentally as a union. It was George Washington who showed us the virtue of the powerful being the servants of the people and not the other way around. Upon Washington's death John Adams wrote quote his example is now complete and it will teach wisdom and virtue to magistrates citizens and men not only in the present age but in future generations as long as our history shall be read. It was always Washington. He was America's rock upon which our nation could be built. He is America's real-life superhero. So why do we honor and celebrate our veterans and our military?

I posed this question to them again. We celebrate them because they have fought and stand ready to fight. Not just to defend us here now the living but also for all future generations. They defend our important traditions and customs that must go on if individual liberty is to go on. We honor our veterans because they signed on the dotted line to defend with their very lives if necessary the idea that as Abraham Lincoln said in his Gettysburg Address government of the people by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth. And it is true that without America the world would be a very very dark place. Without the American soldier without our veterans civilization at least civilizations we know it would have perished.

The light of individual liberty would have long since been extinguished. It has frequently been remarked I told them that the words of Thomas Jefferson would mean little without the sword of George Washington. Stated similarly all of the words of liberty freedom and American exceptionalism would not be without the heroes who defended it all.

And every person who joins the American Armed Forces takes that oath and they become part of the long unbroken line of military service in America that began with George Washington to today. We can trace it all back to our real-life superhero George Washington. And a special thanks to Monty Montgomery for producing the piece a Hillsdale graduate and a proud one. And a special thanks to Vince Benedetto who built the Hillsdale radio station. And if you're ever in Central Michigan visit Hillsdale College you will be so impressed.

The words of Thomas Jefferson would have meant little without the sword of George Washington. And today we celebrate as Vince put it the long unbroken line of civilian military service and heroism to defend freedom not just here but across the globe on Our American Stories. Hey you guys this is Tori and Jennie with the 902.1 OMG podcast. We have such a special episode brought to you by NERTEK ODT. We recorded it at I Heart Radio's 10th poll event Wango Tango. Did you know that NERTEK ODT remejipant 75 milligrams can help migraine sufferers still attend such an exciting event like Wango Tango? It's true! I had one that night and I took my NERTEK ODT and I was present and had an amazing time. Here's a little glimpse of our conversation with some of our closest friends. This episode was brought to you by NERTEK ODT remejipant 75 milligrams.

Life with migraine attacks can mean missing out on big moments with friends and family but thankfully NERTEK ODT remejipant 75 milligrams is the only medication that is proven to treat a migraine attack and prevent episodic migraines in adults. So lively events like Wango Tango don't have to be missed. Soon millions will make Medicare coverage decisions for next year and UnitedHealthcare can help you feel confident about your choices. For those eligible Medicare annual enrollment runs from October 15th through December 7th. If you are working past age 65 you might be able to delay Medicare enrollment depending on your employer coverage.

It can seem confusing but it doesn't have to be. Visit UHCMedicareHealthPlans.com to learn more. UnitedHealthcare, helping people live healthier lives. I know everything there is to know about running a coffee shop but for small business insurance I need my State Farm agent. They make sure my business stays piping hot and I stay cool and confident. See they're small business owners too so they know how to help you best. State Farm is in your corner and on it. Like a good neighbor State Farm is there.

Call your local State Farm agent for a quote today. This is Our American Stories and as you know we tell stories about everything here on this show and some of our favorite stories well they're about history and today Faith brings us some law history from the state of Texas. Take it away Faith. If you have traveled much to Europe or any other country outside the US you will see history dates from times like the 12th and 13th century and it soon becomes clear that America is actually a quite young country in comparison. With that being said we owe much of our jurisprudence that is our law systems to other countries and the people that came from them to the US. While the US adopted English common law when becoming its own country, Texas was a bit different when they became a state because of the Spanish influence they had. Two of the laws that the Spanish brought over to Texas greatly impacted women's rights and freedoms. There was a time unfortunately not terribly long ago in our history that women could not own property or have any money of their own. If their husband had debts to pay or owed taxes the family's home could be seized and taken leaving the wife and children homeless and helpless. To keep this from happening the Spanish had brought with them their homestead exemption laws.

To help us unpack this long history of homestead laws we have Dr. Jean Stuntz, a professor at West Texas A&M University. It starts back in Spain at the fall of the Roman Empire. There were Visigoths who had come down from the Germany area and settled in the Iberian Peninsula during the Roman Empire and these were Christian because of course the Roman Empire was officially Christian.

Then when the Roman Empire fell these Visigoths were left pretty much unprotected and they splintered into very small little sort of kingdoms all over the place. In the year 711 Muslims from Northern Africa invaded Spain going through the rock of Gibraltar and very quickly conquered all of these little scattered kingdoms because they couldn't work together to prevent it and the Muslims went all the way up through Spain. They crossed the Pyrenees and went into France before they were finally stopped.

So that was in the year 711. Well the people living in Spain who were still Christian wanted to take their country back. Well these guys in Spain would go out and raid the nearest Muslim settlement for women, for jewels, whatever they could find. Gradually the Christians took over more and more territory until we get to the time of Ferdinand and Isabella when they completely conquer all of the Iberian peninsulas and push the Muslims out. Now during this time, this seven centuries or so, it's when the Spanish legal system developed and there were towns in Spain and people lived in towns.

They didn't really live out in the countryside and so you had more artisans and craftspeople there than you might have in other parts of Europe where everybody just made everything themselves. So in Spain there developed this law, this tradition, that if a man was in debt you could not take away the tools of his trade. That is, if he was a blacksmith you could not take his anvil and hammer to pay the taxes because then how could he raise the money to pay you? How could he survive with his family if you took away the tools of his trade? This became set in stone in Spanish law that no matter how much a man owed you could not take his home, you could not take the tools of his trade because to do that would be a ruination for his family.

That you would have to find some other way for him to pay his debt. And so that's in Spain and then we know that Columbus came over to the New World and discovered all the people living here already and the Spanish gradually moved northward from Mexico and into Texas. And so for the first hundred or so years of when we have documentation of life in Texas it was Spanish and this homestead exemption as the English-speaking people called it was recognized as something that worked pretty well and since a lot of the Anglos coming into Texas had left behind a lot of debts back where they came from they really liked the fact that their land and their cattle and their tools of their trade could not be taken from them to pay their debts. And so when Texas became a republic and again when it became a state they adopted this homestead extension as rule of law in Texas and this lasted up until the 20th century late 20th century when it was modified by the Texas legislature. If the homestead exemption had not been put in place and then what happened in the rest of what became the United States if a man got into too much debt his land could be seized his house could be seized all of his property could be seized and the family would be turned out penniless homeless and this affected women because married women were not allowed to own their own property under the English common law that the rest of the United States adopted. If a man gambled away his money it was the women and children who suffered and of course women in those days had very little ways of earning money to support themselves and so the families would fall on desperate times indeed. The other law that Texas had from the Spanish was community property law. This is that whenever there's a husband and wife anything that is gained in the marriage is split equally between them and this comes from Spain because again with all that sporadic fighting that was going on during those centuries it became very important for women to have the ability to take care of themselves and especially as the Christian Spanish slowly took over more and more land they had to get women to come settle in the new towns that they created and this was a dangerous area there was still fighting going on and so they had to offer the women more and more to get them to move into this dangerous area so they offered things like well if you move to this town we're gonna give women even married women the right to own their own bakeries and the money that they make with their bakeries will belong to them and not their husbands and so some women said you know that makes it worthwhile to move to a dangerous area and so things like this happened and women gained more and more rights throughout this reconquest of Spain and so they also developed the community property system where as I said anything that is gained during the marriage belongs to the husband and wife equally and the rest of Europe everything belonged to the husband the wife owned nothing she had no legal identity she could not make a contract so she couldn't own a business she couldn't work for anyone because the husband would own her wages even women committing crimes it was the husband who was punished so that was in the rest of Europe but in Spain women had their own rights and responsibilities and again this came to Texas when the Spanish came to Texas and it was such a good system for living on a frontier that the Texas legislature kind of thought you know maybe we like this and so during the Republic even though they said in law that they adopted the English common law people were saying no no the women still have the right to this property and what is really fun for a historian not probably for anybody else but when I was reading the minutes of the Constitutional Convention that would allow Texas to join the United States in 1845 a lot of these delegates were worried about the debts they had left behind in Georgia and Alabama and so forth when they moved to Texas because Texas was a different country so the people they owed money to could not touch them in Texas and so in Texas they had been given all these huge tracts of land and they were you know flourishing and they did not want those people back in Alabama and Georgia to be able to come take their land to pay off their debts so there was a lot of hesitation about joining the United States because of this that they did not want to lose their land but there was a lawyer and he became Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court named Hemphill and he had studied Spanish law and he was at the convention and so he made this speech and he says you know if we adopt community property law like Spain had then they cannot take your land because half of it belongs to your wife and not to you and so this hushed silence sort of fell over this convention of men who were anxious to keep hold of their own property and they said you know that might work and so they adopted the community property system to keep their land from going to their creditors they didn't really care about giving women extra rights or anything because this was the 1840s and they didn't expect women to have any rights but if they adopted this community property system then their creditors could not take their land and so when Texas joined the United States in 1845 it was with community property firmly in place homestead exemption and community property laws vary state to state and the laws originally brought to Texas from the Spanish have been modified in different ways although the male lawmakers at the time were not too concerned about women's rights we can see that these laws in particular greatly impacted women for years to come and for that we can thank the Texans and a special thanks to dr. Jean stunts from West Texas A&M University who gave us the history and the story behind the story of where that law came from great storytelling and by the way all of our stories about history are brought to us by the great folks at Hillsdale College the story of the Texas homestead exemption laws here on our American stories you Geico asks how would you love a chance to save some money on insurance of course you would and when it comes to great rates on insurance Geico can help like with insurance for your car truck motorcycle boat and RV even help with homeowners or renters coverage plus at an easy to use mobile app available 24 hour roadside assistance and more and Geico is an easy choice switch today and see all the ways you could save it's easy simply go to Geico calm or contact your local agent today each year nearly 60,000 women in the u.s. are diagnosed with uterine cancer the most common type of gynecologic cancer talk to a doctor about your risk ask your family about their cancer history and learn about uterine cancer symptoms like any vaginal bleeding that is unusual for you because treatment is most effective with an early diagnosis stay up to date with appointments and talk to your doctor if you have any concerns knowing your body and what's normal is important visit CDC gov and look for the inside knowledge campaign to learn more
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-02-16 04:50:37 / 2023-02-16 05:06:56 / 16

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