1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:04,920 Speaker 1: Okay, I get it. You're opinionated, sometimes disagreeable, emotional, or 2 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:08,520 Speaker 1: maybe you have intellectual interests you'll like to read, you 3 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:12,480 Speaker 1: have interesting but kind of sketchy friends, they're artistic, or 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,440 Speaker 1: you're a little overly sexual, all reasons given for getting 5 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:20,000 Speaker 1: folks committed to what they call lunatic asylums back in 6 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:23,639 Speaker 1: the eighteen and early nineteen hundreds. Inside they could be 7 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:28,160 Speaker 1: restrained and even tortured. I'm Patty Steele, one woman's story 8 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:32,160 Speaker 1: about the insanity of getting perfectly sane people locked up. 9 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:39,920 Speaker 1: That's next on the backstory. The backstory is back. We 10 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: know how mental illness impacts our society, people we know 11 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:46,880 Speaker 1: and work with, our families, even ourselves. But there was 12 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: a time when you could be wrongly accused of being insane, 13 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:55,280 Speaker 1: thrown into an asylum and maybe never get out. Inside 14 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 1: you might be chained to a wall or tied up, 15 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:02,920 Speaker 1: forced into freezing baths, fed bug infested food, and even beaten, 16 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:06,120 Speaker 1: and most of the time you had no recourse. Nobody 17 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: was going to listen to you because you were air 18 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:14,679 Speaker 1: quotes insane. It's eighteen sixty Elizabeth Parsons where Packard born 19 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:19,319 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixteen, is living in Kankakee, Illinois, with her husband, 20 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:25,119 Speaker 1: Theophilus Packard, a conservative Calvinist minister. When she was a teenager, 21 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:28,240 Speaker 1: her parents felt she had what was called brain fever 22 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:31,640 Speaker 1: and had her committed for six weeks of treatment. She's 23 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 1: probably just a typical difficult teenager. That's when they decided 24 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 1: she needed to marry a much older and very demanding 25 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:43,520 Speaker 1: husband who could control her, and they chose Theophilus. Now, 26 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: the problem is, Elizabeth is brilliant, independent, and strong willed 27 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 1: qualities her husband doesn't really appreciate. She's well educated, which 28 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 1: fuels her passion for learning and debate, and that really 29 00:01:57,360 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 1: pisses off her husband, who doesn't like to be dis 30 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: agreed with and has zero interest in engaging in debates 31 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: with her. The Aphulis was all about fire and brimstone 32 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:11,520 Speaker 1: as well as absolute obedience, and he certainly was not 33 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:15,239 Speaker 1: okay with having a wife that questioned anything he believed 34 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: or demanded of her. The couple had six children, but 35 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 1: as time went by, Elizabeth started to voice her own 36 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:27,799 Speaker 1: more liberal ideas about religion, politics, women's rights, as well 37 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:30,880 Speaker 1: as her views on their financial decisions and raising their children. 38 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: And that's where the trouble started. The Aphulis saw her 39 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,120 Speaker 1: as a threat to his authority and probably his ego. 40 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:42,400 Speaker 1: He decided she was slightly insane due to what he 41 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:46,000 Speaker 1: called the excessive application of body and mind, whatever the 42 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:50,120 Speaker 1: heck that meant. So what to do with this difficult chick. Well, 43 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:52,920 Speaker 1: in a move that wasn't actually all that unusual in 44 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 1: those days, he had Elizabeth declared insane. I mean it 45 00:02:56,760 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 1: was really crazy. He had a doctor pretend to be 46 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:03,799 Speaker 1: a sewing machine salesman and then get into a conversation 47 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,600 Speaker 1: with her so he could evaluate her. During the chat, 48 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:11,960 Speaker 1: Elizabeth talked about how domineering her husband was, and even 49 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 1: told him that he was accusing her of insanity. How 50 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:17,880 Speaker 1: you get into a discussion like that with a sewing 51 00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:21,200 Speaker 1: machine guy, I don't know. Anyway, of course, the doctor 52 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:24,320 Speaker 1: went straight to her husband and told him everything. The 53 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:27,959 Speaker 1: next day she was off to the Jacksonville Insane Asylum 54 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 1: in Illinois, where she spent the next three years. It 55 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 1: was a nightmare. Literally, patients were kept in cramped quarters, 56 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:40,320 Speaker 1: fed putrid food, plunged into ice baths to cool them off, 57 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: and there was a total lack of basic hygiene. Frequently 58 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 1: they were tied up or even chained to walls. If 59 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 1: they protested loudly enough, they might be beaten and put 60 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: into total isolation. In some places, the public could actually 61 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: take tours of the asylum for entertainment, staring at the inmates. 62 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:04,280 Speaker 1: But Elizabeth was tough, and she began to meticulously document 63 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 1: everything that happened to her, as well as the abuses 64 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:10,360 Speaker 1: she witnessed. She wrote everything down, and it was a 65 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:14,720 Speaker 1: window into a really dark past. She described how patients 66 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:18,599 Speaker 1: were physically restrained and treated more like prisoners than patients. 67 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: But Elizabeth wasn't just writing for herself. She was building 68 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:27,120 Speaker 1: a case, one journal entry at a time. Her strength, 69 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 1: as well as the support of her children, finally paid off, 70 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:34,920 Speaker 1: and she was ultimately released in eighteen sixty three after 71 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:40,599 Speaker 1: three grueling years. But her husband still wanted control, so 72 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 1: when she arrived home, he kept her locked up in 73 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:48,360 Speaker 1: the nursery with the windows nailed shut. Eventually, she managed 74 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 1: to smuggle out a letter to a close friend, who 75 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 1: took it to a judge. The judge sent the case 76 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:59,480 Speaker 1: to trial. Packard versus Packard only lasted five days in court. 77 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 1: Theophilis's lawyers tried to prove Elizabeth was insane because she 78 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 1: had argued with her husband and tried to withdraw from 79 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 1: his congregation at church. Her defense attorneys called witnesses from 80 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 1: the neighborhood who testified they never saw any signs that 81 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:18,760 Speaker 1: she was insane, and a local doctor who had interviewed 82 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:21,200 Speaker 1: her said that while he didn't always agree with her 83 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:25,040 Speaker 1: religious beliefs, he felt she was totally sane. He said, 84 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:28,320 Speaker 1: I do not call people insane because they differ with me. 85 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:31,919 Speaker 1: I pronounce her a sane woman, and actually wish we 86 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 1: had a nation of such women. The jury deliberated for 87 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 1: only seven minutes before she was legally declared sane. But 88 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:44,440 Speaker 1: it didn't end there. When Elizabeth went home, she found 89 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:47,480 Speaker 1: that her husband had rented their house to another family, 90 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,720 Speaker 1: sold her furniture, taken her money, all of her writings, 91 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:55,479 Speaker 1: her clothing, and even taken her children and left the state. 92 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:59,360 Speaker 1: But she had no legal recourse because in those days, 93 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:03,160 Speaker 1: married women had no legal rights to their property or 94 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:06,799 Speaker 1: to their children. She didn't take all this without a fight, 95 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 1: and Elizabeth Packard went on to found the Anti Insane 96 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:15,760 Speaker 1: Asylum Society. She fought for compassionate care and against laws 97 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:18,919 Speaker 1: that allowed people to so easily be committed by just 98 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:23,479 Speaker 1: one other person. Her books like Modern Persecution or Insane 99 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:28,839 Speaker 1: Asylums Unveiled exposed the horrific conditions in most asylums, and 100 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:32,640 Speaker 1: the public was outraged. That's a good thing. She also 101 00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 1: wrote books about and advocated for women's rights and freedom 102 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:41,640 Speaker 1: of speech and all this made her a national celebrity. Ironically, 103 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 1: her celebrity status earned her so much money she was 104 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:48,200 Speaker 1: able to not only take care of her children financially 105 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:51,359 Speaker 1: once she got them back, but also took care of 106 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:55,719 Speaker 1: her estranged husband, whom she never divorced. And that is 107 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:59,599 Speaker 1: a kindness born of absolute strength, and her strength and 108 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:03,919 Speaker 1: courage which change the way we view and treat mental illness. 109 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 1: I'd like to thank Danny Lawrence Cohen for suggesting this 110 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:16,160 Speaker 1: really fascinating story. I hope you're enjoying The Backstory with 111 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:20,040 Speaker 1: Patty Steele. Follow or subscribe for free to get new 112 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:23,520 Speaker 1: episodes delivered automatically, and feel free to dm me if 113 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 1: you have a story you'd like me to cover. On Facebook, 114 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:31,960 Speaker 1: It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm 115 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:36,560 Speaker 1: Patty Steele. The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia Premiere Networks, 116 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:40,640 Speaker 1: the Elvis Duran Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer 117 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:43,960 Speaker 1: is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new 118 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:47,520 Speaker 1: episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to reach out 119 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:51,000 Speaker 1: to me with comments and even story suggestions on Instagram 120 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:54,240 Speaker 1: at Real Patty Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. 121 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:57,600 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to the backstory with Patty Steele, the 122 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:00,640 Speaker 1: pieces of history you didn't know needed to know.