Until the mid-19th century, women were considered possessions of their husbands and had no control over their money or property. Thanks to the women's rights movement, everything has changed and things work a little differently now. Spouses are now equal before the law and property is shared between them. In common law, all women's property, except land and improvements, went to the husband and came under his control. “She” basically had no say in what happened to any of his stuff. Women were slowly losing all their rights. If the husband had written in his will that everything was his and that nothing would be given to his wife, then the wife would have practically no property if the husband died before her. If they had a child when they were married and he died, what happened to the child would be under his will. The wife had no say in what guardians could be appointed for the child. Therefore, if her husband had not wanted to include her in his will, upon his death she would no longer have had guardianship of her children. During the nineteenth century, states began to enact laws that ameliorated married women's disabilities. These laws were supposed to make the married woman equal to her spouse. For example, they would be equal with respect to contracts, earnings, ownership of property, and the right to sue or be sued. “These acts abolished the doctrine of marital unity, which is a common law doctrine that the husband had all rights to possession.” All acts varied in length when they were passed. Most states passed similar acts in 1850. The first was passed by Connecticut in 1809 allowing women to write wills. Its impact on multiple property ownership was very low if it was not considered the first act passed. Beginning of Mississippi... middle of document... lives as miserable as they were before these laws were passed. A lot has changed since they were approved. The world is a different place where women can own and do the things they want to do. Without women the world would be a bad place today. No one would succeed. Believe it or not, women have had a huge impact on the world today. Many of the things in the world have been accomplished by women. Women have made the world a better place than it was many years ago. The Married Women Act took many several years to actually pass. But when it was finally passed, women had better opportunities in their lives. The years varied as different acts were passed. But all in all the act was finally approved all together. It varied from year to year, in different months and in different places. But when it was finally passed, women finally had it all.