Page "Rule of thumb" Paragraph 3

Nonetheless, belief in the existence of a " rule of thumb " law to excuse spousal abuse can be traced as far back as 1782, the year that James Gillray published his satirical cartoon Judge Thumb.

The cartoon lambastes Sir Francis Buller, a British judge, for allegedly ruling that a man may legally beat his wife, provided that he used a stick no thicker than his thumb, although it is questionable whether Buller ever made such a pronouncement ( poor record-keeping for trial transcripts in that era makes it difficult to determine whether such a ruling may have existed ).

The Body of Liberties adopted in 1641 by the Massachusetts Bay colonists states, “ Every married woman shall be free from bodily correction or stripes by her husband, unless it be in his own defense from her assault .” In the United States, legal decisions in Mississippi ( 1824 ) and North Carolina ( 1868 and 1874 ) make reference to — and reject — an unnamed " old doctrine " or " ancient law " by which a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no wider than his thumb.