Many, many years ago I began research on Wife Abuse in 19th Century America. My most important early material came from the temperance movement. I am still looking at the relationship between alcohol and abuse, the importance of abused wives in the minds of temperance workers, and examining in general the culturally determined (or influenced) behavior of drinkers, so that some beat their wives and others fall asleep. Etc. **************************************************************** Jerome Nadelhaft Sabbatical address: [log in to unmask] History Department University of Maine ****************************************************************