The Constitution Violated: An Essay

The Constitution Violated, published in 1871 by Josephine Elizabeth Grey Butler, is a political essay that critiques the British Contagious Diseases Acts as violations of constitutional liberties, particularly those enshrined in the Magna Carta. Butler argues that these laws endanger civil freedoms and disproportionately affect poor women by allowing for coercive medical examinations without due process. The essay serves as a passionate defense of women's rights and highlights the dangers of state regulation of prostitution, making a case for the protection of individual liberties against governmental overreach.