Prof. Emeritus Jerome Nadelhaft publishes book
Professor Emeritus Jerome Nadelhaft, history, has recently self-published a book entitled “O Lord, how long?” This is part of his series, Wife Torture in American History.
Nadelhaft says in his preface, “Most men were incapable of committing the barbarities they read about in their daily newspapers, but they were content to allow others to punch, to kick and in other ways assault their wives–and by their inaction and often their hostility to reform, they signified their approval. Because of their complacency, a large number of married women lived much of their lives in fear, anticipating their husbands’ beatings as the almost inevitable consequence of sharing a home.”
He also adds that doing this historical research was challenging because for so long, domestic abuse either was not talked about, was seen as acceptable, or it was viewed as a “woman’s topic” and therefore left out of the larger conversation.
Nadelhaft has been conducting research in this topic since the 1980’s and his breadth of knowledge in the field is certainly worth learning from. ‘O Lord, how long?’ is available in paperback and in e-book format from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.