"The Last Rose of Summer:" A Century of Women's Habeas Petitions & Gendered Violence.

This article examines the extensive use of habeas corpus petitions by women in the American West from 1819 to 1924 to resist gendered violence under legal regimes of slavery, settler colonialism, exclusion, and coverture. Drawing on over twenty petitions from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds—including Black, Indigenous, immigrant, and incarcerated women—it highlights habeas corpus as a critical legal tool for challenging wrongful arrest, enslavement, child custody disputes, deportation, and institutional confinement. Case studies from Missouri, Arizona, Washington, and Nebraska reveal how women creatively mobilized habeas to confront interpersonal and state violence, including domestic abuse, trafficking, and moral policing, despite systemic barriers. The article situates these petitions within broader American legal traditions, emphasizing their significance in understanding women’s persistent legal resistance and the intersections of race, gender, and law in the American West.