Title: Age of Marriage in the U.S. in the 1800s | The Classroom
Headings: Age of Marriage in the U.S. in the 1800s
Age of Marriage in the U.S. in the 1800s
Marriage in the Colonies
The Civil War
After the War
Age of Consent

Content: The first, and perhaps most important, was simply that they could. Many took the advice of the Bible -- to leave home and create your own family -- to heart, and they had the resources to do it. Land was inexpensive, and there was plenty of it to choose from -- it was simple to set up shop. According to a 2010 article in the "Journal of Southern History" titled "The Effect of the Civil War on Southern Marriage Patterns," early colonists married at an average age of around 20 if they were women, and around 26 if they were men. The Civil War
With the end of the Civil War in 1865 came a "marriage squeeze" for women, especially in the South. About 620,000 men died in the war, which meant that pickings were slim. Many women married older widowers, or married someone not entirely appropriate -- perhaps above or below their socioeconomic status. This pattern did not last very long, however -- about 10 years -- and it did not significantly affect their average age of marriage, which hovered right around 21. For men, it did not significantly change either as many young men rushed to marriage at the start of the war. After the War
A second rush to marry occurred after the war, but again, the women marrying for the first time were young -- around 21 years of age -- and the men remained right around the age of 26.