Title: How marriages have changed: past, present and future
Headings: Changes, including re-definitions, of
marriages since before biblical times

Marriages
Changes, including re-definitions, of
marriages since before biblical times
Overview:
The significance of marriage:
Types of unions:
The origins and types of marriage:
Who could marry? -- from the 19th century until now:
Related essay:
More recent trends in U.S. marriages
References:
Go to the previous page, to the marriage menu, to the same-sex marriage menu, or choose:
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Content: Polygyny still exists in Utah and surrounding states among fundamentalist Mormon denominations where it is not aggressively prosecuted. After the Civil War and over the objections of many conservative folks, African-Americans were permitted to marry. A marriage then became more inclusive: a contract between two consenting adults of the same race and of opposite gender. In 1967, again over the objections of about 70% of the population at the time, mixed-race couples were permitted to marry. The U.S. Supreme Court decided on JUN-12 of that year that all 16 remaining state miscegenation laws which prohibited interracial marriage were unconstitutional. 2 Ironically, the court case was called " Loving v. Virginia. " A marriage then became even more inclusive: a contract between any two consenting adults of opposite gender who had exceeded a lower age limit and were not too closely related. For a few hours in 1996-DEC, in the state of Hawaii -- over the objections of still another generation of Americans -- same-sex couples were theoretically permitted to marry.