American Child Bride: A History of Minors and Marriage in the United States

Description

Most in the United States likely associate the concept of the child bride with
the mores and practices of the distant past. But Nicholas L. Syrett challenges
this assumption in his sweeping and sometimes shocking history of youthful
marriage in America. Focusing on young women and girls–the most common
underage spouses–Syrett tracks the marital history of American minors from
the colonial period to the present, chronicling the debates and moral panics
related to these unions. Although the frequency of child marriages has
declined since the early twentieth century, Syrett reveals that the practice
was historically far more widespread in the United States than is commonly
thought. It also continues to this day: current estimates indicate that 9
percent of living American women were married before turning eighteen. By
examining the legal and social forces that have worked to curtail early
marriage in America–including the efforts of women’s rights activists,
advocates for children’s rights, and social workers–Syrett sheds new light on
the American public’s perceptions of young people marrying and the ways that
individuals and communities challenged the complex legalities and cultural
norms brought to the fore when underage citizens, by choice or coercion,
became husband and wife. Read more

Features:

Product Details:

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ The University of North Carolina Press; Reprint edition (October 3, 2016)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1469645556
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 51
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.19 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.12 x 1 x 9.25 inches
• Best Sellers Rank: #481,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #199 in Children's Studies Social Science (Books) #354 in Sociology of Marriage & Family (Books) #2,399 in Marriage
• #199 in Children's Studies Social Science (Books)
• #354 in Sociology of Marriage & Family (Books)