Practicing Polygamy in Black America PDF

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PRACTICING POLYGAMY IN BLACK AMERICA History of Polygamous Practices in the U.S.  Beginning in the 1830’s, Latter Day Saints Church leaders secretly practiced what both they and their detractors called “polygamy,” a self-consciously patriarchal marriage system in which men were encouraged to take more than one wife  The assumption was that easy access to sex was at the bottom of all the polygamous unions regardless of their origin. Two examples of the reasons for the polygamy among Native Americans were presented o First, Moore (1991) offers this assessment of polygamy  The pervasive Anglo-American idea (is) that polygyny is sexually motivated on the part of the husband . . . From an American Indian standpoint, the institution of polygyny was seen to benefit both husbands and wives. For men, a larger household meant (an) increase . . . more children (and) . . . wealth. For women, polygyny meant . . . (wholly sharing) a household with sisters . . . help with childcare and other household chores o The second example of polygamy is provided by Gillis (1966) who describes this practice among the Comanche  Gillis states that: “Polygamy had been an economic and social necessity for the Comanches . . . (provided) a husband (to every Comanche female) . . . maintained the birthrate and . . . (provided) many trained hands to keep a Comanche camp functioning properly  Although polygamy, which is one man with several wives, was evident in many of the circumstances as described above, Vazsonyi (1976) presents evidence of one woman with more than one man, a modified version of polyandry o The wife was not seeking an adventure, she wanted protection from the assaults of avid men in the hazardous circumstances of early (Hungarian) immigration . . . Thus, under fortunate – the threesome (husband, wife and star boarder) - . . . could enjoy the sweet, singular happiness of a peaceful boarder home “Polygyny” in the African American Community: Yesterday and Today  Merriam-Webster’s Tenth Edition Collegiate Dictionary defines polygyny as “the state or practice of having more than one wife or mate at one time (1995)  Wallace (1979) reports that, “the slave quarters had its own moral code, accepting premarital intercourse but frowning on promiscuity.” Interestingly, slave owners would occasionally allow to marry and frowned on the idea of one male slaves have sexual relations without slave master approval  One slave could conceivably marry several women without necessarily obtaining a divorce, while being transferred from one plantation to another, producing children at each one

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Other accounts of possible polygyny among Blacks living in the United States prior to the 20th century might be inferred based on the descriptions of family structures of the Maroons. Maroon was the term given

Social Policy and Polygyny in the United States  Abc  Abc  Abc  Abc Social-Cultural Challenges to Polygyny in African American Communities  Abc  Abc  Abc  Abc Is There a Case for Polygyny in African American Communities: Conditions and Implications  Abc  Abc  Abc  Abc What Possible Effects Might Polygyny Have on the African American Community  Abc  Abc  Abc  Abc...