Abstract

A historical socio-legal examination of interracial marriage and the transformation of the institution of marriage in the United States from 1883 to 1967. Focuses on miscegenation legislation, the social and legal reasons behind bans on interracial marriage, and the progressive liberalization of society and concurrent legal changes, which resulted in an overturning of the legal prohibitions on interracial marriage. This thesis presents a close examination of three critical Supreme Court cases in regard to interracial marriage, and the social climate of American race relations at the time of each case. There is also a comparison drawn between the historical debate over the legalization of interracial marriage and the present day debate over the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Advisor

King, Shannon

Second Advisor

Baumgartner, Kabria

Department

History

Disciplines

African American Studies | Social History

Keywords

marriage, interracial, miscegenation, same-sex marriage, supreme court, socio-legal

Publication Date

2013

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis Exemplar

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© Copyright 2013 Kailey J. Schwallie