Author

Publication

2000 - Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass, Massachusetts

Language

English

Word Count

74,250 words, Guess

Page Count

297 pages

Identifiers

  • Open LibraryOL23242220M
  • ISBN-139780674003200
  • ISBN-100674003209
  • OCLC Control Number43977748
  • Library of Congress Control Number00031898
and 2 more
  • LibraryThing384154
  • Goodreads6079088

Classifications

  • LCCHQ536 .C757 2000

Description

"We commonly think of marriage as a private matter between two people, a personal expression of love and commitment. In this history, Nancy F. Cott demonstrates that marriage is and always has been a public institution. From the founding of the United States to the present day, imperatives about the necessity of marriage and its proper form have been deeply embedded in national policy, law, and political rhetoric. Legislators and judges have envisioned and enforced their preferred model of consensual, lifelong monogamy - a model derived from Christian tenets and the English common law, which posits the husband as provider and the wife as dependent."--BOOK JACKET.

First Sentence

In the beginning of the United States, the founders had a political theory of marriage.

Excerpt

In the beginning of the United States, the founders had a political theory of marriage.

Subjects

Other Editions

  • Public vowsHarvard University Press2000

Similar Books

Reader Reviews

No reviews yet for this book.

Be the first to share your thoughts!