Abstract
Marriage has existed in some form or function in all known societies and cultures. Although it is almost certain that every one of us has had some sort of experience with marriage in some way, sometimes it can be more difficult than expected to actually describe what marriage truly is. According to Waite (2006), marriage is a legal contract between two individuals to form a sexual, productive, and reproductive union. Other definitions include and specify the sex of the partners involved, how many partners can be married at once, and dictate the age requirements of the partners. At one time, it was illegal for persons of different races to marry one another. In some countries in the world, marriage among different social classes is prohibited; in others, marriages are arranged between individuals who have never met before and are operated and conducted as though they were a purely business transaction. The focus of this chapter is the history of marriage practices in North America, specifically the United States. We seek to outline and expand upon information regarding marriage in the United States, using a longitudinal description to understand changes over time.
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Wright, B., Farris, D.N. (2020). Marriage Practices of North America. In: Farris, D.N., Bourque, A.J.J. (eds) International Handbook on the Demography of Marriage and the Family. International Handbooks of Population, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35079-6_4
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