American Child Bride

Most in the United States likely associate the concept of the child bridewith the mores and practices of the distant past. But Nicholas L. Syrett challengesthis assumption in his sweeping and sometimes shocking history ofyouthful marriage in America. Focusing on young women and girls—themost common underage spouses—Syrett tracks the marital history ofAmerican minors from the colonial period to the present, chronicling thedebates and moral panics related to these unions.

Although the frequency of child marriages has declined since the earlytwentieth century, Syrett reveals that the practice was historically far morewidespread in the United States than is commonly thought. It also continuesto this day: current estimates indicate that 9 percent of living Americanwomen were married before turning eighteen. By examining the legal andsocial forces that have worked to curtail early marriage in America—includingthe efforts of women’s rights activists, advocates for children’s rights, andsocial workers—Syrett sheds new light on the American public’s perceptionsof young people marrying and the ways that individuals and communitieschallenged the complex legalities and cultural norms brought to the forewhen underage citizens, by choice or coercion, became husband and wife.