About this book:

"Married by Law: The Legal History of Marriage and Romantic Partnership" traces the evolution of marriage law from ancient covenants to contemporary civil unions, demonstrating how legal frameworks have consistently served as a "public technology" to organize property, labor, lineage, and loyalty. The book highlights the transition of marriage from a religious institution under ecclesiastical authority to a civil contract governed by secular power, emphasizing how law doesn't just reflect social norms but actively shapes them. Key themes include the historical exclusion embedded in marriage laws, such as age-of-consent statutes, bans on interracial marriage, and restrictions based on religious or national boundaries, revealing the state's interest in managing sexuality, citizenship, and social order.

The narrative delves into specific legal doctrines and their profound impacts. Coverture, for instance, is presented as a foundational principle of Anglo-American law that subsumed a wife's legal identity into her husband's, illustrating how power was channeled through the marital bond and how women's economic and legal personhood was severely curtailed for centuries. The book also examines the economic dimensions of marriage through concepts like dowry and dower, showing how these arrangements functioned as enforceable obligations designed to stabilize family units and protect property. Similarly, the evolution of divorce law, from the rigid, fault-based systems controlled by the Church to modern no-fault dissolution, underscores a broader shift towards individual autonomy and secular manageability in intimate relationships.

Later chapters explore the emergence of new forms of partnership and the constitutional battles for recognition. The development of a "zone of privacy" through landmark Supreme Court decisions in cases like *Griswold*, *Eisenstadt*, and *Roe* fundamentally reshaped the relationship between the individual, the couple, and the state regarding contraception and reproductive choice. The struggle for LGBTQ+ rights, culminating in *Obergefell v. Hodges*, is presented as a pivotal fight against criminalization and for equal protection, leading to the invention of civil unions and domestic partnerships as alternatives before achieving full marriage equality. This legal expansion, however, often sparked significant backlash, illustrating the constant political mobilization for and against changes in family law, particularly at the intersection of religious liberty and equal protection.

Finally, the book looks to the future, examining how technology (assisted reproduction, digital romance) and global migration continue to challenge traditional definitions of family and partnership. It discusses the rise of prenuptial agreements as a privatization of marital economics and explores the enduring influence of customary, community, and Indigenous laws in creating plural legal orders. The overall argument posits that marriage law is a dynamic, contested field, continually adapting to social movements, scientific advancements, and evolving notions of love and individual autonomy. The book concludes that while marriage's cultural and emotional significance persists, its legal monopoly over intimate life is eroding, paving the way for a more diverse and pluralistic legal ecosystem of partnerships beyond traditional marriage.

What You'll Find Inside:

• The historical shift from marriage as a religious covenant to a state-regulated civil contract
• How marriage law has enforced gender hierarchies through doctrines like coverture
• The economic foundations of marriage including dowry, dower, and property rights
• The legal struggle for marriage equality and LGBTQ+ rights recognition
• How technology is reshaping modern concepts of family, partnership, and parenthood

Who's It For:

This book is ideal for law students, legal scholars, and historians seeking to understand the evolution of marriage law and its social implications. It will also benefit policymakers, legislators, and advocates working on family law reform who need historical context for contemporary debates. General readers interested in the intersection of law, history, and social change will find this comprehensive survey both informative and accessible.