Andrea Jones

British Literature 3A

Mrs.Kenly

15 April 2019

What are the negative effects polygamy has to offer in the United States and in other

countries?

The world is shaped by hundreds of cultures that has evolved over the course of time. When

it comes to a culture tradition plays an important role to understand the origin of it came about.

I’ve noticed that many societies that marriage is something that is common when learning about

them. The antiquity of polygamy dates back to the Ancient Greece time and even all over the

world. The Hebrew, Chinese, Native Americans, in the West African continent, Polynesia and

India have all accepted polygamy for many of years. But things changed after the Roman Empire

and Catholic Church imposed on having one wife. But in the bible the only way to have a more

than one spouse was if both parties had the same amount. In 1899 the Latter-Day Saints made it

illegal to practice polygamy in the United States. Numerous authors have composed books from

their individual life to see how polygamy not only influenced societies but families and people’s

attitude. When introduced to the sacred books, the bible in particular, one of the 10 commandments

states commit adultery but there seems to be a conflict of interest. When talking about the United

States the first amendment states freedom of religion but polygamy is illegal in the United States.

While in the bible polygamy is practiced, there is one person for each individual because

monogamy in widely used around the world since its legal.

 According to Elissa Wall a victim of being a child bride was in an abusive relationship

(15).Statistics have shown that there is a high rate of women being abused in polygamous

marriages. In the article Kaczor says “A wealth of sociological information points to the fact that

single men commit the vast majority of violent crimes. Women and married men seldom murder,

rob, rape, and assault in comparison to single men. So, since there are many more single men in

polygamous societies, polygamous societies have higher rates of violent crime”. (Kaczor).In a study

the greater the age differences the more likely for the husband will kill their wives. Amid these

relational unions man may got to drive themselves onto the ladies. Meaning driving themselves

sexually onto youthful ladies who aren’t rationally prepared nor candidly to “give it up” to their

spouse. To their husband. Elissa Wall is a writer who participated in writing the book “Stolen

Innocence” who was physically mentally and emotionally abused by her husband (27). Her father

had two wives was an abusive husband to both of his wives. The author of The Perils of Polygamy

said “Being mentally abused in a polygamous marriages can be very distraught to others. When in

a polygamous marriage most of the time the one of the many wives may feel neglected because

there husband isn’t home or is not bonding with them. Their children may also feel like they aren’t

bonding with their father because they aren’t home. This may cause depression because of the

feeling of being lonely. Much empirical work in monogamous societies denotes that higher degrees

of relatedness among household members are associated with lower rates of abuse, neglect and

homicide. (Kaczor).

There are many economic problems we face with government and polygamy is one of those

things that suffers. Polygamy puts more burdens on government for money to pay for insurance

plans. There are usually insurance plans made for couples married one that pertain two people

only. If a man and his wives get into an accident then does the government pa for one wife or both
because there are usually joint plans and family plans for those who get into accidents. During

these polygamous usually the man is a provider. If a man owns a business and dies and most likely

the business will towards the wife but if he has multiple wives then which one does it go to? That

one burden on the government that you have you decide on which wife to give it to. Many couples

go through divorces and the court necessarily doesn’t have to split the money but most likely the

wife or ex-wife gets the money the house and the children. But how the govern or the martial court

spilt the children if there are multiple wives in the situation. When a child is raised in a polygamous

marriage they are taught the ropes and only exposed to polygamous practices. When a polygamous

family there is most likely as the father/husband has multiple children so the court doesn’t know

which child to give it to. And if the one of the wives have a chance to get the business which one

do you give it to because the court can’t be biased. If the father dies then and has in debt or has

bankruptcy the children/wives has to pay it off. When splitting property or a house usually one or

the other gets to keep the house. A final harm brought on by polygamy is how it may affect the

economy. Henrich’s study notes says: When males cannot invest in obtaining more wives (because

of imposed monogamy) they invest and save in ways that generate both reduced population growth

and more rapid economic expansion (increasing GDP per capita). Thus … the nearly threefold

increase in GDP per capita between Comparable Monogamous Countries and Highly Polygynous

Countries is partially caused by legally imposed monogamy. Economic well-being contributes in

turn to the stability of families which is a benefit to men, women, and children alike.

(Kaczor)(par.18). The quality of living is higher these days along with the basic wants of life like

education, health insurance, housing, and clothes. This negative impact is a result from the

economic stress, because the wives aren't taken care of, the kids aren't given sensible education.

As a result, the burden is invariably reassigned to the other family members like aunts, uncles, in-
laws and other alternative relatives. These relatives may be unfit to support financially because of

their own economic issues. To such a degree, marrying one person doesn’t necessarily cause

economic calamity to the person. South African gender professional, Nomboniso Gasa, states: “It

is that the height of untrustworthiness for men whose positions don't enable them to confirm that

everyone wives and youngsters are treated equitably and adequately supported, to enter into

polygamous unions.” She records that the truth is that almost all South African men cannot afford

to possess multiple partners. Men in such relationships are probably to possess lower education

levels rather than those who are in a monogamous relationships (Kaczor). In Africa, polygamy

remains widely used for the men with many wives particularly those in Muslim countries. B with

the continent's economy in a downswing, even many middle-class men can't support several wives

and large families. In Canada a case was filled banning polygamy because it was stated that women

are worse off in polygamous marriages based off supply and demand (Spectator). Shoshana

Grossbard, an expert in the economics of marriage from San Diego State University, said allowing

men to have multiple wives inevitably leads to a reduced supply of women, increasing demand

(Spectator). But rather than making women more valuable in such communities, she said that

scarcity encourages men in polygamous societies to exert control over them to ensure they have

access to the limited supply (Spectator).

Many authors, mostly females have wrote books about females who have been forced to

marry at a young marriage because they are a part of a polygamous family. In the book “The Secret

Story of Polygamy” Kathleen Tracy talked about a girl by the name of Mary Ann who married

young. (1). Also in the book “The Secret Story of Polygamy” Kathleen Tracy also mentioned a

girl 16 years old who was forced to get married and she was beaten by her husband (17). There are

many stories about young girls being forced to get married at young ages as soon as purity hits. As
one of the victims of a polygamous marriage Andrea Johnson was a 16 years wife to her teenage

half-brother (Tracy, 5). Many polygamous marriages have uneducated and unmarried young girls

who live before adulthood. Marriages for young females sixteen and older were not uncommon in

the mid-nineteenth century. Matrimonies for females who were fourteen years old were not

common in the 1840s. Mary Ann who was married young had 3 children by the time she was 16.

Girls as young as 12 or 13 are often married off to priesthood leaders. The most persuasive and

dominant of these priesthood holders have first pick of the girls. Parents of the young girls submit

their daughters willingly into these unions with the hope of being blessed by God in their afterlife.

Connecting to the play Romeo and Juliet most girls were married off young and had children by

the time they fully reached adulthood. In the book “Stolen Innocence” Elissa Wall was forced to

get married at 14 years old. (11). In her community there was no dating and the head of the church

she attended determines who all she marries and when. (11). At the age of 14 she was commanded

to marry young man she knew nothing about who was 5 years older than her and her cousin.(12).

Unfortunately, young girls at that age or at any age are not told anything about these boys (15).

Statics have shown a high rate in polygamous marriages that by the time young girls are at sixteen

years they will most likely have their second to third child. Since these rates are high by the time

they hit their twenties they would have already had their fifth child. (Lankford, 20). o that end,

Grossbard said, polygamy is associated with teenage brides, arranged and forced marriages,

payments to brides’ fathers, little emphasis on “romantic” love and poor access to education or the

workforce — all designed to restrict women’s ability to choose their own husband (Spectator).

Joseph Smith was sealed to ten women under that age of twenty. Four were nineteen, three were

seventeen, one was sixteen, and two were fourteen. Marriages for young women sixteen and older

were not uncommon in the mid-nineteenth century, but younger marriages were less common.
Sexual relations are documented in several of the plural marriages between Joseph and the older

seven plural wives, but there is no documentation supporting that the plural sealing’s to the two

fourteen-year-old wives were consummated (Harris Hales, and Harris Hales). In the mid-

nineteenth century the age fourteen wasn’t unusual it was actually allowed in the United States

with the approval of their parents in the twenty-first century, which both had. In the article the

author said “In the United States during the nineteenth century, the average female age for first

marriages was around twenty” (Harris Hales, and Harris Hales). Polygamy researcher Kimball

Young wrote: “By present standards [1954] a bride of 17 or 18 years is considered rather unusual

but under pioneer conditions there was nothing atypical about this.” LDS scholar Gregory L. Smith

explained: It is significant that none of Joseph’s contemporaries complained about the age

differences between polygamous or monogamous marriage partners. This was simply part of their

environment and culture; it is unfair to judge nineteenth century members by twenty-first century

social standards. … Joseph Smith’s polygamous marriages to young women may seem difficult to

understand or explain today, but in his own time such age differences were not typically an obstacle

to marriage. The plural marriages were unusual, to say the least; the younger ages of the brides

were much less so. Critics do not provide this perspective because they wish to shock the audience

and have them Judge Joseph by the standards of the modern era, rather than his own time.

Polygamous marriage which is accepted in some countries could be showed as one

of the most common problem of Sexually Transmitted Infections. Polygynous and polyandrous

mating systems are particular examples, where one sex tends to have a much higher variance in

partner acquisition rate compared with the other sex Men and women in polygamous marriages

are more susceptible or most likely to contracting Sexually Transmitted Infections. Having

multiple sexual partners raises the risk of getting infected HIV and other Sexually Transmitted
Diseases. The higher the rate of partner change, the greater the likelihood that the virus will pass

from infected to uninfected persons. A disadvantage of polygamy occurs when one person thinks

they have control or own another. When this occurs, the wife may feel helpless. Women in

polygamous relationships sometimes worry about being replaced by a younger woman who have

healthier and slimmer bodies. Sometimes a wife may feel neglected because her husband has so

many roles to fulfill to more than one wife. She may also fell that she doesn’t have her husband’s

undivided attention. Women in western society have become less dependent and do not need men

to take care of them. . Children growing up in these types of polygamous families are shown with

mixed signals and emotions about the roles of the adults and the roles of families. Marriage is

about love and dedication to one other. It can be said that the reason for this is because women are

seen as objects and men are seen as more important, significant individuals. Legalizing polygamy

would encourage the idea that women are to be treated as objects or non-human beings who thinks

that their husbands own them. Polygamy raises the practice of forced marriages. Sometimes the

wives are below the legal age limit when they enter into polygamous relationships. To provide for

more than one spouse requires greater resources. The Centers for Disease Control identify

chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, and syphilis as among the most common STIs in the United States. Simple

numerics mean that having multiple partners increases the risk of encountering STIs, and exposure

of one partner can mean exposure of others down the line (Sheff). In the article the author said

“Polygamists say that a woman who last month gave emotional testimony to lawmakers about

being sex-trafficked through several sects was never involved in polygamy….I was abused within

several polygamist groups within the Salt Lake County area here," Neilson told members of the

House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 1, after raising her right hand and swearing to tell the truth. "I

was trafficked from one group to the other for money." (Carlisle). One of the women in the case
that testified said "There is child trafficking going on. I was trafficked from one group to the other

for money," Neilson told the committee. “I also was shown that I would be murdered and killed

by their blood atonement if I did not accept their doctrine," she added. She said one of her abusers

was Rulon Jeffs — president of the FLDS before his death in 2002. He was replaced by his son

Warren Jeffs, who is serving a sentence of up to life in a Texas prison for crimes associated with

sexually abusing underage girls he married. (Carlisle).

In polygamous marriages the man may feel he has all the power in the relationship. The

men is usually the provider in the marriage and is the dominant factor. In any household, the man

is always the head of the family. He has the power to make the necessary decisions in the

household. This can be a cause for abuse of power or abusive relationships. The man might think

that he can be unfair to his wives just because they don’t have too much a say so in the relationship.

Women may feel powerless in this type of union or marriage, while men act like they are in control

of everything and is the leader or owner of their wives. This leads the wives to becoming more

submissive to their husband fearing that they might be replaced with a new wife. . One of the wives

could the get hurt, especially when the man in the house brings in a new wife. Kids may find it

difficult to grasp why their family is different from other families. Other children might tease them

for having more than one mother in their house. In the article Hamzah says “A large-scale study

currently underway across Malaysia uncovers proof that polygamy harms everyone involved: from

emotionally scarred children, to wives who think they’d be better off as single-parent households,

and even husbands who admit “I wouldn’t recommend it for my son; it’s quite stressful.” (Hamzah)

“Polygamy also negatively affects the relationship between children and their mothers, with the

former resenting the mother for being unable to make sure the father does not neglect them or for

becoming depressed and also neglecting their emotional needs.” (Hamzah). Regardless of the sex,
children usually with a lack of confidence have trouble creating a stable relationships because they

only have experienced a family life filled with traumatic run-in and bitterness. The children of

second wives usually cope better because they know their father has another family. But the

children from the first family can see the comparison: the lack of time spent, lack of resources,

their father’s absence when they needed him. Some of the children insisted Sister in Islam help

them set up a group to help them cope with feelings of isolation; at school they cannot relate their

sorrows to anyone because they may feel embarrassed about the situation. “Serious cases range

from depression, angry tantrums or even illnesses,” she said. “It depends on the tolerance and

patience of the wife. The environment that the woman grows up in affects her ability to accept

being part of a polygamous marriage. “She said men had to take these feelings into account when

choosing to remarry, and should explain why they wanted a new relationship. In some cases, she

said, the first wife had been unable to conceive a child, which could cause issues for a married

couple. “This issue could be resolved by finding another wife who is compatible to the husband

and is willing and able to be in such a relationship,” Dr.Sharkas said (Raddawi).

Next, monogamy is the most well-known taught type taught relationship. If you are aware

of the bible it is quite complex book to read , understand and interpret correctly. During Gods

creation it was one man to one women such as Adam and Eve not Adam , Eve , Mary and Shelly.

Cosner said in her article that “So the marriage which serves as the prototype for God’s sketch of

human relationships is one man and one woman, for life. Jesus reaffirmed this principle when he

said, “In the commencing he created them male and female”. But weren’t godly men like Abraham,

Jacob, and David polygamous? Know a days the Bible and other holy books teaches us that

monogamy is the acceptable marriage. In the Bible, the Ten Commandments number seven says

“Thou shalt not commit adultery”. But if polygamy is having multiples spouses then isn’t that
committing adultery depending on if you’re following the rules set along with type of practice.

Because in God’s will he says “for every man there is one women” not multiple women. In the

book of Qur’an its says ““Those who commit unlawful sexual intercourse of your women – bring

against them four [witnesses] from among you. And if they testify, confine the guilty women to

houses until death takes them or Allah ordains for them [another] way”. Quran 4:15. The social

control of polygamy would sabotage our commitment to human dignity. Who want to preserve our

moral inheritance of traditional marriage of one man to one women? We may begin with the simple

observation that, historically, polygamous societies have not been noted for their respect for human

dignity. Of course, correlation does not prove causation, and such societies’ lack of sensitivity to

human dignity, as it is understood in the modern West, may have other causes. Most obviously,

polygamous societies have tended to be pre-modern societies, and even monogamous pre-modern

societies fell short of the respect for human dignity that we expect today. We are therefore led to

wonder whether there is some debates showing that polygamy is certainly in traction with human

dignity, so that if polygamy were to become most common, society could reasonably expect it to

crumble our commitment to human dignity. The author Raddawi stated “In Islam, a man is allowed

to marry up to four women. The Quran states there are conditions that must be met, including

treating each wife with justice, fairness and equality .However, the Quran also states that even if a

man tries to be just, he cannot .“It says ‘You shall not be fair even if you have a desire to be fair’,

which means it is so difficult to be fair,” (Raddawi). Polygamy would be one way to tolerantly

give for the ‘inordinately ’ women. It’s not nonpareil , it’s not a consideration of Heavenly nature

’s unique figure , and Christians are called to supply for widows in a way that would make

polygamy unnecessary. But that’s how we can say that polygamy is wrong—in the sentience that
it falls brief circuit of Divinity ’s made reason for human wedlock —without a content in Sacred

writing that says polygamy is continuously wrong and sinful.

Finally , Polygamy in America is considered illegal but the First Amendment states

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free

exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people

peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. In the passage

the author states “A confluence of legal and cultural trends – including such disparate influences

as the HBO series “Big Love,” the Internet, the Supreme Court’s 2003 decision in Lawrence v.

Texas, and Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign – are bringing polygamy out of the closet.”

(Stevens). The state of Utah charges the leader of a polygamist sect with accessory to

rape. Children of polygamist unions stage a public demonstration to show they are just like other

kids. The New York Times reports that a woman and nine children killed in a Bronx house fire

were members of a polygamist community whose cultural roots were in West Africa. (Stevens).

Specialists appraise that in spite of the fact that state statutes (and, in Utah, the state structure)

make polygamy unlawful in each U.S. locale, 30,000 to 50,000 individuals practice polygamy in

this nation, in spite of the fact that the precise number justifiably is tricky. In North Carolina, as

in numerous states, the criminal code does not particularly reference polygamy; or maybe,

the denial is fulfilled by a boycott on “bigamy.” See G.S. §14-183, which makes it

a Lesson I crime for a hitched individual to wed a moment individual. (Stevens). In the Supreme

Court case Lawerence v. Texas of 2003 gives bolster for their dispute that sexual and

living courses of action among and between consenting grown-ups are among the

basic freedoms ensured by the due prepare clause of the Fourteenth Revision. They point out that

society as of now endures or condones a wide cluster of family courses of action and ways of life,
counting open cohabitation by single people and “serial polygamy” encouraged by generous

separate laws. The author stated “George Reynolds, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter-day Saints, was charged with bigamy under the federal Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act after

marrying a woman while still married to his previous wife. Reynolds argued that the law was

unconstitutional. He reasoned that his religion required him to marry multiple women and the law

therefore violated his First Amendment right to free exercise of religion.” ("{{Meta.Pagetitle}}").

In par.27 the authors “In spite of the fact that Reynolds putatively settled the address whether

polygamy was ensured by the Primary Alteration, and Utah was conceded to statehood in 1896 on

the condition that polygamy was “forever prohibited,” law authorization and the courts have

proceeded to wrestle with polygamy issues down to the display day. In numerous occasions these

issues have emerged out of “indirect” indictments in which authorities have shunned utilize of

anti-bigamy or anti-polygamy statutes in favor of criminal statutes of common application, such

as statutes commanding child bolster and laws disallowing child manhandle, sexual misuse of

minors, and assault.”

In conclusion the world is formed by hundreds of societies that has advanced over the

course of time. When it comes to a culture convention plays an critical part to get it the root of it

came almost. I’ve taken note that numerous social orders that marriage is something that's common

when learning almost them. The relic of polygamy dates back to the Old Greece time and indeed

all over the world. The Hebrew, Chinese, Native Americans, within the West African landmass,

Polynesia and India have all acknowledged polygamy for numerous of a long time. But things

changed after the Roman Domain and Catholic Church imposed on having one spouse. But within

the book of scriptures the as it were way to have a more than one life partner was in case both

parties had the same sum. In 1899 the Latter-Day Saints people made it illicit to hone polygamy
within the United States of America. Various creators have composed books from their person

life to see how polygamy not as it were affected social orders but families and people’s demeanor.

When presented to the sacrosanct books, the book of scriptures in specific, one of the 10

commandments states commit infidelity but there appears to be a struggle of intrigued. When

talking approximately the Joined together States the primary alteration states flexibility of religion

but polygamy is illicit within the Joined together States. While within the book of scriptures

polygamy is practiced, there's one individual for each person since monogamy in broadly utilized

around the world since its legitimate.

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Washington Post. Web. 29 January 2016.

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Lankford, Ronnie. Polygamy. Farmington Hills: Nasso Christine, 2008. Print.

Lisa, Pulitzer. Stolen Innocence. New York : Morrow William, 2008. Print.

Barash, David P. Out of Eden: The Surprising Consequences of Polygamy . New York:

University of Oxford , 2016. Print. 07 May 2018.

Gutman, Herbert G. The Black Family in Slavery & Freedom 1750-1925. New York:

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2017. Web. 8 May 2018.

Nelson, Steven. 'Sister Wives' Defeat Polygamy Law in Federal Court. 16 December 2013.

Website. 8 May 2018.

Spectator, Hamilton. "Polygamy Creates Arranged Marriages, Teen Brides, Forced

Isolation". Thespec.Com, 2019

Harris Hales, Brian, and Laura Harris Hales. "Sealings To Young Brides - Joseph Smith's

Polygamy". Joseph Smith's Polygamy, 2019.

Gregory L. Smith [uncredited], “Joseph Smith’s marriages to young women,” Foundation

for Apologetic Information & Research (FAIR), accessed April 23, 2019,

Sheff, Elisabeth. "Sexually Transmitted Infections In Polyamorous Relationships".

Psychology Today, 2019,.