Polygamy
Book description
A groundbreaking examination of polygamy showing that monogamy was not the only form marriage took in early America
"A richly sourced, elegantly written, and strikingly original interdisciplinary study of the diverse practices of polygamy in American from ca.1500 to 1900."-John Witte Jr., Journal of Law and Religion
Today we tend…
Why read it?
1 author picked Polygamy as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Pearsall’s book is the sort that leaves a reader entertained, deeply informed, and unable to see the past the same way again. Polygamy, she shows, was at the center of the social and political systems of many Indigenous nations. As European soldiers and settlers attempted to trade with—or dominate—the people of these nations, they provoked violent reprisals. Opposition to monogamy drove Indigenous resistance movements. Europeans increasingly argued that their monogamous practices made them racially and religiously superior to the people they subordinated. The centrality of metaphors about monogamy and polygamy to American revolutionary political ideas is one of the book’s…
From Rebecca's list on why sex matters to US history.
Want books like Polygamy?
Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Polygamy.
5 book lists we think you will like!
Interested in Colonial America, polygamy, and Christianity?
11,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about Colonial America, polygamy, and Christianity.