History
Rarely in American history has love been seen as the main reason for getting married. In the early 18th century individuals often said they looked for "candor" in each other, meaning fairness, kindliness, and good temper. "People wanted a spouse who did not pry too deeply. The ideal mate, wrote U.S. President John Adams in his diary, was willing to 'palliate faults and mistakes, to put the best construction upon words and actions, and to forgive injuries.'"
Since the founding of the country, marriage between whites and persons of color were seen as immoral and unnatural. In 1948, the California Supreme Court became the first state high court to declare a ban on interracial marriage unconstitutional. In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down remaining interracial marriage laws nation wide.
In the United States there have been three basic marriage models: The historic Judaic-Christian marriage model, the Romantic marriage model, and the Rationalistic marriage model. The historic Judaic-Christian model has roots deep within Jewish tradition. This model views marriage as a very special gift from God that should be used for man's benefit. By taking care of his spouse and living life the way God intended for man to live, man therefore serves God. According to this model, a man and woman experience a very special bond through marriage. Though not commonly referred to as a sacrament to American Protestants, Roman Catholics commonly refer to marriage as a sacrament. The Judaic-Christian model believes that the institution of marriage is a creation of God and that the couple is joined together by God. The purpose and function of marriage in this model is to have companionship, to love each other, and to help one another with the daily struggles of everyday life. The second purpose is to have children and be an outlet for sexual expression.
The first new marriage models to emerge in the United States was the "romantic". The romantic model copied emerging themes, and had an enormous impact on the United States. Because it was not originally associated with marriage, it was not known when exactly romantic love became a part of a marriage model. Troubadours, poets, and writers of popular love songs magnified its attention. In the romantic model, marriage is optional and may therefore be impermanent. This has had a large impact on the emergence of the newest marriage model, the "rationalistic".
In the romantic marriage model, two individuals find themselves drawn together by love. One problem with the romantic marriage model is the perceived social irresponsibility. Assuring stability in the family has now become a main focus, leading to the rationalistic marriage model. In this model, two people are drawn together by both love and common traits. With this marriage model, mates are carefully chosen based on personal and social traits of the two individuals. Not only is the rationalistic model based on fidelity, but one of the main goals is the pure happiness of the people involved.
In 1940, the University of Pennsylvania conducted a study about premarital sex life. Male students who participated had great difficulty in facing marriage with a girl who had had sexual relations.
Read more about this topic: Marriage In The United States
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