Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882
E666888
The Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882 was a U.S. federal law that strengthened the criminalization of polygamy, particularly targeting members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by imposing harsher penalties and restricting the civil rights of offenders.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882 canonical | 1 |
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States federal law
ⓘ
anti-polygamy law ⓘ |
| affectedInstitution | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| aimedTo |
reduce political power of polygamists in Utah Territory
ⓘ
strengthen enforcement of existing anti-polygamy laws ⓘ |
| appliedTo |
men practicing polygamy
ⓘ
women practicing polygamy ⓘ |
| appliesTo |
Utah Territory
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
other U.S. territories ⓘ |
| branchOfGovernment | legislative branch of the United States ⓘ |
| constitutionalBasisClaimed | federal power over territories ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| createdBody | Utah Commission NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| criminalized |
polygamy as a felony
ⓘ
unlawful cohabitation as a misdemeanor ⓘ |
| dateEnacted | 1882-03-22 ⓘ |
| effect |
disenfranchised many Latter-day Saint men and women practicing or suspected of polygamy
ⓘ
increased prosecutions of polygamists in Utah Territory ⓘ |
| enforcementMechanism | federal prosecution in territorial courts ⓘ |
| followedBy | Edmunds–Tucker Act of 1887 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| historicalContext | part of the federal campaign against Mormon polygamy in the late 19th century ⓘ |
| jurisdiction |
United States government
ⓘ
surface form:
United States federal government
|
| legalArea |
civil rights restrictions
ⓘ
criminal law ⓘ marriage law ⓘ |
| legalStandard | allowed conviction for unlawful cohabitation without proving multiple marriages ⓘ |
| legislativeBody | United States Congress ⓘ |
| longTermImpact | contributed to LDS Church’s eventual official abandonment of plural marriage in 1890 ⓘ |
| motivatedBy | widespread national opposition to Mormon polygamy ⓘ |
| namedAfter | George F. Edmunds NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| penaltyIncludes |
fines
ⓘ
imprisonment ⓘ |
| precededBy | Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act of 1862 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| primarilyAffectedGroup | members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ⓘ |
| primaryTarget |
polygamy
ⓘ
unlawful cohabitation ⓘ |
| relatedTo | Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act of 1862 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| restrictedRight |
right to hold public office for polygamists
ⓘ
right to serve on juries for polygamists ⓘ right to vote for polygamists ⓘ |
| signedBy | Chester A. Arthur NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| sponsor | George F. Edmunds NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| status | superseded in part by later legislation ⓘ |
| timePeriod | Gilded Age NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| UtahCommissionRole | oversight of elections in Utah Territory ⓘ |
| yearEnacted | 1882 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.