The Morrill Act of 1862: America's First Federal Law Against Polygamy
Signed during the Civil War, the Morrill Act targeted polygamy and church property in U.S. territories, setting a precedent for federal intervention.
- The Morrill Act of 1862 was the first federal law to outlaw polygamy in U.S. territories.
- It also limited the amount of property religious organizations could hold in territories to $50,000.
- Passed during the Civil War, it established a legal framework for federal authority over territorial practices.
- While difficult to enforce initially, it laid the groundwork for future anti-polygamy legislation.
The Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act of 1862 was a United States federal law that outlawed polygamy in all U.S. territories and limited the amount of real estate any religious corporation or organization could hold in those territories to $50,000. Signed by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, it specifically targeted the practice of plural marriage by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in the Utah Territory.
Outlawing Plural Marriage
The primary aim of the Morrill Act was to make polygamy a federal crime in the territories. It stated that any person having a husband or wife and then marrying another person in a U.S. territory would be subject to a fine of up to $500 and imprisonment for up to five years. This provision directly challenged the practice of plural marriage, which was a deeply held religious doctrine and social custom among many Latter-day Saints at the time. However, enforcing this part of the law proved difficult due to local resistance in Utah and the federal government's preoccupation with the Civil War.
Limiting Church Property Holdings
Beyond polygamy, the Morrill Act also sought to curb the economic power of the LDS Church by limiting the value of real estate any religious organization could own in a territory to $50,000. Any property acquired by such organizations beyond this limit was subject to forfeiture to the United States government. This provision was intended to weaken the church's institutional influence and control over vast tracts of land and resources in Utah and other territories where it held significant sway.
A Statement of Federal Authority
While often overshadowed by the Civil War, the Morrill Act represented a significant assertion of federal authority over moral and social practices within U.S. territories. Congress viewed territories as direct wards of the federal government, giving it the power to legislate on matters of public order and morality. The act effectively declared that the federal government would not tolerate practices it deemed contrary to national values, even if those practices were rooted in religious belief within a territory.
The Morrill Act of 1862 matters because it established the legal precedent for federal intervention against polygamy, laying the groundwork for more aggressive and enforceable legislation in the decades that followed, such as the Edmunds Act of 1882 and the Edmunds-Tucker Act of 1887. Although it was largely unenforced in its initial years, its existence signaled the federal government's long-term commitment to ending plural marriage, which eventually became a key condition for Utah's statehood. It highlighted the tension between religious freedom, federal power, and evolving societal norms in 19th-century America.
Sources
- Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act of 1862 (12 Stat. 501)
- The Library of Congress: Primary Documents in American History - The Morrill Act of 1862
- Roberts, B. H. A Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Vol. 5, 1930.
