Primary Source Analysis: Reynolds V. United States
Michael Doody
Period: C/ December 19
Primary Source Analysis
Reynolds v. United States Reynolds v. United States, a landmark court case in 1878, upheld anti-polygamy laws previously established. The issue was whether or not the federal anti-bigamy statute violated the First Amendment 's free exercise clause because plural marriage was part of religious practice? Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite stated that the law can penalize criminal activity without regard to religious belief. The First Amendment defended religious belief; however it did not protect religious practices that could be seen as an unlawful offense such as bigamy. Waite went further to state that “those who practiced polygamy could be no more exempt from the law than those
who may wish to practice human sacrifice as part of their religious belief.” The court’s ruling proved to be very controversial with prominent members of the Latter-Day Saints church. Mormons saw that the court’s decision was based off of the definition of religion provided in the United States Constitution. There was no, and is no explicit definition of polygamy in the Constitution; therefore many Mormons believed the court’s ruling was invalid due to the fact that there was little precedent set beforehand.
In addition to upholding the law, the ruling also created precedent for future Supreme Court cases. The purpose of the case was to test whether or not God 's direct mandate would supersede federal law in U.S. courts. Angered by reasoning behind Reynolds v. United States, the Latter-Day Saints church appealed several other polygamy test cases to the Supreme Court, where they too, would be upheld by the previously established precedent.
The case also proved to be an eminent blow to proponents of plural marriage in the Latter-Day Saints church as they knew this case was only the beginning to further prosecution by the U.S. government. The Reynolds v. United States court case can be used in the History Day project as evidence of how anti-polygamy laws were upheld in the late nineteenth century.
Bibliography
Reynolds v. United States 98 U.S. 145. Supreme Court of the United States. 1978. Gale Global Issues in Context. Web. 19 Dec. 2013
This is a primary source. It provides the ruling given by the Supreme Court in upholding the anti-polygamy law.
Period: C/ December 19
Primary Source Analysis
Reynolds v. United States Reynolds v. United States, a landmark court case in 1878, upheld anti-polygamy laws previously established. The issue was whether or not the federal anti-bigamy statute violated the First Amendment 's free exercise clause because plural marriage was part of religious practice? Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite stated that the law can penalize criminal activity without regard to religious belief. The First Amendment defended religious belief; however it did not protect religious practices that could be seen as an unlawful offense such as bigamy. Waite went further to state that “those who practiced polygamy could be no more exempt from the law than those
who may wish to practice human sacrifice as part of their religious belief.” The court’s ruling proved to be very controversial with prominent members of the Latter-Day Saints church. Mormons saw that the court’s decision was based off of the definition of religion provided in the United States Constitution. There was no, and is no explicit definition of polygamy in the Constitution; therefore many Mormons believed the court’s ruling was invalid due to the fact that there was little precedent set beforehand.
In addition to upholding the law, the ruling also created precedent for future Supreme Court cases. The purpose of the case was to test whether or not God 's direct mandate would supersede federal law in U.S. courts. Angered by reasoning behind Reynolds v. United States, the Latter-Day Saints church appealed several other polygamy test cases to the Supreme Court, where they too, would be upheld by the previously established precedent.
The case also proved to be an eminent blow to proponents of plural marriage in the Latter-Day Saints church as they knew this case was only the beginning to further prosecution by the U.S. government. The Reynolds v. United States court case can be used in the History Day project as evidence of how anti-polygamy laws were upheld in the late nineteenth century.
Bibliography
Reynolds v. United States 98 U.S. 145. Supreme Court of the United States. 1978. Gale Global Issues in Context. Web. 19 Dec. 2013
This is a primary source. It provides the ruling given by the Supreme Court in upholding the anti-polygamy law.