Reynolds v. United States 1879

• Author: Daniel Brannen, Richard Hanes, Elizabeth Shaw
• Pages: 97-102

Contenidos

• The Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act is passed.
• Congress strengthens anti-bigamy law.
• The Supreme Court destroys the Mormons' hopes.
• Suggestions for further reading.

Page 97

Petitioner: George Reynolds

Respondent: United States

Petitioner's Claim: The Morrill Act, which made practice of polygamy a crime, violated his First Amendment right to freedom of religion.

Chief Lawyers for Petitioner: George W. Biddle and Ben Sheeks

Chief Lawyers for Respondent: Charles Devens, U.S. Attorney General, and Samuel F. Phillips, U.S. Solicitor General

Justices for the Court: Joseph P. Bradley, Nathan Clifford, Stephen Johnson Field, John Marshall Harlan I, Ward Hunt, Samuel Freeman Miller, William Strong, Noah Haynes Swayne, Morrison Remick Waite

Justices Dissenting: None

Date of Decision: May 5, 1879

Decision: Polygamy was not protected by freedom of religion.

Significance: The Mormons, a religious group who settled Utah, permitted its men to practice polygamy. In Reynolds v. U.S., the Supreme Court found that laws banning polygamy were constitutional. They did not violate the Mormons' right to free exercise of their religion. This still remains the most important legal case to address the issue of polygamy.

Page 98

The Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act is passed

In the middle of the nineteenth century, after a long trek westward, the Mormons settled the land that became the state of Utah. The Mormons were followers of a religious prophet named Joseph Smith. Their religion was called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They held a variety of beliefs. The most controversial belief was that a man could have two or more wives, a practice known as polygamy.

Many people in the United States had known about the Mormon practice of polygamy since 1852. Most Americans were traditional Christians who believed in monogamy—having only one spouse. Until the Mormons arrived, however, there were no federal laws against bigamy or polygamy. The government left the Mormons alone for many years, but in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act into law. The Morrill Act outlawed polygamy throughout the United States in general and in Utah in particular. The government did not do much to enforce the law at that time because it was concerned with the Civil War.

Congress strengthens anti-bigamy law

Congress again took up the issue of Mormon polygamy after the Civil War ended. The Morrill Act was strengthened when the Poland Law was

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