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What Marriage Is

According to Law Professor Helen Alvare of George Mason University, marriage is not only considered a “private contract,” but also as a legal recognition or “status.” 

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Marriage Rates

Marriage Rate.jpg
United States Census Bureau

Since 1970 the percentage of the population getting married has steadily declined.

Divorced Rate.jpg
Never Married.jpg
United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau

The percentage of the population not getting married and getting divorced is steadily increasing.

The intention of our website project is to investigate the ways in which marriage has been legally represented for different groups in the U.S. Our research focuses on how the perception of marriage has changed over time, as more people in the U.S. decide to not marry. In addition, as laws toward equality of ethnicities, gender, and sexuality increase, we researched how these laws influence our understanding of interracial and international couples, LGBT+ couples, and cohabiting couples. This is the hypothesis we decided upon to frame our research:

THESIS

As a result of social liberalism in the US in the 20th and 21st centuries, marriage trends and norms have changed with respect to increased rights for racial minorities, women, and the LGBT community, and the growing social acceptance for cohabitation. 

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