The Supreme Court framed monogamy as the racial foundation of democratic society

Evidence

The popular association of Mormonism with Islam validated accusations of imposture, arbitrary power, and infidelity. Congressman Caleb Lyon of New York stated in 1854, “Point me to a nation where polygamy is practiced, and I will point you to heathens and barbarians. It seriously affects the Prosperity of States, it retards civilization, it uproots Christianity.” The US Supreme Court agreed in 1878: “Polygamy has always been odious among the northern and western nations of Europe, and, until the establishment of the Mormon Church, was almost exclusively a feature of the life of Asiatic and of African people.” Although the Mormon Church instructed its followers to abandon polygamy in 1890, Mormons’ racialization as barbarian, savage, and uncivilized persisted until American national identity expanded to be Judeo-Christian in the mid-twentieth century. — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 328 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

The US Supreme Court agreed in 1878: “Polygamy has always been odious among the northern and western nations of Europe, and, until the establishment of the Mormon Church, was almost exclusively a feature of the life of Asiatic and of African people.” Although the Mormon Church instructed its followers to abandon polygamy in 1890, Mormons’ racialization as barbarian, savage, and uncivilized persisted until American national identity expanded to be Judeo-Christian in the mid-twentieth century. — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 328 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Court condemnation of polygamy treated Christianity and whiteness as joint markers of civilization. — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 147; Federal courts treated polygamous family norms as racial threats to democratic society; Supreme Court racialized Mormons by associating polygamy with Asian and African peoples — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes…, 328 (+6 more)

Related

• The US Supreme Court itself declared polygamy ‘Asiatic’ and ‘African’ in origin. (similarity 0.91)
• Federal courts treated polygamous family norms as racial threats to democratic society (similarity 0.90)
• Supreme Court racialized Mormons by associating polygamy with Asian and African peoples (similarity 0.88)
• Legal vilification of polygamy racialized non-monogamous religious groups as foreign barbarians (similarity 0.87)
• Court condemnation of polygamy treated Christianity and whiteness as joint markers of civilization. (similarity 0.86)
• The Supreme Court rejected religious belief as a defense to criminal polygamy (similarity 0.80)
• Polygamy jurisprudence racialized Islam by treating the practice as foreign and treasonable (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Federal courts treated polygamous family norms as racial threats to democratic society #exemplifies (0.95)
• Supreme Court racialized Mormons by associating polygamy with Asian and African peoples #expands (0.95) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 328
• The US Supreme Court itself declared polygamy ‘Asiatic’ and ‘African’ in origin. #corroborates (0.95) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 328
• Legal vilification of polygamy racialized non-monogamous religious groups as foreign barbarians #expands (0.80) — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 147
• Polygamy jurisprudence racialized Islam by treating the practice as foreign and treasonable #expands (0.75)
• The racial state shapes subject formation by defining who can form families and marry #expands (0.72)
• Liberal democracy’s neutral ideals mask racial and gendered domination #expands (0.72) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 406