Читать книгу Race Distinctions in American Law - Gilbert Thomas Stephenson - Страница 28

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One of the perplexing problems that arose out of Emancipation was the fixing of the marital relations among Negroes. It is generally known that the marriage ties between slaves were loose and their domestic relations irregular. In some instances, slave marriages were solemnized according to legal requirements, by either a white clergyman or other proper officer of the law; in others, there was the common law marriage—that is, the parties lived together as husband and wife under a simple, unrecorded agreement between themselves; in still other instances, there was deplorable promiscuity.

When the Negro was made a citizen, it became necessary at once to settle his marital relations. If the usual slave marriages were not recognized as legal, then the offspring of such unions were bastards with the usual disqualifications of that class, among which is their partial incapacity to inherit property. In order to secure to Negroes the rights of heirs, it was necessary to legalize slave marriages, at least to the extent of giving to the children of such marriages the right of inheritance. This was accomplished in one of three ways. Some States required the emancipated slaves to be remarried in order to legitimate their offspring; others required them to appear before an officer, declare their desire to continue to live together, and get a certificate; others still, and these were in the majority, passed statutes legalizing all slave marriages. A few States did not adopt any one of these three methods but left it to the courts to recognize the legality of such marriages as cases arose.