Anti-Miscegenation Laws: Historical Injustices And Their Impact

Anti-miscegenation laws, which prohibited interracial marriage and, in some states, interracial sexual relations, were first introduced in the United States by several of the Thirteen Colonies in the late 17th century. The term miscegenation was coined in 1863 during the American Civil War. These laws remained in force in many US states until 1967, when the US Supreme Court ruled in Loving v. Virginia that they were unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment. Prior to this ruling, 16 states, all in the South, had laws banning mixed-race marriages, and nine states never enacted anti-miscegenation laws. While anti-miscegenation laws are often associated with the South, most states in the Western US and the Great Plains also enacted them. The first anti-miscegenation law was passed by the Maryland General Assembly in 1691, criminalizing interracial marriage.

Anti-miscegenation laws in Nazi Germany

The Nuremberg Laws were made up of three parts: the Citizenship Law, the Blood Law, and the Flag Law. The Citizenship Law reduced Jews to second-class citizenship status in Germany, while the Blood Law banned and criminalised interracial marriage and sex. The Flag Law installed the swastika as the exclusive flag of Germany.

The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour, enacted on 15 September 1935, forbade sexual relations and marriages between Germans classified as 'Aryans' and Germans classified as Jews. This law was later extended to include "Gypsies, Negroes or their bastard offspring". Extramarital intercourse between these groups was marked as "Rassenschande" ("race defilement") and could result in imprisonment, followed by deportation to a concentration camp.

The Nazis considered Jews to be a race bound by close genetic ties that formed a unit one could neither join nor leave. To be spared persecution, one had to prove Aryan descent by obtaining an Aryan certificate. However, race was determined not by physiognomy or genes but by the religions followed by an individual's ancestors. If at least three of an individual's four grandparents had been enrolled in a Jewish congregation, they were considered non-Aryan, regardless of their own or their parents' religious beliefs.

The anti-miscegenation laws in Nazi Germany were part of the Nazis' broader programme of persecution directed against German Jews. They aimed to prevent "race defilement" and maintain the "purity" of the Aryan race. These laws had a devastating impact on Jewish Germans and Gentile Germans of Jewish descent, leading to deportations, imprisonment, and even death.

Anti-miscegenation laws in South Africa

South Africa's Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, passed in 1949 under apartheid, forbade marriages between whites and anyone deemed to be non-white. The Population Registration Act (No. 30) of 1950 provided the basis for separating the population of South Africa into different races. Under the terms of this act, all residents of South Africa were to be classified as white, coloured, or native (later called Bantu) people. Indians were included under the category "Asian" in 1959.

Also in 1950, the Immorality Act was passed, which criminalized all sexual relations between whites and non-whites. The Immorality Act of 1950 extended an earlier ban on sexual relations between whites and blacks (the Immorality Act [No. 5] of 1927) to a ban on sexual relations between whites and any non-whites. Both Acts were repealed in 1985 as part of the reforms carried out during the tenure of P. W. Botha.

The history of miscegenation in South Africa is as old as the first permanent Dutch settlement at the Cape in 1652. In the first few decades, some instances of marriage between Dutchmen and Christianized Hottentot women took place, as well as extensive non-marital relations between masters and female slaves. In the 1670s, an estimated 3/4 of all children of female slaves had white fathers. With the rise of colour prejudice in the latter decades of the 17th century, an exceptionally virulent brand of racism developed in South Africa, accompanied by an increasingly morbid fear of miscegenation. As a consequence of this miscegenophobia, South Africa went further than any other country in prohibiting, by law, all sexual relations, whether marital or non-marital, between whites and non-whites.

The Loving v. Virginia case

In 1963, Mildred Loving contacted the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) via Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and with their help, appealed to the Supreme Court. The case was heard in April 1967, and on June 12, 1967, the Supreme Court ruled that Virginia's anti-miscegenation law violated the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote in the court's opinion that "the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual, and cannot be infringed by the state."

The Loving v. Virginia decision not only overturned the Lovings' criminal conviction but also struck down existing laws against interracial marriage in 16 states, including Virginia. The ruling is considered a watershed moment in the dismantling of "Jim Crow" race laws and is often cited in subsequent court cases concerning marriage and civil rights.

Interracial marriage in the US

Interracial marriage has been legal in the United States since 1967, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Loving v. Virginia that anti-miscegenation laws were unconstitutional. This landmark civil rights victory struck down the remaining anti-miscegenation laws in sixteen states, which criminalized interracial marriage and, in some states, interracial sexual relations.

History of Anti-Miscegenation Laws in the U.S.

The first anti-miscegenation law was passed by the Maryland General Assembly in 1691, criminalizing interracial marriage. By the late 1800s, 38 U.S. states had enacted such laws, and by 1924, 29 states still banned interracial marriage. These laws were frequently based on religious principles, particularly among Southern evangelical Christians, who viewed racial segregation as divinely instituted. However, Roman Catholic theology opposed state-sanctioned segregation, arguing that it violated human dignity.

Public Opinion on Interracial Marriage

Public approval of interracial marriage has increased significantly over time. In the 1950s, only 5% of Americans approved, while in 2021, approval had risen to 94%. Despite this overall increase, there are still variations in approval rates depending on demographic factors such as race, gender, age, and geographic location. For example, a 2018 YouGov/Economist poll found that 17% of Americans still opposed interracial marriage, with higher opposition among "other" ethnic groups (19%), blacks (18%), whites (17%), and Hispanics (15%).

Trends in Interracial Marriage

Since the decriminalization of interracial marriage, the share of interracial and interethnic marriages in America has increased significantly. From 3% of all weddings in 1967, it rose to 17% in 2015. In 2017, 17% of marriages were interracial or interethnic. The most common type of intermarriage is between a white partner and a Hispanic partner of any race, accounting for 38% of all intermarriages in 2010. White-Asian couples made up 14%, and white-black couples accounted for 8%.

Factors Affecting Interracial Marriage

Several factors influence the occurrence of interracial and interethnic marriages. Attitudes, including plain racism, play a significant role. Migration patterns, availability of partners, and education also contribute to the likelihood of interracial marriages. For example, higher black unemployment rates and the systematic incarceration of young black men impact the marriage rates of black women, making them less likely to marry than women of any other race or ethnicity in the U.S. Additionally, individuals with higher educational attainment are more likely to intermarry, and interracial couples are more prevalent in areas with higher educational levels.

Anti-miscegenation laws in Arkansas

Anti-miscegenation laws were edicts that prohibited interracial marriage and criminalised sex between members of different races. In the United States, these laws were first introduced in the late 17th century by several of the Thirteen Colonies and subsequently by many US states and territories.

In Arkansas, anti-miscegenation laws were in place from 1837 until 1968. However, there were periods when these laws were not enforced or were overturned.

Early Anti-Miscegenation Laws in Arkansas

The first anti-miscegenation law in Arkansas was enacted in October 1837. The statute declared all marriages between "white people and Negroes or mulattos" to be "illegal and void". This law was relatively mild compared to those in other Southern states, as it had no punishment provision and did not specifically define "Negro or mulatto". The law was also laxly enforced due to the small number of free African Americans in the state at the time.

Anti-Miscegenation Laws During Reconstruction

During the Reconstruction period, Arkansas' anti-miscegenation law was overturned, and many interracial couples married during this time.

Re-Enactment of Anti-Miscegenation Laws

When the "redeemer" Democrats took power, they renewed the anti-miscegenation law, and with the emergence of the Populist Party in the 1890s, enforcement became stricter. In 1894, a couple's 20-year marriage was ruled invalid.

Post-World War II Era

In the post-World War II era, Arkansas worked to reinforce its commitment to maintaining Jim Crow laws, which were designed to subjugate African Americans. In 1947, concerned about the growing militancy of African Americans and their demands for civil equality, state legislators enacted several provisions that further segregated black and white people. This included a revised anti-miscegenation law that prescribed specific penalties for people convicted of having interracial relationships. The penalty for a first conviction was a fine of $20 to $100, while second convictions resulted in a $100 fine and up to a year in prison. Third and subsequent convictions led to one to three years in prison.

Overturning of Anti-Miscegenation Laws

In 1967, the US Supreme Court rejected the rights of states to ban interracial marriage in the landmark case of Loving v. Virginia, ruling that such laws were unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment. Following this decision, Arkansas quickly complied and brought its laws into alignment with the Supreme Court's ruling.

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