On a local level, it's probably rooted in Christian doctrine. The Puritan variety. Jesus said a man should only have one wife, and like statutes against "sodomy" and the like, they went into law very early on in many areas, especially in areas where Puritans, Anabaptists, or Baptists predominated. As I said, even though that was widespread, it was still on a local level.

Polygamy wasn't federally illegal in the United States until the latter part of the 19th century with the passing of the an act by Congress, called the Anti-Bigamy Act. It was a law designed to discriminate against members of the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints (Mormons), who practiced a form of polygamy they believed was divinely commanded by God, called plural marriage. It was passed by the Republican Party who held control of both the Congress and the Executive branch at the time, who in their own words wanted "to prohibit in the territories those twin relics of barbarism, polygamy and slavery". It was designed primarily to bar Mormons receiving any official incorporated status, and seize their property. It was an extremely widespread practice in Mormonism at the time, but when the LDS Church wanted to finally make Utah a state around the turn of that century, the President of the Church outlawed it, especially after the Federal Government started jailing a majority of church leaders, confiscating church property, and their whole society started crumbling apart as a result.

So, short and sweet... it all comes down to religious sensibilites, and mistaken ideas about "cultural superiority". And although some people claim that it's still illegal today because it exploits women, it need not exploit them at all if the marriages are not arranged and its of their own choosing. For the most part, that's just a fuckin' smoke screen. I find it reprehensible that they used the abolition of slavery in concert with it to drum up political support for the bill. Though I would never practice it myself, I believe any law against it is probably unconsitutional, despite what the Supreme Court ruled 140 years ago. The same goes for same-sex marriage and civil unions.

It all comes down to what the majority still think is "morally and spiritually right", and looking down on people who practice it as "primitives". It's because of ignorance and prejudice, my friend, and mob mentality. Although the context is obviously very different, it is done for the same reasons people look down on you for smoking a little green plant, and the government locks you up for it.

~Ethno

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This user does not in any way advocate the breaking of any law, as these laws are generally in place for a good reason. This user does, however, encourage others to question the conceptual framework of their reality, to search for objective truth, and to fight for freedom, both external and internal. Inherent in the right to life and the pursuit of happiness is the freedom to speak and believe as one pleases, and the freedom to use their minds and bodies as they see fit, free from external control, so long as they cause no harm to anyone else in the process.

"For it is not what goes into your mouth that will defile you; rather, it is what comes out of your mouth that defiles you." - Jesus of Nazareth

"An if it harm none, do what ye will" - Wiccan Rede

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