Publication Date
Spring 2010
School
College of Arts and Sciences
Major
History
Primary Subject Area
History, United States
Recommended Citation
Marchant, Brandi Hatfield, "Two Becoming One An Examination of Early American Courtship and Marriage Practices" (2010). Senior Honors Theses. 180.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/honors/180
Abstract
One may understand the significance of courtship and marriage practices in seventeenth and eighteenth-century America by examining the religious motivations drawn from Anglican and Puritan spirituality. Firsthand accounts, period literature, and scholarly works on early American culture work together to render images of religious experiences in Virginia and New England. The spiritual and material significance of marriage to an individual, that person’s family, and the community made the attainment of marriage the fulfillment of duty. The need to preserve society, the skills acquired through education, the family context of courtship, and conduct of wedding ceremonies reflected the conviction that entering marriage was an act of Christian service.
