Mixing: A History of Anti-Miscegenation Laws in the United States

Authors

Nyla Provost, CSUSB

Document Type

Article

Abstract

For over a century, many Americans believed that interracial marriage was unnatural. From the late 1860s through the late 1960s, the American legal system supported the belief that interracial marriages were illegitimate. In this paper, I examine how anti-miscegenation laws promoted and sustained white supremacy, socioeconomic position, and racial caste using antimiscegenation literature, legislation, and court cases. This study is significant because it examines the impact that anti-miscegenation laws had on the United States’ racial caste system and the American justice system.

Recommended Citation

Provost, Nyla (2023) "Mixing: A History of Anti-Miscegenation Laws in the United States," History in the Making: Vol. 16, Article 7.
Available at: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/history-in-the-making/vol16/iss1/7