Was it ever illegal for black people to get married in the USA?

Since the United States was formed, was there ever a time when African Americans couldn't marry either each other or white people? I've heard this several times over but can't seem to find any evidence laying around on the internet. Can someone provide both an answer and some links?Was it ever illegal for black people to get married in the USA?
Slaves were not allowed to marry in many states, hence the tradition of jumping the broom. In the states where they were, their vows did not include ';till death do us part.'; They could only vow ';until death or circumstances separate us'; as they could always be sold away from one another.





Interracial marriages were forbidden in many states, until the Supreme Court ruled that those laws were unconstitutional by way of ';Loving vs. Virginia.'; The Lovings were an interracial couple who were jailed for being married. They were released but told they couldn't live in Virginia. They sued and won.Was it ever illegal for black people to get married in the USA?
Absolutely. Initially there was no need to create laws stating that black people couldn't marry each other; the laws establishing black people as chattel (the same as cows or dogs, for example) rendered the issue of marriage moot. Religious ceremonies (either Christian or of the slaves' own design) were routinely ignored, and civil ceremonies were neither conducted nor sanctioned by the existing laws. No court would even consider such a case.





Then, of course, life got complicated as freed black people tried to use the social and civic constructs available to the citizenry. You would have to find evidence of divorces with property distribution and probate of wills due to death of a spouse to find any traces of black marriage. I don't think you'll find much at all before the end of chattel slavery.





After the end of slavery, you will find laws prohibiting marriage between blacks and whites among state laws in at least 2/3 of the states.
Yes, it was not legal to marry a black person up till I think about the 1960's, mid to late.





I don't know if it was always legal for blacks to marry, but maybe when slaves were considered property there might have been laws to prevent marriage between black people.








Anti-miscegenation laws, also known as miscegenation laws, were laws that banned interracial marriage and sometimes interracial sex between whites and members of other races. In the United States, interracial marriage, cohabitation and sex have since 1863 been termed ';miscegenation.'; Contemporary usage of the term ';miscegenation'; is less frequent. In North America, laws against interracial marriage and interracial sex existed and were enforced in the Thirteen Colonies from the late seventeenth century onwards, and subsequently in several US states and US territories until 1967. Similar laws were also enforced in Nazi Germany, from 1935 until 1945, and in South Africa during the Apartheid era, from 1949 until 1985.[1]





Good Luck



On the night of July 13, 1958, Richard and Mildred Loving(how appropriate) were asleep in their home in Central Point, a tiny village in rural Virginia. The Lovings were newlyweds, having been married in Washington, D.C., just five weeks earlier. However, the peace of the country night was broken when Sheriff Garnett Brooks and two deputies arrived at the Loving's home at 2:00 a.m.





The 3 officers of the law threw open the unlocked door, and made their way to Richard and Mildred's bedroom. The noise made by the men and the light from three flashlights woke the Lovings from their sound sleep. Mr. and Mrs. Loving were placed under arrest. Richard Perry Loving and Mildred Jeter Loving were arrested for committing a felony, a serious kind of crime. Husband and wife were brought to the county jail, where they stayed for five days. Richard Loving was a white man his wife-Mildred was part African american and part indian. In 1958 in VA there was a state law that made it a crime for a white person to marry a person of color. Similar laws were in force in fifteen other states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West VA.





Virginia was so serious about enforcing its laws that an interracial couple could be sentenced to one to five years in prison.





hope this helps, the following book was one I picked up for one of my law classes. It is a great book that talks about the Lovings' case in particular but also when the laws against interracial marriages began and much more. it also has pictures of the couple and those who helped fight against such laws.





http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects…
During the slavery era, slaves were allowed to marry with the permission of their masters. However, the marriages were often broken up when someone was sold. There weren't laws preventing marriage since the slave owners encouraged slaves to have children. They wanted more children because the child of a slave woman was a slave.





There were laws that prevented interracial marriage. These laws were made to enforce segregation.





There was a time in colonial days when some whites weren't allowed to marry. Indentured servants (whites from Europe) weren't allowed to marry as long as they were still ';owned';.
It has never been illegal for black people to marry in the US.





During the time that slavery was legal, a slave needed his or her owners permission to marry.





In several US States there were ';miscegenation'; laws that prohibbitted people of different races from intermarrying. There was never a *US* law against it though - only State laws.





Richard
Of course. Slaves couldn't get married of course. During Jim Crow laws, blacks could not marry whites. The last of these laws were struck down in the 1060s, I believe in a Louisiana case. If you were 1/64th black, you were considered black and couldn't marry a white person.
you mean during slavery times when it was illegal for a black slave to marry another black slave without the master's permission? i'll search for links





http://www.houstonculture.org/spanish/sl…
Yes interracial marriage was illegal in some states...





http://www.answers.com/topic/miscegenati…





http://www.cnn.com/US/9903/12/interracia…





http://speakout.com/activism/opinions/32…
I have heard that they weren't allowed to marry white people, this used to be a big sin and people were murdered for it. However, I think that they were always allowed to marry other black people.
In some areas of the U.S. it was restricted before the Civil War. You can't stop a human from loving someone.





I'm married, but I don't need a ';ring'; to validate it.
Inter-racial marriage (or relationships) were illegal - I don't know about African Americans marrying each other, though.
Um no but some states don't allows gays to marry. Idk why,they are people too
Black people could always marry ... other black people.