Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882 Law and Legal Definition
Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882 is a United States federal statute, declaring polygamy a felony. The Act was signed into law on March 23, 1882. The Act is named for U.S. Senator George F. Edmunds of Vermont. The Edmunds Act also prohibited bigamous or unlawful cohabitation thus removing the need to prove that actual marriages had occurred. The Edmunds Act restrictions were enforced regardless of whether an individual was actually practicing polygamy, or merely stated a belief in the Mormon doctrine of plural marriage without actually participating in it.
