Víc než polygamie: Životní zkušenosti žen Svatých posledních dnů v Americe 19. století

Strkulová, Ester

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been part of American history for over 200 years, and it has always influenced it. In the 19th century, when the Church emerged, the American government tried to repress it, because it represented a complete turn from American traditions. This happened because of the introduction of polygamy. At the same time, while the question of women and their rights was one of the main critiques of the federal government, Mormon women became one of the first in the country to gain the right to vote. This thesis investigates a paradox of how the Church with a patriarchal system and plural marriage was able to also foster a separate identity for women in Utah, which completely turned from the image of womanhood at that time, and what role polygamy played. Through analyzing secondary literature from scholars who have looked at this topic and primary literature, which is mostly focused on writings of the most prominent Mormon women, this thesis explores how the women influenced their situation for their benefit. It concludes that women used the means which were given to them, such as suffrage, to defend their religious practices, and for later federal intervention, surprising the rest of the country, as everyone believed that they would use it to abandon polygamy.

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