WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Washington County, Utah)
EDMUNDS ACT
(aka EDMUNDS ANTI-POLYGAMY ACT OF 1882)
SUMMARY
TBDHISTORY
The Edmunds Act was sponsored by Senator George F. Edmunds of Vermont and signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur on March 23, 1882.It made polygamy a felony. It also made unlawful cohabitation a misdemeanor, thus removing the need to prove actual marriages had occurred. It reinforced the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act of 1862 and prohibited polygamists from voting, serving on juries, or holding political office.
More than 1,300 men were imprisoned under the terms of this measure.