WolfishMusings: The law the was received by the United States was the law of the Church of England, which was derived from the Canon Law as it existed at the time it split off (as the Catholics claim, the English officially maintain they are actually good catholics but the pope is a bit confused about his role). Therefore American marriage law is derived from pre-16th century canon law, received via the Anglicans (who made very few changes that affected marriage and divorce – Henry’s infamous divorce was an exception by all standards – America didn’t allow divorce except by act of the legislature until the mid-19th century).
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