Abstract (300 words maximum)
Historians have long debated over what collective reasons influenced the selection of marriage in the long 18th century. The reasons that motivated individuals consist of affective, economic, political, cultural, and social motivation which varied in specification amongst the elite to middle class. The stumbling block that many historians face is if these reasons remained stagnant in continuity over developed over the duration of the 18th century. Finding legible and credible primary and secondary sources that accurately depict the construct of marriage from multiple angles has been a challenge for historians. In this paper, it will use comparative analysis to assess the continuities and changes of historians and personal accounts of individuals who lived in the 18th century. This paper’s use of comparative analysis will include qualitative and quantitative evidence that is found in newspapers and government articles. The quantitative evidence that is gathered consists of 18th century advertisements that market domestic items such as lamp shades to newly married couples seeking to buy homes. Companies aimed to generate wealth by using the construct of marriage as a vehicle to advance their own agendas. This evidence will and to the credibility of the project’s thesis pertaining to marriage choice being a primary socioeconomic decision. The cultural and social historical aspects of this paper will be found in diaries and other personal accounts to provide the affective point of view in the selection of marriage. The sources that have been used for this project have been gathered from the Gale database and the JSTOR database. This research project meets the definitive requirements of research by examining primary sources from the 18th century consisting of letters, diaries, and news articles as well as reviewing historiographical scholarly journal articles written about the 18th century.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
RCHSS - History & Philosophy
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Amy Dunagin
Marriage Selection in the 18th Century
Historians have long debated over what collective reasons influenced the selection of marriage in the long 18th century. The reasons that motivated individuals consist of affective, economic, political, cultural, and social motivation which varied in specification amongst the elite to middle class. The stumbling block that many historians face is if these reasons remained stagnant in continuity over developed over the duration of the 18th century. Finding legible and credible primary and secondary sources that accurately depict the construct of marriage from multiple angles has been a challenge for historians. In this paper, it will use comparative analysis to assess the continuities and changes of historians and personal accounts of individuals who lived in the 18th century. This paper’s use of comparative analysis will include qualitative and quantitative evidence that is found in newspapers and government articles. The quantitative evidence that is gathered consists of 18th century advertisements that market domestic items such as lamp shades to newly married couples seeking to buy homes. Companies aimed to generate wealth by using the construct of marriage as a vehicle to advance their own agendas. This evidence will and to the credibility of the project’s thesis pertaining to marriage choice being a primary socioeconomic decision. The cultural and social historical aspects of this paper will be found in diaries and other personal accounts to provide the affective point of view in the selection of marriage. The sources that have been used for this project have been gathered from the Gale database and the JSTOR database. This research project meets the definitive requirements of research by examining primary sources from the 18th century consisting of letters, diaries, and news articles as well as reviewing historiographical scholarly journal articles written about the 18th century.