Polygyny in American Politics

Abstract

Biographical data were collected on members of the U.S. executive, legislative, and judicial branches, in George Washington's first through Ronald Reagan's last administration, fromWho Was Who in America,theBiographical Dictionary of the United States Congress, Vice Presidents and Cabinet Members,andBurke's Presidential Families of the United States of America.They suggest that serial polygyny in this sample has declined over the last two hundred years. Census data on average American men suggest that the number of wives per man has stayed the same or increased at the same time. These trends imply that mating equality may have increased over the last two centuries of American history. What sketchy evidence exists on extramarital opportunities tentatively suggests a similar trend.