Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the history of inter-racial marriages from the first recorded inter-racial marriage in what was to become the United States of Captain John Smith of Jamestown, Virginia to the Indian princess Pocahontas in 1607, to its almost acceptance today. It examines how inter-marrying began as marrying out of the religion to eventually marriage within different ethnic minorities. It evaluates the different laws over time regarding inter-racial marriages such as a 1922 anti-miscegenation law stated that, if blacks and whites intermarried, punishment was one to five years in prison. Although a raceless society is probably fairly distant, America has been trending towards greater racial integration since the end of the Second World War. 100 years ago, German and Irish immigrants were considered a separate people by people born in America. Whereas people express preferences in appearance in a mate, perhaps a society with fuzzy racial barriers isn't very far away.

From the Paper:

"From the 60's until today, inter-racial marriage has gained wider and wider acceptance. According to the US Census Bureau, in 2000 over 1,461,000 people were married to someone not of their own race, and 6.8 million people claimed to be multi-racial. In 1960, only 149 thousand people claim to be married to someone of a different race, and by 1970, 310 thousand such people lived in the United States. Statistically, whites find it easier to marry Asians than blacks. This is probably because Asians share many of the same demographic characteristics with white people. Similarly, Hispanics and blacks find it easier to marry."

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