Property Rites

The Rhinelander Trial, Passing, and the Protection of Whiteness

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Law, Discrimination, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, African-American Studies, History, Americas, United States, 20th Century
Cover of the book Property Rites by Elizabeth M. Smith-Pryor, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Elizabeth M. Smith-Pryor ISBN: 9780807894170
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: April 30, 2009
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Elizabeth M. Smith-Pryor
ISBN: 9780807894170
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: April 30, 2009
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

In 1925 Leonard Rhinelander, the youngest son of a wealthy New York society family, sued to end his marriage to Alice Jones, a former domestic servant and the daughter of a "colored" cabman. After being married only one month, Rhinelander pressed for the dissolution of his marriage on the grounds that his wife had lied to him about her racial background. The subsequent marital annulment trial became a massive public spectacle, not only in New York but across the nation--despite the fact that the state had never outlawed interracial marriage.

Elizabeth Smith-Pryor makes extensive use of trial transcripts, in addition to contemporary newspaper coverage and archival sources, to explore why Leonard Rhinelander was allowed his day in court. She moves fluidly between legal history, a day-by-day narrative of the trial itself, and analyses of the trial's place in the culture of the 1920s North to show how notions of race, property, and the law were--and are--inextricably intertwined.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In 1925 Leonard Rhinelander, the youngest son of a wealthy New York society family, sued to end his marriage to Alice Jones, a former domestic servant and the daughter of a "colored" cabman. After being married only one month, Rhinelander pressed for the dissolution of his marriage on the grounds that his wife had lied to him about her racial background. The subsequent marital annulment trial became a massive public spectacle, not only in New York but across the nation--despite the fact that the state had never outlawed interracial marriage.

Elizabeth Smith-Pryor makes extensive use of trial transcripts, in addition to contemporary newspaper coverage and archival sources, to explore why Leonard Rhinelander was allowed his day in court. She moves fluidly between legal history, a day-by-day narrative of the trial itself, and analyses of the trial's place in the culture of the 1920s North to show how notions of race, property, and the law were--and are--inextricably intertwined.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book Lee's Tar Heels by Elizabeth M. Smith-Pryor
Cover of the book The End of Consensus by Elizabeth M. Smith-Pryor
Cover of the book Time in Ezra Pound's Work by Elizabeth M. Smith-Pryor
Cover of the book Slavery Remembered by Elizabeth M. Smith-Pryor
Cover of the book George Eliot and the Landscape of Time by Elizabeth M. Smith-Pryor
Cover of the book Pressed for All Time by Elizabeth M. Smith-Pryor
Cover of the book Are We Not Foreigners Here? by Elizabeth M. Smith-Pryor
Cover of the book An Unwanted War by Elizabeth M. Smith-Pryor
Cover of the book Community Power Succession by Elizabeth M. Smith-Pryor
Cover of the book Racism in the Nation's Service by Elizabeth M. Smith-Pryor
Cover of the book Black Soldiers in Blue by Elizabeth M. Smith-Pryor
Cover of the book Gathering to Save a Nation by Elizabeth M. Smith-Pryor
Cover of the book Gertrude Weil by Elizabeth M. Smith-Pryor
Cover of the book Citizen, Mother, Worker by Elizabeth M. Smith-Pryor
Cover of the book At the Precipice by Elizabeth M. Smith-Pryor
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy