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bigamy definition
the condition of having two wives or two husbands at the same time. A marriage in
which one of the parties is already legally married is bigamous, void, and ground
for annulment. The one who knowingly enters into a bigamous marriage is guilty of
the crime of bigamy, but it is seldom prosecuted unless it is part of a fraudulent
scheme to get another's property or some other felony. Occasionally people commit
bigamy accidentally, usually in the belief that a prior marriage had been dissolved.
The most famous case in the United States was that of Andrew Jackson and his wife
Rachel Robards. Ms. Robards' husband had applied for a divorce, but it had not been
granted (it required legislative approval) at the time of her second marriage. She
completed the divorce and then the Jacksons remarried. Jackson was embarrassed for
life over his carelessness (he was a lawyer and a judge), which had hurt his wife's
reputation. Having several wives at the same time is called polygamy and being married
to several husbands is polyandry.
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