Polygamy.
It's a word that invoked a constitutional battle throughout the 19th century and became a 10-year research project for Law School Associate Dean Sarah Barringer Gordon.
After a decade of research, Gordon shared with the Penn community the fruits of her labor -- her first book, The Mormon Question: Polygamy and Constitutional Conflict in Nineteenth-Century America.
Gordon stood in front of an interested audience of community members and discussed the topic of her new book -- the constitutional legality of the Mormons practicing polygamy during the 19th century.
After earning a law degree at Yale University and a Ph.D. in history from Princeton University, Gordon came to Penn to teach. She has been working on her research since she completed her dissertation.
"Tackling one of the great dramas in our country was more time and labor than anything I've ever done," Gordon said.
But Gordon never planned on spending 10 years researching Mormons and polygamy.
"No one plans to grow up and become a legal historian," she said, adding that her inspiration to become a professor came from "a series of very committed teachers."
Gordon's goal while writing her book was "to express that [the constitutional legality of polygamy] was a true, two-sided conflict." Always cautious in her research and writing, she noted that we "have no idea how deeply invested people were in their history -- it's important to treat it with respect."
A diverse audience turned out to hear about a topic that previously, according to Gordon, had "no forgone conclusion."
Sean Hawkins, a first-year law student from Brigham Young University and a Mormon himself, said of Gordon's presentation that he appreciated the respectable manner in which Gordon handled the issue and called the book-signing a "great" success.
Many people had questions for the author, and Gordon took the time to answer each one directly.
When asked if there was a possibility of polygamy being legalized, Gordon commented that "predicting the future isn't what historians do best."
Penn Bookstore Marketing Director Christine Hibbard said that Gordon's talk was "very interesting" and filled with "great questions from the audience."
