Courtship In The 1800s

Caitlin Estep Rough Draft

11/7/14

Mrs. Heitz

3rd/Lit

The Love Journey

Did you know that as of the year 2011 only 63.1% of men and 60.7% of women classified their marriage as happy? (For Your Marriage) People of all ages strive for love and acceptance. From the colonial 1800s to the twenty -first century, the journey to love has altered significantly. Love was not even a contender in a relationship in the 1800s. The purpose of marriage was solely to enhance chances of survival. (Gardner) That was considered courtship, but even the values of courtship have changed, and the culture has transformed from courtship to dating. There were

People who choose to date do not typically go into the relationship with the intent of marrying. “Courtship is only undertaken when both parties are prepared to make a commitment to marriage.” (Institute in Basic Life Principles) There is never any “one on one” contact; these relationships contain many boundaries and sufficient morals. “In a courtship, commitment precedes intimacy,” (Institute in Basic Life Principles) and there are certain values to focus on. The couple practices fidelity and purity. They spend time determining if they desire to be life partners to one another. They practice the skills of willpower, sensitivity, and intelligence. (The Value of Courtship) They skills encourage good character, and when practiced in a courtship, it influences powerful growth. There are very few instances of courtship being practiced in America today. It is not as prominent as it once was, and that is because courtship gradually changed throughout

It began with strictly dating websites, then in 2002 Myspace was created. This was the spark of social media, and the first way to find potential mates online without going to a website that is specifically made for dating. As time has passed the online dating world has flourished. “There are sites for virtually every city, every sexual orientation, every desired relationship, every religion, every race and almost every hobby.” It is said that “nearly 20 million people visit at least one online dating site every month and 120,000 marriages every year take place, at least in part, due to online dating.” (Brainz) Internet relationships are typically used to identify one self. An individual will tend to find self worth in internet relationships, because someone is interested in them without seeing them face to face. Bonds are formed through commonality, emotions, and common worldview. While all of these are great things, the number one reason for internet dating is for sexual gratification. (Brainz) There are now even television shows that encourage that idea of online