Editing Mormonism and polygamy (section)

==== 1882 Edmunds Act ====
{{Main|Edmunds Act}}
In February 1882, [[George Q. Cannon]], a prominent leader in the church, was denied a non-voting seat in the U.S. House of Representatives due to his polygamous relations. This revived the issue of polygamy in national politics. One month later, the [[Edmunds Act]] was passed by Congress, amending the Morrill Act and made polygamy a felony punishable by a $500 fine and five years in prison. "Unlawful cohabitation", in which the prosecution did not need to prove that a marriage ceremony had taken place (only that a couple had lived together), was a misdemeanor punishable by a $300 fine and six months imprisonment.<ref name="Embry19942" /> It also revoked the right of polygamists to vote or hold office and allowed them to be punished without due process. Even if people did not practice polygamy, they would have their rights revoked if they confessed a belief in it. In August, [[Rudger Clawson]] was imprisoned for continuing to cohabit with wives that he married before the 1862 Morrill Act.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Dickinson|first1=Ellen E. |last2= Spaulding |first2=Solomon |author-link= |date=1885 |title= New Light on Mormonism|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=d7wUAAAAYAAJ |location= [[Harvard University]]|publisher=[[Funk & Wagnalls]] |pages= 182–184|isbn=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hardy |first=B. Carmon |author-link= |date=August 30, 2017 |title= Doing the Works of Abraham: Mormon Polygamy – Its Origin, Practice, and Demise|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TgQxDwAAQBAJ |location= |publisher= [[University of Oklahoma Press]]|page= 291|isbn=9780806159133}}</ref>