Reply to Probably stupid question: Did unmarried couples used to not be able to live together?

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[quote=Anonymous]The rise of premarital cohabitation
In the 19th and early 20th century, the majority of U.S. states recognized common law marriages; romantic relationships conforming to a pattern of marital behavior, including living together, but never solemnized through a legal ceremony (Bowman, 1996; Dubler, 1998). The acceptance of common law marriages was widely debated in the U. S. court system throughout the 19th century, and between 1875 and 1917 began to lose legal standing; by the mid 20th century, a majority of states no longer recognized common law marriage (Bowman, 1996; Dubler, 1998). With common law marriages no longer a legal possibility for most, a new relationship form rose to take its place; cohabitation, or living together with a romantic partner either before a legal marriage or outside of the legal marriage system entirely.
In March 1968, the New York Times reported on Barnard College student Linda LeClair, who had circumvented university rules to illicitly live off campus with her boyfriend, a Columbia University student. The couple, who had spent the summer of 1967 in Haight–Ashbury during the “summer of love,” sparked a widespread debate and several national news articles about cohabitation; later referred to as the The LeClair Affair, this incident created widespread public awareness of cohabitation as a viable relationship, along with moral panic about that possibility (Danziger & Greenwald, 1977; Pleck, 2012). By 1971 cohabitation had become “trendy” among young celebrities and was discussed in every women’s magazine (Pleck, 2012). Cohabitation rates subsequently increased rapidly in the U.S., and by 1987
 
 one-third of women aged 19–44 had previously cohabited with an unmarried partner, with rates rising to 58% in 2006–2008 (Wydick, 2007; Manning, 2010).[/quote]

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