Age of Majority/Age of Consent

Nature decides when a young person becomes a biological adult.  The law decides when a young person becomes a legal adult, a legal entity separate from his or her parents or guardians.  This is known as the age of majority, and it can vary from state to state, but generally the age is 18.  Until that time a person is legally considered an infant; commonly, people who have not reached their majority are called minors and are described as under-aged.  Once someone has reached their majority (also called full age), they are able to bring suits, enter contracts, and generally make all decisions for themselves without permission or the need to consult with a parent or guardian.  Two legal decisions that can independently be made before full age is marriage and military service.  Today, both the age of majority and the age of consent generally are the same.  In the 19th century, however, the age of consent could be several years younger than the age of majority.  In Kentucky in 1870, the age of consent was 18, but the age of majority was 21 (which remains, today, the legal age to drink).  Most states at that time still marked adulthood at 21 years, a holdover from English common law that was transplanted with the colonies.  Ironically, a woman could become an adult at age 18 if she married, but marriage also stripped her of most of her legal independence, as she came under the guardianship of her husband, a legal doctrine known as feme covert (an unmarried adult woman existed under the doctrine of feme sole).