General Discussion

In 1880, the ages of consent were set at 10 or 12 in most states, with the exception of Delaware where it was 7. The ages of consent were raised across the U.S. during the late 19th century and the early 20th century. By 1920, 26 states had an age of consent at 16, 21 states had an age of consent at 18, and one state (Georgia) had an age of consent at 14. Small adjustments to these laws occurred after 1920. The last two states to raise their age of general consent from under 16 to 16 or higher were Georgia, which raised the age of consent from 14 to 16 in 1995, and Hawaii, which changed it from 14 to 16 in 2001.

No, it is rare for states to lower their age of consent; the trend has been for states to raise the age or ban underage marriage altogether, with Colorado being a notable exception where the age was lowered from 18 to 15 in 1970 after the state's age of majority was also lowered. Recent legislative efforts in states like West Virginia and Missouri have focused on setting a minimum age for marriage, rather than lowering the age of consent.