Divorce in the United States
Historical Background
In the early days of the American republic, break, tied metaphorically to the young nations divorce from England, was essentially a symbol of social order, representing the readiness of the community to enforce standards for marital (and other governing) contracts (Basch, 1999; Cott, 2000). The 18th- and 19th-century privileging of contract transaction allowed womb-to-tomb spousals to coexist with the acceptance of divorce if atomic number 53 of the pardners failed to live up to the marital contract. Such thinking corroborate the nature of marriage as not completely amongst marrying partners but also as an agreement with the state that marriage was to be conducted along certain socially understood lines and in accordance with agreed-upon family roles. Divorce, then, was the communitys way of showing its disapproval when one spouse broke the marital contract. The evolution of fault bases for divorce corresponded to a showing that one spouse was no longer safekeeping up his or her end of the marital bargain, not only with the other spouse but also with the state in general. Early bases of fault were largely limited to adultery, sexual incapacity, and apostasy (Cott, 2000), but by the 19th century, provisions for divorce were expand and grounds were added.
Although 19th-century family moralists decried the laxity in divorce legislation (see, for instance, Woolsey, 1869), in fact, the expansion of grounds was more indicative of the states increased find out over the marriage contract than it was of the absence of state interest or concern (Cott). Although divorcing created significant social stigma and hardship, oddly for women (see Riley, 1991), it was not seen as antithetical to marriage and coexisted, therefore, with the ideal of lifelong marriage.
Nevertheless, as massive 19th-century economic, social, and demographic changes swept the United States, divorce was increasingly blamed for the resulting...If you want to get a estimable essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com
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