Private Acts in Public Places : : A Social History of Divorce in the Formative Era of American Family Law / / Richard H. Chused.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Penn eBook Package Archive 1898-1999 (pre Pub)
• VerfasserIn: Chused, Richard H.,
• Place / Publishing House: Philadelphia : : University of Pennsylvania Press, , [2015]; ©1994
• Year of Publication: 2015
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (248 p.)

Richard H. Chused examines more than 1300 petitions for divorce in Maryland filed during the first half of the nineteenth century. By weaving together information on the legislative handling of these petitions, the voting patterns of the state legislators, and the judicial treatment of related disputes, Chused shows the connections between politics, regional differences, and the development of American family law. His analysis also provides valuable insights into the social history of the time, a period when traditional Southern family values were at odds with the more modern values brought about by urbanization.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Miscreant Women and Male Divorce: Family Discord Before 1805 -- 3. Political Reform and Family Law at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century -- 4. Religious and Political Maneuvering: The Disappearance of A Vinculo Divorce, 1816-1825 -- 5. The State of Divorce Law in 1825: The Import of Sarah and Charles Warfield's Saga -- 6. The Revival of A Vinculo Divorce and a Child Custody Twist, 1826-1836 -- 7. The Arrival of Judicial Divorce, 1837-1841 -- 8. The Demise of Legislative Divorce -- 9. Epilogue: The Long-Term Impact of the Legislative Divorce Process -- Appendix 1: Tables -- Appendix 2: Process Proposals, General Bill Proposals, and Statutes -- Appendix 3: The Warfield v. Warfield and Thomas v. Thomas Pamphlets -- Bibliography -- Index -- Backmatter