Divorce in the United States Essay -- Divorce Marriage Relationships E

Divorce in the United States Divorce involves the recognition that a matrimony has hopelessly failedand that at least one of the partners has no desire to continue the maritalrelationship. Divorce legally dissolves a married couple, and permits the partners toremarry if they choose. Divorce differs from an annulment, which declares amarriage invalid because of some flaw in the contract. The early American settlers brought with them three different views on disjoint 1) the Roman Catholic view that marriage was a sacrament and thatthere could be no divorce 2) the English view that divorce was a legislativematter and 3) the Protestant view that marriage and divorce were secularmatters to be handled by the civil authorities. The Constitution of the United States did nothing to limit the rights ofthe states to enact their own laws governing marriage and divorce. Despiteseveral efforts to emend the Constitution, to allow Congress to pass federallegislation on divorce, to thi s day the states retain separate laws. Becausedivorce laws vary from state to state, the migratory divorce actualcouples would move temporarily to a state where divorce was easier to obtainthan at home. For example, a couple living in impudent York State, where until 1967the only grounds for divorce was adultery, would establish residence in Nevada -- a procedure that took only 6 weeks -- and file for divorce on grounds ofmental cruelty. Popular attitudes toward divorce changed as the United States becamemore urbanized and less religious. The increasing acceptance of divorce wasreflected in court interpretations of existing laws and in new legislationenacted by the states. both tendencies merged, making possible the establishmentof new and easier grounds for divorce. The focus of state divorce, whichpreviously concerned itself with specifying legal grounds for divorce, shiftedto criteria concerning the breakdown of the marital relationship. This could beseen in conditions tha t allowed divorce for alcoholism, drug addiction, ornonsupport. Another tendency permitted divorce if both parties gave ofvoluntarily separating and living apart for a specified period of time. Forexample, in 1967, New York allowed divorce for couples who had been legallyseparated for 2 years, eliminating the search for a guilty party. In 19... ...lo parenting, and stepfamilies /Genevieve Clapp. PUBL. New York Wiley, FORMAT xv, 377 p. 23 cm. DATE 1992Myers, M. F., Men and Divorce (1989) causation Myers, Michael F. human activity Men and divorce / Michael F. Myers. PUBL. New York Guilford Press, FORMAT xv, 286 p. 24 cm. DATE 1989Splinter, John P., The Complete Divorce Recovery Handbook (1992) AUTHOR Splinter, John P. TITLE The complete divorce recovery handbook grief, stress, guilt, children, co-dependence, self-esteem, dating, remarriage/ John P. Splinter. PUBL. Grand R apids, Mich. Zondervan, FORMAT p. cm. DATE 1992Walzac, Yvette, and Burns, Sheila, Children and Divorce (1984). AUTHOR Teyber, Edward. TITLE Helping children cope with divorce / Edward Teyber. variation 1st pbk. ed. PUBL. New York Lexington Books Toronto Maxwell Macmillan Canada New York Maxwell Macmillan International, FORMAT ix, 221 p. 24 cm. DATE 1994