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Book Cover
E-book
Author Chused, Richard H

Title Private Acts in Public Places
Published University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc., 2015

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Description 1 online resource
Contents Cover; Contents; 1. Introduction; 2. Miscreant Women and Male Divorce: Family Discord Before 1805; Introduction; Regional Differences and the Impact of Chancery Courts; The Impact of Race on Early Legislative Divorce; The ""Marriage"" of Electoral and Divorce Reform; Pre-1805 Legislative Divorces; 3. Political Reform and Family Law at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century; Introduction; Legislative Divorce Reform: Cruelty and Male Adultery Grounds for Private Acts; Rumbles of Discontent: Legislative Controversy and Social Discord; Emergence of Children as a Family Law Consideration
4. Religious and Political Maneuvering: The Disappearance of A Vinculo Divorce, 1816-1825The Rise of Partial Divorce; Partial Divorce and the Economic Interests of Marriage; Child Custody; 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; Introduction; The Politics of Divorce; The Contours of Divorce; The Contours of Marital Property Rules; Children and Divorce; 7. The Arrival of Judicial Divorce, 1837-1841; The Politics of General Divorce Legislation
History of Early General Divorce BillsLinks Between Divorce Reform and Married Women's Property Acts; Conclusion: ""Liberalism"" and Legislative Reform; 8. The Demise of Legislative Divorce; Introduction; The Hiatus in Adoption of Private Bills; Concurrent Jurisdiction: Family Law Complexities After Renewal of the Private Bill Process; Alimony After Married Women's Property Reforms; 9. Epilogue: The Long-Term Impact of the Legislative Divorce Process; Appendices; 1. Tables; 2. Process Proposals, General Bill Proposals, and Statutes; 3. The Warfield v. Warfield and Thomas v. Thomas Pamphlets
Summary 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
Bibliography BibliographyIndex; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; R; S; T; U; V; W; Y; Z
Notes Print version record
Subject Divorce -- Law and legislation -- United States -- History -- 19th century
Divorce -- Law and legislation -- Maryland -- History -- 19th century
HISTORY -- United States -- 19th Century.
Divorce -- Law and legislation
Social conditions
SUBJECT United States -- Social conditions -- To 1865. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85140512
Subject Maryland
United States
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 1512801550
9781512801552