Divorce was considered to be against the public interest, and civil courts refused to grant a divorce except if one party to the marriage had betrayed the “innocent spouse.” Thus, a spouse suing for divorce in most states had to show a “fault” such as abandonment, cruelty, incurable mental illness, or adultery. If an “innocent” husband and wife wished to separate, or if both were guilty, “neither would be allowed to escape the bonds of marriage.”
Divorce was barred if evidence revealed any hint of complicity between spouses to manufacture grounds for divorce, such as if the suing party engaged in procurement or connivance (contributing to the fault, such as by arranging for adultery), condonation (forgiving the fault either explicitly or by continuing to cohabit after knowing of it), or recrimination (the suing spouse also being guilty).
“After the colonies gained independence, states joining the union liberalized their divorce laws, as did the associated territories, with many permitting local courts to grant divorce. A few retained authority to grant divorce at the state level. In Virginia, for example, petitioners had to apply to the Virginia General Assembly for a divorce, and during the first thirty years of statehood, no female petitioner was granted a divorce.[1]”
So it really looks like Virginia was the exception and not the rule. It wasn’t illegal at all and there was a legal framework for how it worked which, again, process that the initial claim that it was illegal was incorrect
mindbleach@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
The US didn’t get no-fault divorce until after the moon landing.
Prior to that:
QuoVadisHomines@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Ok but that’s different than it being illegal. You had a legal right to divorce from the founding of this country.
mindbleach@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
As if it’s something you can go out and do and be punished for. No: it simply was not allowed. The state said no.
This is stupid hair-splitting. You did not have a right to shit - you had to beg. Virginia did not grant any woman a divorce for an entire generation.
QuoVadisHomines@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
“After the colonies gained independence, states joining the union liberalized their divorce laws, as did the associated territories, with many permitting local courts to grant divorce. A few retained authority to grant divorce at the state level. In Virginia, for example, petitioners had to apply to the Virginia General Assembly for a divorce, and during the first thirty years of statehood, no female petitioner was granted a divorce.[1]”
So it really looks like Virginia was the exception and not the rule. It wasn’t illegal at all and there was a legal framework for how it worked which, again, process that the initial claim that it was illegal was incorrect
…m.wikipedia.org/…/Divorce_in_the_United_States
Taleya@aussie.zone 3 weeks ago
mate, my parents divorced in the 80’s, the stigma was REAL
QuoVadisHomines@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
There was stigma but that’s not the same as it being illegal. The fact your parents ARE divorced proves it was not illegal