Framing American Divorce

Book excerpt: Framing American Divorce is a boldly innovative exploration of the multiple meanings of divorce in American life during the formative years of both the nation and its law, roughly 1770 to 1870. Drawing on a wide array of sources, Basch enriches and complicates our understanding of the development of divorce law by telling her story from three discrete but overlapping perspectives. In "Rules" she tracks the broad public debate and legislation over the appropriate grounds for and long-term consequences of divorce. "Mediations" shifts to a close-up analysis of the way ordinary women and men tested the rules in the county courts. And "Representations" charts the spiraling imagery of divorce through stories that made their way into American popular culture.