Silent Revolution: The Transformation of Divorce Law in the United States

Herbert Jacob has presented a brilliant, scholarly analysis about how "no-fault" divorce laws became the law of the land - silently and insidiously. His extremely thorough research taps interviews with key players around the table during divorce law "reform" efforts in the late-60's. Jacob's sources include legislators, law professors, and practicing divorce-attorneys. He also describes the work of the Uniform Law Commission, a secretive, quasi-governmental, law-writing body that, through its legitimizing role, precipitated enactment in all the states of laws similar to California's 1969 breakthrough "no-fault" divorce law. This is a must-read for those who agonize over the country's high divorce rate and want to inform themselves about its origin. Policymakers can benefit, too, by reading about the consequences of rubber-stamping the work of professional groups - like the ULC - without demanding outcome-measurements to check on the future effects of such law-changes. The title of this book is matter-of-fact but it could have been subtitled "The Insidious Overthrow of Secure Marriage in the United States While No One Noticed". This book gives, by far, the best explanation for this country's soaring post-1970 divorce rate. [email protected]