Some Basic Background 7
economic phenomenon of the very poor. The big change that seems
to have occurred nowadays is that divorce has expanded to the
mainstream middle class. Divorce has become totally normal and
acceptable or even expected, and it now ranks right alongside
birth, marriage, professional career, and death as almost a right
of passage—one of the primary milestones of American culture.
The redistribution of wealth and upheavals in the class system in
America over the last forty years have given America’s middle
class the moral and economic seal of approval to divorce.
It can be compellingly argued that the increase in divorce rep-
resents the single most dramatic change in the American family
experience during the past fifty years. Certainly, marital termina-
tions were not uncommon in earlier centuries, but a key difference
that must be recalled is that widowhood was generally the pre-
cipitating event rather than divorce or separation. The large rise
in the sheer number of divorces, to over five hundred thousand
per year during the 1970s, and then to over one million per year
during the 1980s, indicates that divorce has now caught up with
death as a causal change for marital status in American society.
Some dire divorce statistics. Hard as it may be to believe, divorce
has actually been on a modest upward trend since as far back
as 1850. But at the turn of the 20th century, the divorce rate for
first marriages was still only 7 percent. During most of the 20th
century, divorce rates increased steadily. They peaked for a brief
period following World War II, dropped off some during the
1950s, then rose steadily in the 1960s and soared dramatically in
the 1970s. In fact, breakups more than doubled between the 1960s
and the late 1970s.
Divorce rates have leveled off some and have actually been
declining a bit over the last couple of decades. But, we must be
realistic about the fact that it is an awfully high plateau. It may
also be that we are enjoying a brief period of seeming stability—
due to the fact that so many first marriages have already ended
in divorce—but that the cycle of divorces following second mar-
riages hasn’t yet fully exploded.
A recent divorce boom among senior citizens would seem to
support this theory. According to U.S. Census figures, whereas
many mid-lifers were enjoying a period of relative marital