Divorce court corruption in 1805 America

The following article, whose text was in 1805 excerpted from a longer article (“The Rutland Letters, Letter X – and Last,””) originally published on Aug. 6, 1805 in The Post-Boy and Vermont & New Hampshire Federal Courier (Windsor, Vermont), was widely reprinted throughout the nation. Although this piece is of great importance in aiding us to understand the development of family law in the United States, it does not appear to have been discussed by any legal historian.

The practice of filing out-of-state divorces by one spouse without honestly giving notice to the other became epidemic by the mid-nineteenth century, providing great revenue to judges, lawyers and hotel-keepers. This in turn led to an increase in alimony scams and parental kidnapping.  The article reveals corruption in the courts rather than any specific bias against either sex.  (more...)

Divorce court corruption in 1805 America