THE PROBLEM OF THE MODERN FAMILY
Passing over the changes which affected the family during the Middle
Ages and the still more striking changes which came through the
Reformation, we must now devote ourselves to the study of the problems
of the family as it exists at present. The religious theory of the
family which prevailed during the Middle Ages, but which was more or
less undermined by the Reformation, gave away entirely in those great
social changes which ushered in the nineteenth century. Again, the view
that marriage was a private contract came to prevail among the mass of
the people, and even to be embodied in a great many of the constitutions
and laws of the nineteenth century. At the same time profound economic
changes tended largely to individualize society, and these were
reflected in the democratic movement toward forms of popular government,
which have tended on the whole to make the individual the political
unit. The nineteenth century was, then, in all respects a period of
great social change and unrest. Moreover, the growth of wealth has
favored, in certain classes at least, lower moral standards and
increasing laxity in family relationships. Thus it happens that we find
the family life at the beginning of the twentieth century in a more
unstable condition than it has been at any time since the beginning of
the Christian era. The instability of the modern family is, indeed, so
great that many have thought that the family, as an institution, in its
present form at least, of permanent monogamy, will pass away. There can
be no doubt, at any rate, that the whole problem of the modern family
centers in the matter of its instability, that is, in divorce. The study
of the divorce movement, then, will throw more light upon the condition
of the modern family than the study of anything else. The instability of
the modern family has been most evident in the United States. Hence, it
is particularly American conditions that will concern us, although
undoubtedly the disintegration of the family is not a peculiarly
American phenomenon; rather it has characterized more or less all modern
civilization, but is especially in evidence in America because American
society has exaggerated the industrialism and individualism which are
characteristic of Western civilization in general.
Without devoting too much time to the consideration of divorce
statistics in their technical aspects, let us note, then, some of the
main outlines of the modern divorce movement in this and other civilized
countries.
Statistics of Divorce in the United States and Other Civilized
Countries.--For a long time the United States has led the world in the
number of its divorces. Already in 1885 this country had more divorces
than all the rest of the Christian civilized world put together. These
statistics of the number of divorces granted in different civilized
countries in 1885 (taken from Professor W. F. Willcox's monograph on
_The Divorce Problem_) are of sufficient interest to cite at
length:
United States...................... 23,472
France............................. 6,245
Germany............................ 6,161
Russia............................. 1,789
Austria............................ 1,718
Switzerland........................ 920
Denmark............................ 635
Italy.............................. 556
Great Britain and Ireland.......... 508
Roumania........................... 541
Holland............................ 339
Belgium............................ 290
Sweden............................. 229
Australia.......................... 100
Norway............................. 68
Canada............................. 12
It will be noted that in this particular year (1885), when the United
States had 23,472 divorces, all the other countries mentioned together
had only 20,131. For 1905, twenty years later, the following statistics
are available:
United States...................... 67,976
Germany............................ 11,147
France............................. 10,860
Austria-Hungary.................... 5,785
Switzerland........................ 1,206
Belgium............................ 901
Holland............................ 900
Italy (1904)....................... 859
Great Britain and Ireland.......... 821
Denmark............................ 549
Sweden............................. 448
Norway............................. 408
Australia.......................... 339
New Zealand........................ 126
Canada............................. 33
It is evident from the above figures that the United States has more
than kept its lead over the rest of the world in this matter of
dissolving family ties, for it would seem probable from these figures
that in 1905, when the United States had nearly 68,000 divorces, all the
rest of the Christian civilized world put together had less than 40,000.
Moreover, the divorce rates of the different countries tell the same
story. In 1905 in France, there was only one divorce to every thirty
marriages; in Germany, but one to every forty-four marriages; in
England, but one to every four hundred marriages. Even in Switzerland,
which has the highest divorce rate of any country of Europe, there was
only one divorce in 1905 to every twenty-two marriages. Let us compare
these rates with that of the United States, and particularly with the
rates of several of the states that lead in the matter of divorces. In
1905 there was in the United States about one divorce to every twelve
marriages, but the State of Washington had one divorce to every four
marriages; Montana, one divorce to every five marriages; Colorado,
Texas, Arkansas, and Indiana all had one divorce to every six marriages;
California and Maine had one divorce to every seven marriages; New
Hampshire, Missouri, and Kansas, one divorce to every eight marriages.
While these rates are those of the states in which divorces are most
numerous, yet, nevertheless, the number of states in which the divorce
rates range from one to every six marriages to one to ten marriages are
so numerous that they may be said to be fairly representative of
American conditions generally. Some cities and localities have, of
course, even higher divorce rates than any of the states that have been
named. According to the United States Census Bulletin No. 20, there was
in 1903 one divorce in Kansas City, Missouri, to every four marriages,
and one divorce in the city of San Francisco to every three marriages.
_Increase of Divorces in the United States._ Not only does the
United States lead the world in the number of its divorces, but
apparently divorces are increasing in this country much more rapidly
than the population. In 1867, the first year for which statistics for
the country as a whole were gathered, there were 9937 divorces in the
United States, but by 1906, the last year for which we have statistics,
the total number of divorces granted in this country, yearly, had
reached 72,062. Again, from 1867 to 1886 there were 328,716 divorces
granted in the United States, but during the next twenty years, from
1887 to 1906, the number reached 945,625, or almost a total of 1,000,000
divorces granted in twenty years. Again, from 1867 to 1886 the number of
divorces increased 157 per cent, while the population increased only
about 60 per cent; from 1887 to 1906 the number of divorces increased
over 160 per cent, while the population increased only slightly over 50
per cent. Thus it is evident that divorces are increasing in the United
States three times as fast as the increase of population. It becomes,
therefore, a matter of some curious interest to speculate upon what will
be the end of this movement. If divorces should continue to increase as
they have during the past forty years, it is evident that it would not
be long before all marriages would be terminated by divorce instead of
by death. In 1870, 3.5 per cent of all marriages were terminated by
divorce; in 1880, 4.8 per cent were terminated by divorce, and in 1900,
about 8 per cent. Professor Willcox has estimated that if this
increasing divorce rate continues, by 1950 one fourth of all marriages
in the United States will be terminated by divorce, and in 1990 one half
of all marriages. Thus we are apparently within measurable distance of a
time when, if present tendencies continue, the family, as a permanent
union between husband and wife, lasting until death, shall cease to be.
At least, it is safe to say that in a population where one half of all
marriages will be terminated by divorce the social conditions would be
no better than those in the Rome of the decadence. We cannot imagine
such a state of affairs without the existence alongside of it of
widespread promiscuity, neglect of childhood, and general social
demoralization. Without, however, stopping at this point to discuss the
results or the effects of the divorce movement upon society, let us now
consider for a moment how these divorces are distributed among the
various elements and classes of our population.
_Distribution of Divorces._ It is usually thought by those who have
observed the matter most carefully that divorce especially characterizes
the wealthy classes and the laboring classes, but is least common among
the middle classes. We have no statistics to bear out this belief, but
it seems probable that it is substantially correct. The divorce
statistics which we have, however, indicate certain striking differences
in the distribution of divorces by classes and communities.
(1) The divorce rate is higher in the cities than in their surrounding
country districts. We have just noted, for example, that the divorce
rate in Kansas City, Missouri, is one divorce to every four marriages,
while in the state as a whole it is one to every eight marriages. There
are, however, certain exceptions to this generalization.
(2) A curious fact that the census statistics show is that apparently
the divorce rate is about four times as high among childless couples as
among couples that have children. This doubtless does not mean that
domestic unhappiness is four times more common in families where there
are no children than in families that have children, but it does show,
nevertheless, that the parental instinct, is now, as in primitive times,
a powerful force to bind husband and wife together.
(3) While we have no statistics from this country telling us exactly
what the distribution of divorces is among the various religious
denominations, still we know that because the Roman Catholic Church is
strongly against divorce, divorces are very rare in that denomination.
In Switzerland, where the number of divorces among Protestants and
Catholics has been noted, it is found that divorces are four times as
common among Protestants as among Catholics. Some observers in this
country have claimed that divorces are most common among those of no
religious profession, next most common among Protestants, next among
Jews, and least common among Roman Catholics.
(4) From this we might expect, as our statistics indicate, that the
divorce rate is much higher among the native whites in this country than
it is among the foreign born, for many of the foreign born are Roman
Catholics, and, in any case, they come from countries where divorce is
less common than in the United States.
(5) For the last forty years two thirds of all divorces have been
granted on demand of the wife. This may indicate, on the one hand, that
the increase of divorces is a movement connected with the emancipation
of woman, and on the other hand it may indicate that it is the husband
who usually gives the ground for divorce.
(6) The census statistics show three great centers of divorce in the
United States. One is the New England States, one the states of the
Central West, and one the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast states. These
three centers are also typical centers of American institutions and
ideas. The individualism of the New England, the Central West, and the
Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast regions has always been marked in
comparison with some other sections of the country. But during the last
twenty years divorce has also been increasing rapidly in the Southern
states, and we now find such states as Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma
well up toward the front among the states with a high divorce rate.
This distribution of divorces among the various elements and classes of
the country suggests something as to the causes of divorce, and this
will come out fully later in a discussion of the causes of the increase
of divorce.
The Grounds for Granting Divorce.--There are no less than thirty-six
distinct grounds for absolute divorce recognized by the laws of the
several states, ranging from only one ground recognized in New York to
fourteen grounds recognized in New Hampshire. For this reason some have
supposed that many of the divorces in this country are granted on
comparatively trivial grounds. Several states have, for example, what is
known as an "Omnibus Clause," granting divorce for mere incompatibility
and the like. But the examination of divorce statistics shows that very
few divorces are granted on trivial grounds. On the contrary, most
divorces seem to be granted for grave reasons, such as adultery,
desertion, cruelty, imprisonment for crime, habitual drunkenness, and
neglect on the part of the husband to provide for his family. These are
usually recognized as grave reasons for the dissolution of the marriage
tie. None of them at least could be said to be trivial. Professor
Willcox showed that for the twenty year period, 1867 to 1886, over
ninety-seven per cent of all divorces were granted for these six
principal causes. Moreover, he also showed that over sixty per cent were
granted for the two most serious causes of all,--adultery and desertion.
Again, of the one million divorces granted from 1887 to 1906 over
ninety-four per cent were granted for the six principal causes and over
fifty-five per cent for adultery and desertion, while in still other
cases adultery and desertion figured in combination with other causes (a
total of over sixty-two per cent in all). Therefore, it seems probable
that in nearly two thirds of the cases the marriage bond had already
practically been dissolved before the courts stepped in to make the
dissolution formal. We must conclude, therefore, that divorce is
prevalent not because of the laxity of our laws, but rather because of
the decay of our family life; that divorce is but a symptom of the
disintegration of the modern family, particularly the American family.
In other words, divorce is but a symptom of more serious evils, and
these evils have in certain classes of American society apparently
undermined the very virtues upon which the family life subsists. This is
not saying that vice is more prevalent to-day than it was fifty years
ago. We have no means of knowing whether it is or not, and there may
well be a difference of opinion upon such a subject. It is the opinion
of some eminent authorities that there has been no growth of vice in the
United States along with the growth of divorce, but this would seem to
be doubtful. The very causes for which divorce is granted suggest a
demoralization of certain classes. While there may not have been,
therefore, any general growth of vice in the United States along with
the growth of divorce, it is conceivable that it may have increased
greatly in certain classes of American society. Be this as it may, it is
not necessary to assume that there has been any growth of vice in the
American population, for if actual moral practices are no higher than
they were fifty years ago that alone would be a sufficient reason to
explain considerable disintegration of our family life. It is an
important truth in sociology that the morality which suffices for a
relatively simple social life, largely rural, such as existed in this
country fifty years ago, is not sufficient for a more complex society
which is largely urban, such as exists at the present time. Moreover,
recognized moral standards within the past fifty years have largely been
raised through the growth of general intelligence. It follows that
immoral acts, which were condoned fifty years ago and which produced but
slight social effect, to-day meet with great reprobation and have far
greater social consequences than a generation ago. This is particularly
true of the standards which the wife imposes upon the husband. For
centuries, as we have already seen, the husband has secured divorce for
adultery of the wife, but for centuries no divorce was given to the wife
for the adultery of the husband; and this is even true to-day in modern
England, unless the adultery of the husband be accompanied by other
flagrant violations of morality. Conduct on the part of the husband,
which the wife overlooked, therefore, a generation ago, is to-day
sufficient to disrupt the family bonds and become a ground for the
granting of a divorce. Even if vice, then, has not increased in our
population, if moral practices are no higher to-day than fifty years
ago, we should expect that this alone would have far different
consequences now than then. The growth of intelligence and of higher and
more complex forms of social organization necessitates realization of
higher standards of conduct if the institutions of society are to retain
their stability.
But there are grave reasons for believing that there has been in certain
classes of society a decay of the very virtues upon which the family
rests, for the family life requires not only chastity, but even more the
virtues of self-sacrifice, loyalty, obedience, and self-subordination.
Now there is abundant evidence to show that these particular virtues
which belong to a self-subordinating life are those which have suffered
most in the changes and new adjustments of modern society. We have
replaced these virtues largely by those of self-interest,
self-direction, and self-assertiveness.
Causes of the Increase of Divorce in the United States.--Let us note
somewhat more in detail the causes of the increased instability of the
American family during the past four or five decades. We have already in
a rough way indicated some of these causes in studying the distribution
of divorce and the grounds upon which it is granted. But the causes of
the instability of the family so affect our whole social life and all of
our institutions that they are well worth somewhat more detailed study.
(1) As the first of these causes of the increase of divorce in the
United States we should put the decay of religion, particularly of the
religious theory of marriage and the family. As we have already seen, no
stable family life has existed anywhere in history without a religious
basis, but within the last few decades religious sentiments, beliefs,
and ideals have become largely dissociated from marriage and the family,
and the result is that many people regard the institutions of marriage
and the family as a matter of personal convenience. This decay of the
religious view of the marriage bond has, however, had other antecedent
causes, partially in the moral and intellectual spirit of our
civilization, partially in our industrial conditions.
(2) We should put, therefore, as a second cause of the increase of
divorces in this country the growing spirit of individualism. By
individualism we mean here the spirit of self-assertion and
self-interest, the spirit which leads a man to find his law in his own
wishes, or even in his whims and caprices. Now, this growing spirit of
individualism is undoubtedly more destructive of the social life than
anything else. It makes unstable all institutions, and especially the
family, because the family must rest upon very opposite characteristics.
Our democratic government, the development of our industry, and our
education have all been responsible to some extent for making the
individual take his own interests and wishes as his law.
(3) Moreover, this individualism has spread within the last fifty years
especially among the women of the population, and a great movement has
sprung up which is known as the "Woman's Rights Movement," or simply the
"Woman's Movement." Now this woman's movement has accompanied and in
part effected the emancipation of women legally, mentally, and
economically. The result is that women, as a class, have become as much
individualized as the men, and oftentimes are as great practical
individualists.
No one would claim that the emancipation of woman, in the sense of
freeing her from those things which have prevented the highest and best
development of her personality, is not desirable. But this emancipation
of woman has brought with it certain opportunities for going down as
well as for going up. Woman's emancipation has not, in other words,
meant to all classes of women, woman's elevation. On the contrary, it
has been to some, if not an opportunity for license, at least an
opportunity for self-assertion and selfishness not consistent with the
welfare of society and particularly with the stability of the family. We
may remind ourselves once more that the Roman women achieved complete
emancipation, but they did not thereby better their social position. On
the contrary, the emancipation of woman in Rome meant woman's
degradation, and ultimately the demoralization of Roman family life.
While this is not necessarily an accompaniment of woman's emancipation,
still it is a real danger which threatens, and of which we can already
see many evidences in modern society. As in all other emancipatory
movements, the dangers of freedom are found for some individuals at
least to be quite as great as the dangers of subjection.
That the woman's movement has had much to do with the growth of divorce
in this country gains substantiation from the fact that many of the
leaders of that movement, like Miss Susan B. Anthony and Mrs. Elizabeth
Cady Stanton, advocated free divorce, and their inculcation of this
doctrine certainly could not have been without some effect.
But the woman's movement would have perhaps failed to develop, or at
least failed of widespread support, if it had not been for the economic
emancipation of woman through the opening to her of many new industrial
callings and the securing for her a certain measure of economic
independence. This, again, while perhaps a good thing in itself, has,
nevertheless, facilitated the growing tendency to form unstable family
relations. But this economic independence of woman, we need hardly
remark, is the necessary and, indeed, inevitable outcome of modern
industrial development.
(4) The growth of modern industrialism must, then, be regarded as one of
the fundamental factors which has brought about the increase of divorce
in the United States. By industrialism we mean manufacturing industry.
As we have already noticed, the growth of manufacturing industry has
opened a large number of new economic callings to woman and has rendered
her largely economically independent of family relations. Moreover, the
labor of women in factories has tended to disrupt the home, particularly
in the case of married women, as we have already seen. For the laboring
classes it has tended to make the home only a lodging place, with little
or no development of a true family life. Again, such labor has set the
sexes in competition with each other, has tended to reduce their sexual
differences and to stimulate immensely their individualism. Finally,
inasmuch as modern industrialism has tended to destroy the home, the
result has been the production of unsocialized children, and especially
of those that had no tradition of a family life. Girls, for example,
through industrialism, have failed to learn the domestic arts, failed to
have any training in homemaking, and therefore when they came to the
position of wife and mother, they were frequently not fitted for such a
life, and through their lack of adjustment rendered the homes which they
formed unstable.
(5) Closely connected with the growth of modern industrialism is the
growth of modern cities, and, as we have already seen, divorce is
usually much more common in the cities than in the rural districts. The
growth of the cities, in other words, has been a cause of the increase
of divorce. City populations, on account of the economic conditions
under which they live, are peculiarly homeless. A normal home can
scarcely exist in the slums and in some of the tenement districts of our
cities. Again, in the city there is perhaps more vice and other
immorality, less control of the individual by public opinion, and more
opportunity, on account of close living together and high standards of
living, for friction, both within and without the domestic circle.
(6) The higher standards of living and comfort which have come with the
growth of our industrial civilization, especially of our cities, must
also be set down as a cause of increasing instability of the family.
High standards of living are, of course, desirable if they can be
realized, that is, if they are reasonable. But many elements of our
population have standards of living and comfort which they find are
practically impossible to realize with the income which they have. Many
classes, in other words, are unable to meet the social demands which
they suppose they must meet in order to maintain a home. To found and
maintain a home, therefore, with these rising standards of living, and
also within the last decade or two with the rising cost of living,
requires such a large income that an increasingly smaller proportion of
the population are able to do this satisfactorily. From this cause,
undoubtedly, a great deal of domestic misery and unhappiness results,
which finally shows itself in desertion or in the divorce court.
It is evident that higher standards of taste and higher standards of
morality may also operate under certain circumstances to render the
family life unstable in a similar way.
(7) Directly connected with these last mentioned causes is another
cause,--the higher age of marriage. Some have thought that a low age of
marriage was more prolific in divorces than a relatively high age of
marriage. But a low age of marriage cannot be a cause of the increase of
divorce in the United States, because the proportion of immature
marriages in this country is steadily lessening, that is, the age of
marriage is steadily increasing, and all must admit that along with the
higher age of marriage has gone increasing divorce; and there may
possibly be some connection between the two facts. As we have already
seen, the higher standards of living make later marriage necessary. Men
in the professions do not think of marriage nowadays until thirty, or
until they have an independent income. Now, how may the higher age of
marriage possibly increase the instability of the family? It may do so
in this way. After thirty, psychologists tell us, one's habits are
relatively fixed and hard to change. People who marry after thirty,
therefore, usually find greater difficulty in adjusting themselves to
each other than people who marry somewhat younger; and every marriage
necessarily involves an adjustment of individuals to each other. This
being so, we can readily understand that late marriages are more apt to
result in faulty adjustments in the family relation than marriages that
take place in early maturity.
(8) Another cause of the increase of divorce in the United States that
has been given is the popularization of law which has accompanied the
growth of democratic institutions. Law was once the prerogative of
special classes, and courts were rarely appealed to except by the noble
or wealthy classes; but with the growth of democratic institutions there
has been a great spread of legal education, especially through the
modern newspaper, and consequently a greater participation in the
remedies offered by the courts for all sorts of wrongs, real or
imagined. Many people, for example, who would not have thought of
divorce a generation ago, now know how divorce may be secured and are
ready to secure it. However, it would seem as though this cause of the
increase of divorce might have operated to a greater extent twenty-five
or thirty years ago than it has during the last two decades, for it
cannot be said that since the nineties there has been much increase of
legal education among the masses, or much greater popularization of the
law.
(9) Increasing laxity of the laws regarding divorce and increasing
laxity in the administration of the laws has certainly been a cause of
increasing divorce in the United States, though back of these causes
doubtless lie all the other causes just mentioned, and also increasing
laxity in public opinion regarding marriage and divorce. To assume that
laxity of the laws and of legal administration has no influence upon the
increase of divorce in a population is to go contrary to all human
experience. The people of Canada and of England, for example, are not
very different from ourselves in culture and in institutions, yet there
is almost no divorce in England and in Canada as compared with the
United States. Canada has a few dozen divorces annually, while we have
over seventy thousand. Unquestionably the main cause of this great
difference between Canada and the United States is to be found in the
difference of their laws. This is not saying, however, that instability
of the family does not characterize Canada and England as well as the
United States, even though such instability does not express itself in
the divorce courts.
Interesting statistics have been collected in numerous places in the
country to show the laxity of the administration of the divorce laws. In
many of the divorce courts of our large cities, for example, it has
repeatedly been shown that the average time occupied by the court in
granting a divorce is not more than fifteen minutes. In other words,
divorce cases are frequently rushed through our divorce courts without
solemnity, without adequate investigation, with every opportunity for
collusion between the parties, so as to favor a very free granting of
divorces. On the other hand, about one fourth of all the applications
for divorce which come to trial are refused by the courts, showing that
the courts are not so lax in all cases as they are sometimes pictured to
be.
Moreover, the divorce courts have two excuses for their laxity. First,
the divorce courts are always greatly overburdened with the number of
cases before them; and, secondly, public opinion, which the courts as
well as other phases of our government largely reflect, favors this
laxity. This is shown by the fact that public opinion stands back of the
lax divorce statutes of many states, all efforts to radically change
these statutes having failed of recent years.
(10) Our study of the family has accustomed us to the thought that the
family is an institution which, like all other human institutions,
undergoes constant changes. Now at periods of change in any institution,
periods of transition from one type to another, there is apt to be a
period of confusion. The old type of institution is never replaced at
once by a new type of institution ready-made and adjusted to the social
life, but only gradually does the new institution emerge from the
elements of the old. In the meantime, however, there may be a
considerable period of confusion and anarchy. This social principle, we
may note, rests upon a deeper psychological principle, that old habits
are usually not replaced by new habits without an intervening period of
confusion and uncertainty. In other words, in the transition from the
old habit to the new habit there is much opportunity for disorganization
and disintegration. It is exactly so in human society, because social
institutions are but expressions of habit.
Now, the old semipatriarchal type of the family, which prevailed down to
the beginning of the nineteenth century, the type of the family which we
might perhaps properly call the monarchical type, has been disappearing
for the past one hundred years,--is in fact already practically extinct,
at least in America, but we have not yet built up a new type of the
family to take its place. The old semipatriarchal family of our
forefathers has gone, but no new type of the family has yet become
general. A democratic type of the family in harmony with our democratic
civilization must be evolved. But such a democratic type of the family
can be stable only upon the condition that its stability is within
itself and not without. Authority in various coercive forms made the old
type of the family stable, but a stable basis for a new type of the
family has not yet been found, or rather it has not been found by large
elements of our population. Unquestionably a democratic ethical type of
the family in which the rights of every one are respected and all
members are bound together, not through fear or through force of
authority, but through love and affection, is being evolved in certain
classes of our society. The problem before our civilization is whether
such a democratic ethical type of the family can become generalized and
offer a stable family life to our whole population. It is evident that
in order to do this there must be a considerable development, not only
of the spirit of equality, but even more, a considerable development of
social intelligence and ethical character in the minds of the people. To
construct a stable family life of this character, however, which is
apparently the only type which will meet the demands of modern
civilization,--is not an impossibility, but is a delicate and difficult
task which will require all the resources of the state, the school, and
the church. There is, however, no ground as yet for pessimism regarding
the future of our family life; rather all its instability and
demoralization of the present are simply incident, we must believe, to
the achievement of a higher type of the family than the world has yet
seen. Such a higher type, however, will not come about without effort
and forethought on the part of society's leaders.
Remedies for the Divorce Evil.--That the instability of the family and
divorce, so far as it is an expression of that instability, is an evil
in society is implied in all that has thus far been said concerning the
origin, development, and functions of the family as an institution. We
shall not stop, therefore, to argue this point since all preceding
chapters amount to an argument upon this question. It may be added,
however, that in so far as observations have been made of the results of
divorce upon children, that the argument has been substantiated, for
apparently the children of separated or divorced parents are much more
apt to drift into poverty, vice, or crime, that is, into the
unsocialized classes, than children who do not come from such disrupted
homes. Assuming, then, without further argument that divorce, or rather
the instability of the family, is an evil in modern society, the
question arises, how can it be remedied?
If, as has already been implied, the real evil is not so much divorce as
the decay of the family life, then it at once becomes evident that
legislation can do little to correct the real evil. That it can do
nothing, and that an attitude of _laissez-faire_ is justified upon
this question, is, of course, not implied. As we have already noted, the
difference between the few divorces of the Dominion of Canada and the
many divorces of the United States is largely due to a difference of
laws; nevertheless, we cannot assume from this that there is a like
difference in the state of the family life of the two countries.
Unquestionably, however, legislation can do something even in the way of
setting moral ideals before a people. Divorce laws should not be too lax
if we do not wish a state to set low moral standards for its citizens.
It is not too much to say, therefore, that the lax divorce laws of many
of our states are a crime against civilization, even though making these
laws much stricter might not of itself greatly check the decay of the
family. Again, reasonable restrictions upon the remarriage of divorced
parties might very well be insisted upon by law for the sake of public
decency if nothing more. Present laws in many states permit the
remarriage of divorced parties immediately upon granting of divorce. It
would seem that a law requiring the innocent party to wait at least six
months, and the guilty party to wait from two to five years and then
give evidence of good conduct before being permitted to remarry, would
work a hardship upon no one. Again, a uniform federal divorce and
marriage law might have some good effects upon the family life of the
nation. Divorce and marriage are of such general importance that they
should be controlled by federal statutes rather than by state laws. If
such an amendment to our present federal constitution were enacted, it
might not result in greatly decreasing the number of divorces in this
country, but it would result in bringing about uniformity in the
different states in the matter of marriage as well as in the matter of
divorce, which, from many points of view, is desirable. Moreover, if
divorce were under federal control this would throw all divorce cases
into the federal courts, and would, perhaps, secure a stricter
administration of divorce laws.
But it is evident that the main reliance in combating the evils which
have given rise to the present instability of our family life must be
placed upon education rather than upon legislation. Legislation, we may
here note, has many shortcomings as an instrument of social
reconstruction or reform. Legislation is necessarily external and
coercive. It fails oftentimes to change the habits of individuals, and
very generally fails to change their opinion. Education, on the other
hand, alters human nature directly, changing both the opinions and
habits of the individual. Neither education nor legislation can be
neglected in social reconstruction. Both are necessary, but supplement
each other. But from the time of Plato down all social thinkers have
perceived the fact that education is a surer and safer means of
reorganizing society than legislation. While, therefore, I would not
oppose education to legislation, I would say that emphasis in all social
reform should be laid upon education rather than coercive legislative
action, and especially in this case of relaying the foundations for a
stable family life in our country. The main reliance, then, in this
matter must be placed upon the education which the school, the church,
and the home can give to the rising generation. Until children are
taught to look upon the family as a socially necessary and therefore
sacred institution, until they are taught to look upon marriage as
something other than an act to suit their own convenience and pleasure,
we must expect that our family life will be unstable. The
reconstruction of our family life, indeed, practically involves the
reconstruction of our whole social life. Things in industry, in
business, in politics, in the conventions and ideals and general spirit
of our people, that are opposed to stability in family relations, must
be remedied before we can strike at the root of the evil. All of this
may be taken for granted; but it would seem that the moral education of
the young is the key to the situation in any event. The importance of a
pure and wholesome family life in society should, therefore, be
emphasized by our whole system of public education, while the
responsibility which rests upon the church in this connection is
especially obvious; but the home itself must, it may be admitted, be the
chief means of inculcating in the young the sacredness of the family.
Inasmuch as this cannot be done in homes that are already demoralized,
the main hope must be that such education will be given to children in
homes that are as yet relatively pure and stable. Movements toward such
education already exist in society, and, as we have already said, there
is no reason for pessimism, if we take a long view of the situation. But
it is nevertheless evident that the instability of the family must be
regarded as the greatest of our social problems to-day.
Summary Regarding the Influence of Industrial Conditions upon the
Present Instability of the Family.--As we have already seen, the
development of modern industry is one of the chief causes of the decay
of modern family life. Certain aspects of our industrialism, such as the
labor of women and children in factories, the growth of cities, and the
loss of the home through the slum and the tenement, the higher standards
of living and comfort, and the resulting higher age of marriage,--all of
these have had, to a certain extent at least, a disastrous effect upon
the family. Some of these things, like the growth of cities, seem
inseparable from modern industrial development. The problem must be,
therefore, how to overcome the evil effect of these tendencies in
industry upon the home. There is no reason for believing that such evil
effects cannot be overcome, although the problem is a difficult one. Our
aim should be, not to stop industrial development, but to guide it and
control it in the interest of the higher development of the family. That
this is entirely feasible may already be seen from what has been
accomplished in the way of regulating the labor of women and children
and in the way of providing better conditions in the homes of the
working population.
There is, however, nothing in evidence in the causes of increasing
divorce in the United States which warrants the belief that American
industrial development is alone responsible for the increasing
instability of our family life. The industrial development of America is
less peculiar in many ways than its political and social development.
Divorce and instability of the family, as we have seen, characterize the
American people more than any other civilized population. This fact,
then, cannot be explained entirely in terms of American industrial
development, but we must look also, as has already been emphasized, to
certain peculiarities in American character, American institutions, and
American ideas and ideals. The divorce movement in the United States
affords no proof of the theory of economic determinism.
SELECT REFERENCES
_For brief reading:_
WILLCOX, _The Divorce Problem: A Study in Statistics._
ADLER, _Marriage and Divorce_, Lecture II.
Special Report on _Marriage and Divorce_, 1867-1906, Bureau of the Census.
_For more extended reading:_
HOWARD, _History of Matrimonial Institutions._
LICHTENBERGER, _Divorce: A Study in Social Causation._
WOLSEY, _Divorce and Divorce Legislation._
WRIGHT, _First Special Report of United States Commissioner of Labor:
Marriage and Divorce_, 1891.