Family Law in the Twentieth Century

Abstract

Abstract This chapter discusses changes in family law in the twentieth century. Family life changed in many ways in the twentieth century. More and more women entered the workforce. Women won the vote just after the First World War. Women became lawyers and judges. This was also the century of the birth control pill, and the century of the so-called sexual revolution. People lived longer, and had more money. Millions moved from the city to the suburbs. Radio and then television and then the internet invaded the home. All the events, crises, and developments of the twentieth century had a deep impact on family life and family law. None of the changes in family law were quite so dramatic as the changes in the law of divorce.