Legislative divorce vanished from American states by the late 1890s

Evidence

The law of divorce changed greatly in the last half of the nineteenth century, both on the official level, and even more significantly in its subterranean life. For one thing, the legislative divorce became extinct. State after state abolished it, usually by constitutional provision. It was virtually gone by about 1880. The last holdout was Delaware, where it survived until 1897. A new constitution in Delaware then put an end to the practice. In the last year of this noble institution, the legislature of Delaware granted no less than one hundred divorces. — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 2866

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines ‘legislative divorce’ — the once-common practice of a legislature granting a divorce by private act, which shifted entirely to the courts.