Golden Anniversary Reflections: Changes in Marriage After Fifty Years

The American Bar Association Section of Family Law was founded in 1958, during the "Golden Age" of marriage: the era of Ozzie and Harriet, the baby boom, the new post-war suburban lifestyle. Marriage rates were high, and divorce rates were low for all socioeconomic and ethnic groups. Most married couples observed clear and distinct gender roles, with men bearing responsibility as breadwinners and women's lives defined by their tasks as wives and mothers. Marriage and the changes in marriage over the past fifty years have been profoundly connected to the broader currents of law, politics, and society. This essay sketches some of the important shifts in marriage law over the past half-century and then turns to the present debates over the future of marriage. The shape of marriage has changed significantly over fifty years, but the fundamental importance of marriage has not. Marriage still matters to families and to society.