SELFISH INTENTIONS - K-REx - Kansas State University

thirty marriages, in Germany 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 in
Europe—there is only one divorce to every twenty-two marriages.” 122 In the United States at
that time, there was one divorce to every twelve marriages and in the states of Kansas and
Missouri the rate was one divorce to every eight marriages.
In his study, Dr. Ellwood found the divorce rate of the United States increasing
exponentially, especially in the states west of the Mississippi River. He contended the divorce
rate was increasing more rapidly than the population. Ellwood maintained, “From 1867 to 1886
there were 328,716 divorces granted in the U. S., but from 1887 to 1906, the number reached
945,625, or almost a total of 1 million granted in twenty years. Again, from 1867 to 1886,
divorces increased 157 percent, while the population increased only about 60 percent: from
1887 to 1906 divorces increased over 160 percent, while the population increased only slightly
over 50 percent.” 123 Divorce in the United States was increasing at a rate of three times the
population increase.
Dr. Ellwood speculated on what would happen if divorce rates continued at this high rate
as well as what could end this rapid increase in the number of divorces. He contended that if
divorce rates continued to increase, more marriages would be terminated by divorces than by
death. From his research, Professor Ellwood found in 1870, 3.5% of marriages ended in divorce
while in 1880, 4.8% of marriages were terminated by divorce. This percentage grew to 8% by
1900. Professor Ellwood estimated the future divorce rate increases:
122 Ibid.
123 Ibid.
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 the
52