In Private Acts in Public Places, Richard H. Chused examines more than thirteen hundred petitions for divorce in Maryland filed during the first half of the nineteenth century. By weaving together information on the legislative handling of these petitions, the voting patterns of state legislators, and the judicial treatment of related disputes, Chused shows the connections between politics, regional differences, and the development of American family law.

His analysis also provides valuable insights into the social history of the time, a period when traditional Southern family standards were at odds with the more modern values brought about by urbanization.

Liberalization of divorce rules was sometimes frustrated by the religious beliefs of individual lawmakers and by legislative malapportionment. Conservative opposition was often strengthened by the politicians' reluctance to take bold public stands on divorce even as they quietly acceded to the pleas of individual constituents for relief from marital predicaments.

Private Acts in Public Places describes how the structure of government and the nature of political institutions alter the contours of private life. It will be of interest to students and scholars of social, legal, and political history, family law, and women's studies.