David Popenoe
“State of the Union” written by David Popenoe and Barbara Dafoe Whitehead is about the state of divorces in the United States in 2007. David Popenoe is a professor of sociology at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey and an expert in the study of marriage and family life, who has written or edited ten books. Barbara Dafoe Whitehead writes and lectures on the well being of families and children. Around fifty percent out of one thousand marriages end in divorce. Women are more likely to be divorced or want a divorce than men. Americans are less likely to marry than in recent generations. People either live with their partner and do not get married or stay single. David Popenoe and Barbara Dafoe Whitehead’s thesis statement is,
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Women are more likely than men to want a divorce, and more women are divorced than men. That is because men are more likely to remarry than women and do so at a faster rate. There has been a moderate drop in couples that have been “very happy” in their marriage in recent decades. People are more content than happy in their relationships. Since the 1970’s when the No Fault Divorce Law was put into place, there was a large spike in divorce rates because people could divorce for no reason at all, and many divorced because they were not satisfied or happy in marriage. Geographic location is a factor in divorce. For instance, the East has a far lower divorce rate than the South or West. That can be attributed for the cultural differences between the geographic areas. Popenoe and Whitehead stated there are six factors that can help lower a person’s chance at divorce, “ So if you are a reasonably well-educated person with a decent income, come from an intact family and are religious, and marry after age twenty-five without having a baby first, your chances of divorce are very low indeed,” (25). Divorce has become a common part of today’s society.
David Popenoe and Barbara Dafoe Whitehead’s evolved thesis statement is, “ Americans are living longer, marrying later, exiting marriages more quickly, and choosing to live together before marriage, after marriage, in between marriages, and as an alternative to marriage,” (27). More and more people are getting divorced each year. There are a lot of people who never get married and live either single or unmarried. The “State of the Union” shows how divorce and living style of marriage has
Women are more likely than men to want a divorce, and more women are divorced than men. That is because men are more likely to remarry than women and do so at a faster rate. There has been a moderate drop in couples that have been “very happy” in their marriage in recent decades. People are more content than happy in their relationships. Since the 1970’s when the No Fault Divorce Law was put into place, there was a large spike in divorce rates because people could divorce for no reason at all, and many divorced because they were not satisfied or happy in marriage. Geographic location is a factor in divorce. For instance, the East has a far lower divorce rate than the South or West. That can be attributed for the cultural differences between the geographic areas. Popenoe and Whitehead stated there are six factors that can help lower a person’s chance at divorce, “ So if you are a reasonably well-educated person with a decent income, come from an intact family and are religious, and marry after age twenty-five without having a baby first, your chances of divorce are very low indeed,” (25). Divorce has become a common part of today’s society.
David Popenoe and Barbara Dafoe Whitehead’s evolved thesis statement is, “ Americans are living longer, marrying later, exiting marriages more quickly, and choosing to live together before marriage, after marriage, in between marriages, and as an alternative to marriage,” (27). More and more people are getting divorced each year. There are a lot of people who never get married and live either single or unmarried. The “State of the Union” shows how divorce and living style of marriage has