New Avenues for Domestic Dispute and Divorce Lawsuits along the U.S.-Mexico Border, 1832–1893

After the Mexican-American War (1846–1848), the United States assumed control over the area in southern Texas between the Nueces and Rio Grande rivers. As former Mexican citizens became U.S. citizens, American civilian officials obtained control over marital relations in the newly annexed territory. Using court records from Mexico and the United States, this article compares the domestic dispute and divorce lawsuits of residents living under Mexican jurisdiction between 1832 and 1846 to those living in the same region under United States jurisdiction between 1849 and 1893. Jurisdictional changes increased women's legal freedom to resolve domestic disagreements, introduced new legal marital expectations, and decreased the Catholic Church's legal influence over marital relations. This analysis suggests a reinterpretation of the post-annexation era; rather than being a period characterized by declension, it was one filled with both positive and negative results.