July 4th: Divorce Rates In The Original Thirteen Colonies

In honor of Independence Day, we thought we'd take a look at the present-day divorce rates in each of the original 13 colonies, culled from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's National Vital Statistics Report.

For those who need a refresher, the colonies were established by Britain between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution, which culminated in the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

Divorce information from that time period is hard to come by, but we know the first recorded split in the colonies took place in Massachusetts Bay, when Anne Clarke was granted a divorce on Jan 5, 1643. Her husband, Denis Clarke, left her for another woman and refused to return home, leaving the Puritan court no option but to grant the divorce.

Today, the divorce rates in those territories are all over the map, with some appearing on the highest state divorce rates list and others on the lowest.