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HISTORY OF FAMILIES

I. PRIOR TO 1776: PUBLIC FAMILY

A. PUBLIC = FUNCTIONS OF FAMILY

Among European colonists, the conjugal family (husband, wife, kid(s)) provided services to the community –
Families acted as:
hospital = some adults who supposedly had specialized knowlege took sick persons to their homes for treatment
orphanage = children whose parents had died – very common – were taken in by relative or family friend
nursing home = elderly parents were taken in by their grown children
poorhouse = families took in relatives who needed food and shelter
house of correction = judges ordered criminals to live in the homes of “upstanding” families to learn how to change their ways
· Of course family diversity (more in another chapter) –
· Indigenous peoples/ Native American Indians – many were killed by the colonists – these families / tribes were both patrilineal and matrilineal – related lineages often banded together into larger clans that provided the basis for social organization and governing
· African Americans – exploited through slavery – as slaves not supposed to be educated, get married, form families – but research such as done by Gutman finds that many were resilient and formed families and had marriage ceremonies – before and after slavery most African American families had two parents and children – however slave owners would often split families by selling to different owners – also rape / sexual abuse of slaves by owners

B. DOMINANT PATRIARCH

men had god-given rule over wife and kids – custody in divorce

II. 1776: MODERN FAMILY EMERGING

A. WHY

enlightenment and individualism = marriages began to be based also on more notion of romantic love
capitalism = shift from subsistence farming to wage labor meant that instead of farming the land, more husbands started taking paid jobs – this meant that also now sons one day could also get a job, so this financial independence of the sons started to erode the authority of the father –
this lead to separate spheres – ie, separate roles for wives and husbands —

B. SEPARATE SPHERES

1. CULT OF TRUE WOMANHOOD

Named by historian Barbara Welter –
Woman was homemaker – supposed to be pious, submissive to men, chaste –
This restricted women’s economic role but glorified their domestic role

2. CULT OF SELF-MADE MAN

Man was breadwinner – competitive –
This gave men economic power and freedom, but jobs were generally dangerous and exhausting and meant most of the day away from their family

C. EXCEPTION TO SEPRATE SPHERES

1. RACE-ETHNICITY

slavery – as explained before, families were broken apart by slaveowners

2. SOCIAL CLASS

living between modes of production = in poor families, everyone worked, even kids

III. 1900-PRESENT: PRIVATE FAMILY

During this time period we have seen increase in premarital sex, drop in birthrate, youth culture rebelling against the establishment, an increasing divorce rate –
Historian Stephanie Coontz notes that during 1920s there was increased openness about sexuality – attitude shifted to believe a good marriage also meant a good sex life and emotional bond

A. 1930s = “DEPRESSION GENERATION”

delayed marriage and having kids –
divorce not common because could not afford to split

B. 1950s = “THE GREAT EXCEPTION”

baby boom = marry early, have lots of kids early, because economic prosperity spanned social classes

C. 1960s thru the 1990s = “BABY BUST”

fewer kids and delayed marriage – today average is between 1 and 2 in U.S.

D. PRESENT

Focus of the rest of semester