Family Is Transformative. As An Individual You Are Born

Family used to be a single unit, consisting of a husband, wife and children. This unit was widely thought as a group based on marriage and biological parenthood as sharing a common residence and

     Since its inception, America as a nation has developed and progressed according to trends of change that collectively define an era. Like all other eras, the time period of 1875-1925 experienced growth, changes, movements, and new ideals. It is the way that these changes came about that defines this era. Americans started to push for changes in many arenas of life that were previously unchallenged. New experiences and opportunities were also presented to America that caused tributaries in the former American ideal. These pressures for change could not be ignored and thus America continued its maturity in a new and unique manner. The changes in the American sphere of life and the development of greater

This article shows the many different ways in which the makeup of Family has changed in the 20th century as an Institution. It shows many ways in which Nellie McClung has fought for every definition of family to be accepted. The definition of family is a group of persons who form a household. This definition has changed greatly over time, it used to be more specifically anyone who was biologically related to you. This article goes over the main points of social change that have occurred in this primary social Institution. These changes include social customs concerning dating, divorce, family, marriage, women's rights. It also looks at people’s social life and customs that are now considered “normal”, as well as children and family. It also looks at the global impact that occurs from each of these points that have changed the way we view this primary institution and the way that we define family. The author concludes that during the 20th

Throughout human history individuals around the world, of various ethnic, racial, cultural backgrounds have linked together to form what people call today families. A lot of questions come to mind when contemplating the complex relationship people have. Since families have a direct bearing on society now and on future generations it is essential to take seriously what is happening to the family. Is the American family in decline, and if so what should be done about it? “Traditionally, family has been defined as a unit made up of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption: live together; form an economic unit, and bear and raise children (Benokraitis, 3).” The definition of decline is to “fail in strength, vigor, character, value, deteriorate, slant downward.” The traditional nuclear family consists of a father provider, mother-homemaker, and at least one child (Brym and Lie, 252).” The nuclear family is a distinct and universal family form because it performs five important functions in society:sexual regulation, economic cooperation, reproduction, socialization, and emotional support. Research from the 1950 's to the present will emphasize what trends are taking place among American families. Family trends might not have expected???

In the 1950s, she was pitied if she did not want what was expected of her.” (Coontz, A Strange Stirring 75) This growing discontent resulted in a push toward newly built suburbia‒ where eighty-five percent of new homes were built‒ as an answer to their search for belonging (Coontz, The Way We Never Were 24). This shifting focus to the nuclear family complete with the concept of the male as breadwinner and head of household and a fixation on finding happiness within the “traditional family” was new in America (Coontz, The Way We Never Were 27). The tight knit nuclear family was considered a weapon in the fight against communism, and a push towards capitalism through the “American Dream” (Hellman 1).

The way in which the ‘family’ unit is perceived has changed immensely since the last quarter of the twentieth century. Over time, many factors have contributed to these changes including, and not limited to, the industrial revolution, the feminist movement, the period of modernity and technological advancements. As a result, these factors have influenced significant changes to the ‘family’, these include; the increasing rates of female occupation, mean age at marriage, divorce, unmarried couples, single parents, mean age at birth of first child, and a decline in marriage rates. Moreover, this essay will examine how the family has changed over time through discussing the factors that have contributed to these changes. It is for these reasons and observations made by sociologists that it could be inferred that the way the family unit is perceived has changed greatly over time.

In the years following World War II, Americans married in larger numbers than previously and enjoyed longer, more stable marriages. May argues that need to marry and have families was not a passive act, but rather a political statement against issues of the time, mainly the threat of communism. With the threat of communism looming overhead and the rapidly changing role of women and the family structure, stress was bound to occur in suburban America. The family would be the stronghold that would defend its members against the concerns of the era. Having a secure home and family was how Americans could maintain their way of life and combat the communistic threat they felt was an imminent danger to their American values.

A family is seen as a group of people who are biologically or psychologically related. They connect on historical, emotional

Doherty begins his book, The Intentional Family, by telling the reader that this century has witnessed a revolution in the structures and expectations of family life. He states that we have reinvented family life away from the traditional family, or how he terms it, the “Institutional Family,” a family based on kinship, children, community ties, economics and the father’s authority. Children are now growing up in single-parent homes or living with a step-family, and an adult is likely to cohabitate, marry, divorce and remarry. The Institutional Family was suited to a world of family farms, small family businesses and tight communities bound together by a common religion. It began to give way during the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century, when individual freedom and the pursuit of personal happiness and achievement began to be more important than kinship obligations, and when small farms and villages started to give way to more impersonal cities. A new family began to emerge – the “Psychological Family” – replacing the Institutional Family of the past. This new kind of family was based on personal achievement and happiness more than on family obligations and tight community bonds. Doherty believes that in the early twentieth century, Americans turned a corner in family life, never to go back.

Times have changed; the nuclear family is no longer the American ideal because family needs have changed since the 1950's. This American convention of a mother and father and their two children, were a template of films and early television as a depiction of the American family life. Now seen as archaic and cliché by today’s standards, but the idea is common throughout many of the first world nations in the world. This ideal was a vast departure from the past agrarian and pre industrial families, and was modeled and structured as the ‘American dream’ father working, mother maintaining the household and children molded to be simulacra of the parents. This portrayal was not the standard; many communities throughout America had a different

Family relations started to weaken during the second revolution in America and New England because with new employment opportunities for women, men and children in New England and America, families had the ability to become free or separate from each other, move away, or have an employment in which their gender or age might not have otherwise allowed today. “In short, the Industrial Revolution in early America created a standard of hard work, individuality, and in some cases, an equal amount of importance dedicated to career and family.”

In most cultures, family plays a big role in one’s life. Family helps shapes people into who they become by giving

As time and years passed by, society’s perspective upon family and life had an incredible shift. In the early 1920’s, “parenting

The ideal function of the family is to aid and care for the next generation to simply guide them through childhood. During the pre-industrial revolution (pre-1750) the family unit which existed was the extended family. During that time, the main role of the family was to work together to provide, this included household chores, childcare and economic wellbeing. This type of family unit drastically changed during the industrial revolution (1800-1900). This was the start of manufacturing and production. Many families became nuclear families which generally consisted of only parents and children within a unit. The transition between the extended family era to the nuclear family was mainly due to individual family members earning wages independently rather than a whole. However, this created a problem in households when it came to sharing responsibilities. Because of this, the adult male of the home was expected to work and provide for the family, taking on the patriarchal role and the adult woman of the house was expected to stay at home and take on household chores and childcare. During these times, young

The ideal American family was transformed in the 19th century in large part due to the great changes taking place in the American society. Many family groups fit this changing mold while some did not. In this essay I will show how this concept of the ideal American family changed. I will also try to explain which groups of Americans followed this concept and why.