Single Mothers : An American Family

I believe that society has changed for the worse. The reason I believe this is because society in the past was much simpler. There was not a lot of technology available to individuals. People are starting to lose the art of communication. Instead people text one another in text lingo

High Risk Families: Statistical and Theoretical Analysis of the Homeless Family in America Introduction While homelessness may be an issue that is so far from the minds of the average American family, the truth remains that the current homelessness statistics in America suggest that the issue of homelessness is far more average than one could ever imagine. As of January 2012, The National Alliance to End Homelessness published a series of reports that listed the number of homeless Americans at 636,017 with a rate of homelessness at 21 homeless people per 10,000 individuals in the general population (NAEH, 2012, pp.1). While 636,017 may seem small in comparison to the country's 311,291,917 citizens, homelessness remains an issue that stems through the ages, through families, through neighborhoods, through ethnicity and the like. Homelessness detrimentally effects families in their health, mortality rate, and ability to seek out employment and basic education. In further viewing the statistics at hand regarding the homeless, their health and behavior, as well as understanding how these people and this issue can be remedied within our country, an overarching assessment of family life and the causes and relief measures of homelessness must be taken into account.

Family in Postwar America The period immediately following the Second World War was a time of great anxiety in the United States. Although the Germans had been defeated after many long years of war and much sacrifice and loss, the rise of the Soviet Union and the beginning of the Cold War caused Americans great apprehension. However, Americans responded with an increased focus on domesticity and strove to make the family the centerpiece of American culture. In doing so, they hoped to counter the Soviet Union and its policies of egalitarianism, particularly the equality of women in all aspects of society.

“America’s working single mothers: An Appreciation” by LeBron James is a tribute to his hardworking single mother Gloria James. Gloria James has LeBron James at the age of 16 and was single handedly on her own. They lived in poverty because Gloria James was “Lacking any support, and the skills and education necessary to get ahead” (James) making their life extremely hard. Gloria James like every other hardworking and devoted single mother tried her hardest every day to support and provide for her child.

“The Changing American Family”: A Sociological View The families in America are steadily changing. While they remain our most valued and consistent source of strength and comfort, some families are becoming increasingly unstructured. In the past, the typical family consists of a working father, a stay at home mother and, of course, well-rounded children. Today, less than 20 percent of American families fit nicely into this cookie cutter image. American households have never been more diverse. Natalie Angier takes stock of the changing definition of family in an article for the New York Times.

Homeless Families in America We generally think of the homeless as people who made bad choices and are doing nothing to help themselves. We rarely think of the parents who have to decide on either feeding their children or paying rent. On how one event leads to a series of events that change the course of history for these families. A family with only one provider who dies unexpectedly, leaving the family with no means of providing for itself. A mother who has to choose the safety of her children over the comfort her abuser provides. Against popular belief that most homeless are mentally ill or lazy people who do not want to work, there are many causes of homelessness (Top Causes of Homelessness in America, 2015).

Did you know that more than one fourth of all children in the United States live with only one parent? Single parenting has become more common today than in the 1800s, when it was sometimes frowned upon. As the years have gone by, it has become easier and easier for

Lilianne Ziyalan Mr. Seely AP US History P.4 2 November 2017 Take Home DBQ Ideals of American womanhood between the time of the American Revolution and the start of the Civil War were constantly shifting. The country was founded with the everlasting ideals of economic opportunity, equality, and liberty for all, and compared to Great Britain after independence, America had greater religious freedom and social mobility. In spite of this, numerous groups were excluded from the full extent of these rights and privileges- especially women. After the American Revolution a belief regarding the roles of women emerged and came to be known as republican motherhood, which centered around the belief that women had the primary responsibility of raising their children to uphold the values of republicanism so they could be valuable members of the newly formed American republic. A complementing set of beliefs were instilled into American society between the period of 1820 to 1860, the cult of domesticity, which asserted that women were solely to serve as wives, mothers, and housekeepers who were concerned with only domestic affairs. While the principles brought forth by the cult of domesticity and the ideas of republican motherhood were accepted by many, much of what they embodied was unachievable for women of lower economic standing due to social oppression that handicapped their opportunities, especially blacks who were often separated from their families due to the institution

Edin and Lein wanted to discover the surviving strategies of single mothers who are on welfare or work on a low-waged job. They argue “neither welfare nor low wage work gives single mothers enough income to meet their families’ expenses” (253). To find out the set of survival strategies of single mothers to make ends meet Edin and Lein interviewed 379 low income single mothers. They chose their interviewees from different cities, different aged group, and different ethnic background. Most mothers who are on welfare wanted to find a job and be out of the welfare but the primary problem that single mothers face was that “family economics”. With the minimum wage income it was impossible for the single mothers to bring the ends meet. Neither working nor being on welfare was enough to survive therefore mothers who are on welfare supported their budget by generating substantial supplementary income. Edin and Lein states that “welfare recipients generated extra income by working at side jobs, obtaining cash from network members, community groups and local charities”. They also get cash help from the family members, child’s fathers, and from a boyfriend. Because they were afraid to lose welfare benefits they did not tell anyone about the extra income they have. To survive they needed both the welfare benefits and the extra income. It was very difficult to establish a trust with the interviewees in the beginning because they were afraid if they talk about it they might lose the

New York University journalism professor and author, Katie Roiphe, in her opinion essay, In Defense of Single Motherhood, rebuts society’s view that single mothers are bad. Roiphe’s purpose is to defend single mothers by admonishing the conservatives and liberals for their traditional views on families. Her tone is

Single mothers are constantly put down and defined as bad by the world. Why does the world get to decide who single mothers are? I started my research on single parents although I found most of the negativity was towards single mothers. Society, stereotypes and the media have all given single parents a bad name. These negative things so often said affect the daily lives as well as the future of single parents. Because of the media, society and stereotypes, single mothers do not further their education, have low hopes for their future, themselves and their parenting; the media and society should recognize single mothers and their hard work.

When I think of a single mother the first thing that comes to mind is a hard working women that has to do all that's in her power to care and provide for her children. I also think of a hard working, independent women. Unlike the way I view single motherhood “7 in 10 Americans think single mothers are a “bad thing for society.”’ Single mothers are not bad for society they are just not as lucky as other females that have had children. Not all of the girls that decide to have children pick “the right” person to have that kid with. Majority or single mothers are not married but that is just a loss that they have to take

During the years, single parent families have become a more common thing. This is starting to become a problem, because family dynamics can really influence a child’s life. According to studies it affects not only the child but the parents too.

“A single parent family is a family living together in a home atmosphere where only one parent is present with one or more children. This is in opposition to a family with two parents living in the home. A married couple can also live in a single family setting for

Social and Political Backlash of Single Mothers Single parents have been criticized since the beginning times of early settlers and their negative backlash has deep roots in American culture. Even before the American government was established, early settlers borrowed ideas from England to create settlements laws and colonial poor laws in the 17th century to punish women who didn’t have husbands and mothers whom unfortunately were not part of a marriage. The sole purpose early settlers established these laws were to punish women who committed adultery or fornication. Men too, were held accountable for children born out of wedlock. These laws remained in effect throughout the early colonial times. Centuries later when Ronald Reagan became president the laws took drastic changes and it was during the Reagan’s presidential era, that one cannot help, but to notice the drastic social changes that occurred during the 1970s and 1980s. Fundamental roles and social changes created a concern for how people view the conservative ideology in the United States with emphasize on single parents’, especially women. Adding to the concerns, an increase in single mothers, teenage pregnancy, divorce rates caused the government to cut back on public programs such as, Medicaid, food stamps, maternal and child health services. The president himself labeled women of low income communities as “welfare queens.” Due to the government’s decision to cut back on public programs, consequently an