Introduction
America’s family cultural history changed from the colonial period to the modern day to represent the prevailing values every day. Rather than being a unified unit, the family institution has been in continuous transition. Throughout America’s history, it has become clear that the only constants for families have been change and adaptation. Immigration, urbanization, marriage, family size, education, gender roles, and women in the workplace illustrate recent changes in family life. These developments are just the most recent in a long line of changes in family life.
Immigration
Immigration is the process by which individuals become lifelong citizens of another country. Several immigration restrictions were implemented in America throughout the colonial period. Criminals, individuals with infectious illnesses, polygamous marriages, petitioners, and dealers in prostitutes were all outlawed. Other constraints focused on expanding the influx of Asian immigrants, restricting migration from China and eventually forbidding entry from most Asian countries. Gonzales (2019) states that the 1917 Act established a literacy test that required immigrants over the age of 16 to exhibit basic reading skills in any language. It also doubled the tax that new immigrants must pay upon arrival and gave immigration agents additional freedom in determining who to deport.
However, immigration policies in the United States have altered over time. President Barack Obama signed an executive rule in 2012 to allow young adults who were brought to the United States unlawfully to petition for a deportation reprieve and a work visa. In 2014, he improved the program and established a new one to provide similar advantages to some unlawful immigrant mothers of children born in the United States (Gonzales 2019). President Joe Biden is now working on immigration reform and anti-discrimination legislation. He has controlled actions, such as increasing refugee admissions and preserving deportation reprieves for undocumented immigrants who entered the country as youngsters. New rules have been devised that do not apply the “public charge” principle, which prevents immigrants from receiving green cards to use public benefits such as Medicaid.
Urbanization
Urbanization has had profound implications on many facets of America’s social, governmental, and cultural life. As a result of two trends, cities in the United States grew in number and size during the nineteenth century. The first one was immigration, which started in the 18th century with Irish, Italian, and other European immigrants (Ritchie & Roser 2018). People came closer to industries and other companies’ production locations due to the second, which was industrialization. Urbanization spread out into the country and up into the sky due to the new methods of building taller structures. The crowding of individuals in confined spaces stimulated economic activity, resulting in increased industrial growth.
For emerging countries, rapid urbanization presents both benefits and challenges. Cities have an advantage over rural locations regarding job availability and pay. However, there are numerous obstacles to growing countries’ major cities. According to Ritchie and Roser (2018), urbanization accelerates due to technological advancements, societal shifts, and a political system that prioritizes economic expansion over all other considerations. Due to modern technologies and job development, most individuals from other nations migrate to the United States in search of opportunities, resulting in congestion and vast urbanization.
Family Size
Household sizes have shrunk, while the typical family home has grown in size. Middle children may become extinct as the typical family size shrinks. Having children was a top desire for many in marriage in the colonial times, and many did not wait long before getting started. Blake (2020) states that during the colonial period, the average age of first-time mothers was 21. Most women are delaying having children these days, and the average age of first-time mothers has risen to 27. During the colonial era, spouses did not have many alternatives when it came to contraception. The most common methods for ensuring that a couple did not begin a family until they were ready were abstaining, scientifically questionable behaviors, and crossed fingers (Blake, 2020). Things were made a little easier when the Food and Drug Administration authorized the first oral contraceptive pill in 1960 (Blake, 2020). Millions of women were on the pill within five years, and couples had far more choice over the timing of their first baby.
Women in The Workplace
The ideal American family consisted of a working father, a housewife, and at least two children living in their own homes during the colonial times. Almost half of all women were stay-at-home mothers in the late 1960s (Appelbaum and Batt 2018). Since then, the shift of women into the workforce has significantly impacted family life. According to Appelbaum and Batt (2018), in the early twentieth century, many women in America did not work full time, and that did were either youthful or single. The rise in divorce and separation, female-headed homes, and single-parent households point to females feeling pressured to work to keep the family together.
Today, family life is different since women account for nearly as much labor as men; most families prefer to rent rather than own. The number of full-time stay-at-home mothers has halved, while the number of families with both couples working full-time has nearly doubled (Blake, 2020). Only a small percentage of children had a working mother during colonial times, but this group now constitutes the majority. A bread-winning wife, or a woman who earns more than her partner, exists in one out of every five marriages (Eagly et al. 2020). Women increasingly find themselves in professions, industries, and responsibilities that were previously assumed to be entirely male.
Gender Roles
Millennial males are shifting to take on more housework and parenting tasks, or at least trying to, as gender norms alter and women concentrate more on their jobs before having children. Women continue to do a significant percentage of unpaid work. According to (Eagly et al. 2020), the majority of young men and women said they would want to share earnings and caring responsibilities equally with their partner. Most women were stay-at-home mothers fifty years ago. They also took care of practically all of the housekeeping, from cleaning the home interior to grocery shopping, whereas men only conducted two hours of tasks per week. In recent years, men are becoming adapted to house duties, spending four hours weekly on chores. Traditional views and expectations were influenced by new concepts, such as socialism, patriotism, and equality (Eagly et al., 2020). Women now get more bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees than men, in contrast to previous generations.
Marriage
Bearing a child out of wedlock was frowned upon by many people, and it had a negative impact on their social position. Today, sentiments against births to unmarried mothers have softened significantly, and approximately 40% of births are to unmarried women (Blake, 2020). It was impossible to get a consent order as a same-sex couple. In general, same-sex couples’ visibility was lower, with fewer couples opting to live freely as partners due to societal standards. The approval of homosexuals’ marriage in 2015 gave the couples legal grounds for the first time, considerably increasing the number of disclosed families with same-sex partners (Blake, 2020). Marriages took place at an early age during the colonial period, with the average groom being 23 and the average bride being 20. Blake (2020) argues that this tendency has changed in recent years, with people marrying at later ages, with the average age of a groom now being 29 and the average age of a bride being 27.
The concept of marriage has changed along with America over the years. Marriage was entirely a matter of possessions and procreation in the colonial period. A colonial woman’s legal rights as a person were forfeited when she married. She had a lawful requirement to obey her husband as she would God. Marriage evolved with the times as love became more popular. In the areas of love and marriage, the twentieth century brought about significant and long-lasting changes. However, the history of American marriages suggests an institution that has consistently been adaptable and is likely to be more inclusive rather than less so in the future. Women’s freedom has transformed the roles of couples, yet marriage remains an essential element of the American culture.
Conclusion
In America, the family has been in a continual state of development. Since colonial times, economic progress in Middle Eastern countries has cleared the way for substantial technological advancements and enlarged the building industry, creating new job opportunities. These expansions have aided in reducing urbanization and the extension of technology to other countries to curb immigration. The role of women in the workplace and at home has changed as family structures, and views about marriage have changed. Women and men share domestic tasks and care for children regarding gender roles. Evolution is common in American families as a result of these changes.
References
Appelbaum, E., & Batt, R. (2018). The new American workplace: Transforming work systems in the United States. The Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society, 16(2), 73-75. Web.
Blake, J. (2020). Family size and achievement. University of California Press.
Eagly, A. H., Nater, C., Miller, D. I., Kaufmann, M., & Sczesny, S. (2020). Gender stereotypes have changed: A cross-temporal meta-analysis of US public opinion polls from 1946 to 2018. American Psychologist, 75(3), 301. Web.
Gonzales, M. G. (2019). Mexicanos: A history of Mexicans in the United States. Indiana University Press.
Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. (2018). Urbanization. Our world in data. Web.