Changes in the Institution of Family in America

The institution a family has been changing over the years in America characterized by variation in roles, composition, setup and values. The changes which started all the way from the 1500s are inspired by the development in America. Some of the developments such as slavery, industrial revolution, immigration, and the World Wars shaped the family nature. Factors that define the institution such as the societal values, economy, life expectancy and other social aspects have been changing over time. Using my family root, which is historically a migrant family, and my friend Trump’s family with ancestral roots of wealthy colonial landowners, the paper demonstrates how the institution of family has been changing in America. The research will limit the discussion from the period of the 1875 to date, analyzing the family variables, social identity and how they have been affected by the technological, economic, cultural and historical changes. The research will also discuss the myths that surround the institution of family and debunk them.

Family is one of the dynamic institutions in the United States. Starting from the period of the late 19^th century in the 1875s to date in the 21^st Century, the American family has undergone numerous changes. The changes have occurred in composition, size, division of labor, family decision-making, family cultures, and in the way they interact with other institutions as can be seen in the Figure 1.1 below. In the 19^th century, the institution of family undergone some changes inspired by the industrial revolution of 1800. The industrial revolution was a major factor in family composition. Previously, America was an agricultural economy with majority of the people practicing agriculture (Rote et al., 2022). The institution of slavery was at its peak as most agriculturalists depended on the slave labor for their farms. Slaves were shipped from Africa, other far regions and from native communities. The system meant slaves stayed and spent most part of their lives in the vicinity of their masters.

Figure 1.1: Description of Family Institution across Different Centuries

The African slaves, or the slaves in general were not allowed to have families even though they reproduced. Similarly, the Native Americans who had formal family institutions had been disrupted by wars with the White colonialists. The White slave masters were the only group that had a formal family setup. Even so, the composition of the family at this period was basically nuclear family, with the extended family being far (Gudin, 2022). The nuclear family was headed by a man of the house who made decisions and provided for the members as shown explained in the Figure 1.1. The size of the family was large but reduced with time due to the short life expectancy and high infant mortality rate at the time. Couples sired many children to increase the chances of survival.

With the development of industrial revolution, the American economic setup changed. The domestic slave system was replaced by urban labor. The Africans who had been subjected to slavery began to move to urban centers to provide labor to the established industries. In addition, massive immigration took place with the arrival of millions of migrants. The composition of family for immigrants and former Afro-American slaves was extended family (Welters et al., 2022). The immigrants and Afro-Americans stayed together in extended family setups while looking for jobs but later adopted nuclear family setups headed by men who provided for the family and made decisions (Gudin, 2022). The interactions of women were limited to domestic chores while men took over the economic roles. The size of family was large as couples sired many children to increase the chances of survival amidst high mortality rate.

Divorce was not common as separation was not largely embraced. Once married, couples stayed together until death and single-parenthood was attributed strictly to death of a partner. Furthermore, the marital age was slightly higher with men marrying at almost 30 while females getting married at 24 (Mitchell, 2022). Late marital age was attributed to men waiting for inheritance from their parents. In addition, family cultures and values depended on the societal beliefs and not individual principles or wishes. Behaviors such as homosexuality were highly condemned by the society (Mitchell, 2022). In the same vein, race and ethnicity were major societal concerns with cross-racial and cross-ethic marriages largely denounced. The family institution was keen on the choice of partners and composition.

The period of 20^th century was characterized by World Wars, the Great Depression, and the subsequent economic booms. The developments further changed the setup of the family institution as demonstrated in the Figure 1.1. The economic boom ushered in numerous economic opportunities and education. People got jobs and acquired education which privatized family institution. As evident in the Figure 1.1, the male members of the family become sole breadwinners with females taking up the domestic chores and looking after homes (Davis, 2022). Even though education opportunities were available, it was only the majority males that acquired it. Females were a bit disadvantaged in education sector, which lowered their economic power. The economic boom lowered the marital age as men began to marry as early as 20 due to economic empowerment (Gudin, 2022). The period also witnessed major technological developments in the medical sector, increasing the life expectancy and reducing the mortality rate. This meant, couples could have few children as they were confident of their survival as seen shown in the Figure 1.1. As the previous period, divorce was not a common practice, with married couples staying together till death.

Additionally, the abolishment of practices such as child labor meant family provisions became entirely the responsible of men as demonstrated in the Figure 1.1. The economic opportunities also came with big houses and large rooms that accommodated the family members and increased privacy (Mitchell, 2022). As opposed to small rooms with little privacy in the past, these houses allowed the family members to have privacy, especially the senior members.

As demonstrated in the Figure 1.1, even though this period began to experience a bit of racial interaction, the societal values were still rigid against ethnic tolerance and practice discrimination. The members of the White community still disregarded the Black and Latin counterparts, resisting most forms of family interactions among the groups (Gudin, 2022). Cross-racial and ethnic interactions in form of marriages or sexual relation were forbidden, and families prohibited to have members from a different ethnic group.

In the 21^st century and modern time, the institution of family has greatly changed with further economic and social developments as demonstrated in the Figure 1.1. Unlike in the past years where education and employment were limited to males, women are becoming more economically and educationally empowered. Family responsibilities are now shared between partners (Mitchell, 2022). In the same vein, domestic chores are no longer female responsibilities as couples supplement. Unlike in the past when some chores were viewed in the sex line and considered female responsibilities, couples currently cross the sex borders to perform women roles.

Furthermore, divorce has become a common practice, leading to numerous cases of single-parent family setups. Cohabitation is another form of marriage that is becoming prevalent. The 21^st century has also seen the adoption of same-sex family arrangements. As shown in Figure 1.1, modern family institution has seen women making decisions in the family (Ge et al., 2022). The marital age has also taken an upward trajectory with people getting married at late ages. The late marital age is attributed to education and women economic independence. Moreover, cross racial and ethnic marriages have been on the increase with partners crossing their ethnic and racial confinement to pick partners which has led to racially and ethnically mixed family setups.

Family size is another aspect that experienced a great change. The size of family is constantly reducing with technological developments such as family planning methods. Most families are now smaller in size with kids ranging below three in number as demonstrated in the Figure 1.1. The technological developments in the medical sector have also influenced the family size as infant mortality rate has reduced. Life expectancy has also experienced an upward trajectory ranging at 60 plus years. The increase in globalization has seen American families adopting cross national marriages leading to international family setups (Pacino & Warren, 2022). A family can have one of the members from other national boundaries. American couples can work and stay in different countries without any problem.

Furthermore, family culture and values have changed in the modern period with parents becoming more open with their children. Behaviors such as sexual relationships have become more individualized as opposed to communal (Ewen, 2022). Unlike in the past where the choices of partners were determined by the parents and the extended family, currently, the choice of partner or sexual orientation is a personal responsibility and not community interest.

The modern time has seen gender and racially discriminative beliefs being debunked and washed away. Females proving economically productive and critical players in family development (Gudin, 2022). Modern American family setup has seen women taking up masculine roles and looking after the family. Secondly, the cross-racial family setups that were previously contested have proved as one of the best with racially mixed family setups becoming successful.

In conclusion, American family as an institution has undergone several changes over the years with the changes in technology, economy, politics and social life. The changes are evident on the composition, size, culture, and roles among other important aspects. Beginning from the 19^th century, 20th century and modern time, major changes have taken place as influenced by the development and evolution of life, with each period having distinct features.

References

Davis, R. G. (2022). Relative histories: Mediating history in Asian American family memoirs. Web.

Ewen, S. (2022). Advertising and the development of consumer society. In I. Angus & S. Jhally (Eds.), Cultural politics in contemporary America (pp. 82-95). Web.

Ge, B., De Massis, A., & Kotlar, J. (2022). Mining the past: History scripting strategies and competitive advantage in a family business. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 46(1), 223-251. Web.

Gudin, J. (2022). The origin of the family, private property and the state. Sustainability and Climate Change, 15(3), 179-181. Web.

Mitchell, S. (2022). Veiled: The history and significance of a family heirloom. [Master’s thesis, The Pennsylvania State University]. PennState University Libraires. Web.

Pacino, M. A., & Warren, S. R. (Eds.). (2022). Building culturally responsive partnerships among schools, families, and communities. Teachers College Press.

Rote, S. M., Moon, H. E., Kacmar, A. M., & Moore, S. (2022). Exploring coping strategies and barriers in dementia care: A mixed-methods study of African American family caregivers in Kentucky. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 41(8), 1851-1859. Web.

Welters, L., Kelly, R., & Jerome, S. J. (2022). An exhibition: One American family: A tale of North and South. Critical Studies in Fashion & Beauty, 13(1), 69-88. Web.