American Family

American Family

Introduction

American families have diverse origins, backgrounds, and experiences. Consequently, there is no such thing as a “typical” American family. The numerous forms that American families take throughout history have depended upon many social, economic, and political factors. A discussion of American family structures must include various historical forces that have shaped American family life. The historical experiences of Native American families have been shaped by social, economic, and political forces in vital ways. Because the social organization of Native American family life has historically differed from one tribe to another, it is impossible to condense the family experiences of diverse North American indigenous tribes into one large category (Berry, 2002). However, the arrival of Europeans on North American soil affected all forms of indigenous tribal family life. Through war and genocide, families were broken up and whole tribes were obliterated. Ways of life sufficient for the social and economic survival of tribal families were violently disrupted by European action.

The colonial families of early America were also significantly shaped by social, economic, and political forces. Marriage was an important element of family life, and divorce rates were extremely low. The fact that divorce was uncommon during colonial times does not necessarily indicate the prevalence of intact families, however. Spousal desertion occurred more frequently, and widowhood was a factor in single-parent households. Although colonial households were significantly larger than contemporary families, not all residents were necessarily related to one another. Non-family member residents often served economic functions. For instance, some families employed servants, while others housed apprentices and employees. Furthermore, many families took in boarders to supplement household income (Georgas, 2005).

Discussion

Many analyses of “the colonial family” exclude the familial experiences of people of color from this era of American history. Narrow focus upon the family structures of white Americans has obscured the African American experience. While maintenance of slave family life was extremely difficult, historical records have shown that, even though legal marriage was not an option, slaves did perform their own marriage rituals. Even when nuclear families were disrupted, slaves often found ways to preserve ritual marital bonds.

The industrialization of America transformed many people's social, economic, and political roles. Mills and factories created jobs outside the home. The shift from self-sustaining agrarian lifestyle to industrial wage labor reshaped the American family structure in various ways (Ingoldsby, 1995). Prior to the Industrial Revolution, family members worked together as an economic unit in the home or on the family farm, with families producing much of what they consumed. With the development of the commercial economy, the workplace was located away from the family unit, which created a sharp distinction between work and family life. Increasingly, women's roles were defined by activities assumed to be noneconomic, in the form of nurturing and caring for family members. Men were viewed as having primary responsibility for the economic welfare of their families. No longer an economically interdependent unit, families were transformed such that women and children became economically dependent on the primary wage ...