Chapter 3: The Family in Historical Perspective

Chapter three focuses on how historical factors have had a major influence on the contemporary family. This chapter first begins by discussing the family structure of the colonial family. The puritans believed that the community had a right to intervene with families that did not perform their duties properly. Very few people survived outside families during the colonial period. Each family was considered a little common wealth that performed a variety of functions that included: Being a self-sufficient business, Being a school, Being a vocational institute, Being a house of correction, and being a welfare institution. Within the family the husband was the breadwinner and the wives main duty was to obey their husbands. Children learned at an extremely young age that they were to be obedient while doing their daily chores. Boys usually received a better education because girls were expected to be the homemakers of the family, thus receiving little formal education.

The next section goes into talking about American Indians, African Americans, and Mexican Americans. It is said that American Indians were enormously diverse racially, culturally, and linguistically. American Indians women would typically be married at a very young age, and most of these marriages would be set up by their parents. Most Indian families were small because of high infant and child death rates. Puberty rites were also different for boys and girls. Usually, puberty rites were more elaborate for girls than for boys. The text then goes into discussion about African Americans. African Americans experienced a lot of hardships in their life. By the mid “1600s the southern colonies had passed laws prohibiting blacks from testifying in court, owning property, making contracts, legally marrying, traveling with permission, and congregating in public places” (pg. 60). Many African American women received little recognition for their exhausting schedules. They refused the slave system by keeping their family in order along with the slave cabin. It is said they led a double day---a full day of domestic chores plus a full day of work outside the home. The chapter then focuses on Mexican Americans. Many Mexican Americans lost their lands to European settlers. The chapter talks about the work and gender roles of Mexican Americans explaining that in the early 1800s men worked on the railroads or mining, while women worked as domestics, cooks..ect. The chapter points out that “despite the economic exploitation they faced, many Mexican families preserved traditional family structures, family roles, and child-rearing practices” (pg.63).

The chapter then goes on to focus on Industrialization and how this changed many aspects of the family. The chapter discusses how marriages began to be based more on love and choice rather than on economic considerations. It was at the turn of the twentieth century when married couples began to be considered a companionate family. (Families that were built on mutual affection, sexual attraction, compatibility, and personal happiness between husbands and wives.) It was with the start of the Great Depression where families were really challenged. Many families endured enormous hardships and disruptions in their daily lives. This changed the work roles of families. Women could find jobs easier, but they would work for an extremely small pay. When World War II hit, death and divorce disrupted many families. The chapter discusses how different family roles changed and how the family had to adapt.

I found the section on the Family Structure of the Puritans to be extremely interesting. I found it most interesting when the chapter discussed how each family was considered a “little commonwealth” that performed a variety of functions. I did not realize that the family was a self-sufficient business, a school, a church, a house of correction, and a welfare institution. Reading this I could not help but be blown away by this fact. To think that a family was all of these things and more just really struck me as being extremely interesting. It is amazing to think about the family dynamic of the Puritans, and what is even more interesting is how these aspects of the family really changed throughout the years. We were able to see how they changed with the start of industrialization.

We learned that parents of some children set up some marriages. I can’t imagine marrying someone that I didn’t love. How do you think these children felt, or do you think they didn’t know anything else? Why do you think parents would make these children marry at such a young age to someone they may or may not have loved?

Maria Nicholas