Chapter 3

This chapter analyzes the family unit and how it has changed from time to time as culture has changed. They begin as far back as the colonial family unit and how the dominate figure in the household was the male figure in every colonial family. The male was seen in nearly every case as the foundation of the family, being the breadwinner and the strength behind the family unit. The chapter goes on to view the family and how it has changed through the past for many different types of cultures and groups of people. In the chapter the author discusses every group of people from Native Americans to African-American slaves and their type of family unit. It goes through the gender roles and the challenges facing each family unit and how they were forced to adapt through it all. They look at the family unit and how it adapts through the times and kind of how it has became what it is today. The author also speaks of how problems have arose in the family as it has adapted to the new times.

I learned how the family was adapting throughout World War II and the struggle that women had through the war effort. I always knew that the family went through major changes during the war but I guess I never really thought about how much of the nation was effected by the war and how much women had to overcome during these times.

I thought it was interesting how some Native Americans traced there family through their mother's family instead of their father's and would like to discuss exactly why this was.