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The US Family In The 19th Century

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Throughout the course of history, the U.S society has changed dramatically due to numerous historical and cultural events, which have significantly impacted as well as shaped our present. As a basic unit in society, family plays a crucial role in one’s life. It is therefore important to understand the structure of a family and how it has changed over time. In the book of The American Family, Peterson del Mar (2011) discusses the U.S family history by elaborating numerous historical events, with a focus on addressing the movement of “obligation to freedom”. While family structures in the U.S. have changed over time, the history of U.S. family can also be understood from various perspectives since the U.S. society has become more and more diverse. More specifically, the change of gender norms plays a critical role in the change of family structure. Aligned with major historical events that happened in the U.S, the history of U.S family could also be understood from the movement of “domination to equality”.
Before European migrants coming to North America, native Americans had lived in this continent for centuries, and people heavily relied on hunting, gathering and agriculture, which were essential for people to survive during that period of time. Because of the nature of the society, men were expected to be good at hunting and women were …show more content…

These events would be the Industrial Revolution and Civil War, and both play crucial roles in changing gender roles as well as in increasing the status of women. With the innovation of technology, Industrial revolution was a milestone of the change of gender norms as well as women’s status since the occurrence of the industrial revolution had created and brought tremendous job opportunities to the U.S. societies. Being financially independent has become a key factor of gender

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