Layout 1

The Changing Face of theAmerican Family: Modern History

money to feed their families (Elder,1999).

Divorce rates during the Depression fell

because divorces were too costly,but the

rate of desertions increased dramatically.

By 1940,1.5 million married couples were

living apart (Mintz,2001).

Manyfamilieslosttheirhomes.Often,

familieswereforcedtoshareliving

arrangementswithrelativestohelpmake

endsmeet.Manyfamiliescopedbyreturning

tothestructureofacooperativefamily

economy.Childrenfrequentlyworkedpart-

timejobstohelpsupporttheirfamilies,and

wivesoftentookinsewing,laundry,or

lodgerstosupplementfamilyincome.Many

youngpeoplehadtodelaymarriageor

postponehavingchildren.Becauseofthese

economichardships,theperceivedidealof

domesticlifewasimpossibleformost

familiestoachieve.Inanattempttoaddress

theproblemsoftheailingeconomy,the

governmentinstitutedtheNewDeal(1933–

1945).Thiswasaseriesofprograms

intendedtobolsterthemalebreadwinner

rolethroughthecreationofreliefprograms,

jobs,andthestimulationofeconomic

recoveryforthecountry(Brinkley,2003).

The Impact of World War II

A Dramatic Change for Women.During

WWII(1941–1945),largenumbersof

marriedwomenbegantoworkoutsidethe

homeforthefirsttime,manyofthemtaking

onpreviouslymale-dominatedjobs

(Caplow,Hicks,&Wattenberg,2000).The

posterimageof“RosietheRiveter”inwork

clothes,performingskilled,industriallabor,

wasmorethananovelty.Itembodiedthe

heroicspiritofthetime,womenstepping

intopositionsvacatedbymenwhowere

engagedinalengthy,horrificwar.

Housingshortages,alackofschoolsand

childcarefacilities,andtheprolonged

absenceoflovedonesplacedtremendous

SIDEBAR3.2

I remember my grandfather talking about the

Depression. He was one of the lucky ones. He

told of the day one of his neighbors was taking

his hogs to be slaughtered because he couldn’t

afford to feed them any longer. My grandfather

offeredtotakethemforasmallsumratherthan

have them slaughtered.As the country emerged

fromtheDepression,mygrandfatherwasableto

sell some of the hogs, purchase more land, and

becomeoneofthelargestfarmersinthatpartof

Missouri at that time.

—Anonymous

Statue at the FDR Memorial remembering the

breadlines during the Great Depression.

ImagefromBigstockPhoto.com/joeygil