Title: The Evolution of American Family Structure
Headings: The Evolution of American Family Structure
The Evolution of American Family Structure
A Brief History of the Pre-20th Century Family
Government and the Family
Depression and War
Family Structures in the Postwar World
The Idyllic ’50s
The Modern Family Unit
Further Change in the Marital Family
The Role of Family Science
Next Steps: Family Science Degrees at Concordia University, St. Paul

Content: The average age for women to marry was 20, divorce rates stabilized and the birthrate doubled. However, the perfect images of family life that appeared on television don’t tell the whole story: “ Only 60 percent of children spent their childhood in a male-breadwinner, female-homemaker household.” This “democratization of family ideals” reflected a singular society and economy, one that was driven by a reaction against Depression and war and compounded by rising incomes and low prices. The economic boom that followed World War II led to significant economic growth, particularly in manufacturing and consumer goods; around 13 million new homes were built in the 1950s. Families moved to the suburbs because they could afford to, and the family became a “haven in a heartless world,” as well as “an alternative world of satisfaction and intimacy” for adults and children that had experienced the ravages of wartime. In fact, this is where the concept of close-knit families as we know it originates. Domestic containment as a way of life was reinforced by American youth, who wanted to have long-lasting and stronger relationships than their parents had. Soldiers and servicemen who returned from war were looking to get married and raise children.