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: Childhood became a distinct period of life. However, young girls were “not considered to be fit for the attainment of higher education, as they were looked upon as housewives.” All in all, family structure in the ’50s was based around one central necessity: a secure life. The economic and global instability of the early 20th century gave rise to the need for closely defined family units. This led to an ideology that lauded economic advancement and social order, the results of which were younger marriages that lasted longer, more children, fewer divorces and the nuclear family. The Modern Family Unit
The nuclear family of the ’50s epitomized the economically stable family unit. The idea of the middle-class, child-centered families that were “headed by wage-earning husbands became the ideal, although making that family model the norm for most Americans took decades and (even) then was short-lived.” This is why the modern family, in most cases, bears little resemblance to this “ideal” unit. Many of the changes that were part of this transition are a direct result of the expanding role of women in society, both in terms of the workplace and education.