An Overview of the American Family Home & Children in Northern New England: 1807-1945
The New Nation: 1807-1820
There was an emphasis on the importance of “family government” and the “due subordination” of children. Parents were expected to control their children because of their economic importance to the family. Love was balanced with duty, family responsibilities with public commitments, individual concerns with social welfare, and thought with piety.
National Expansion/The Era of Reform: 1820-1880, War/Reconstruction 1861-1877
The image of the ideal hierarchical family led by a husband had become widely popularized by a host of social commentators. Before the Civil War children had been viewed with great ambivalence as innocent, mischievous creatures who were prone to get into trouble and therefore needed to be closely supervised. Following the War, greater attention was given to children’s moral and educational needs. Likewise, women were expected to become better “managers” of the household as well as upholding an idealized vision of what it meant to be a woman. Individual responsibilities to the family, united by ties of affection and intimacy, became clearly defined.
Romantic & Victorian America/Industrial America/Edwardian Era: 1876-1914/ Progressive Era/New Era 1900-1929
Romantic and Victorian efforts to improve and reinvent childhood were built upon similar movements of past centuries to solidify “The Child” as a figure of central importance to both the family and the nation. The child’s value shifted from being an economic asset to an emotionally-priceless, but financial liability. The gains of nineteenth-century reform encouraged many to anticipate further improvements in welfare and education.
By 1900, many people imagined that the 20th century would be a time when adults would embrace “the right of the child” as the central concern of modern society. They believed that “all morals, all laws, all social arrangements,” especially marriage and women’s roles, would be constructed out of concern for the health and education of all children. Responsibility for improving and even enabling a happy child’s existence ultimately was embraced by both the private and public realms. Child labor reform is one example of this. However, it took several decades before most Americans accepted the idea that children should be allowed to become “useless drains” on their families’ resources rather than contributors to their families’ survival.
After World War I, it became increasingly common for children to spend their days at school, with peers, or on their own rather than with parents.
By the 1920s, women had the vote and were working in greater numbers, which meant new ways of thinking about marriage and parenting. The earlier notion of a household in which the husband reigned supreme gave way to a more democratic ideal, which scholars refer to as “the companionate family.”
Great Depression/WWII 1929-1945
The financial hardship of the 1930s counteracted the previous trend for children to be fully independent, since a lack of money and space required households to include extended family members, encouraging intimacy and giving children numerous adult caretakers at home.
The Second World War complicated matters even more. Fathers were sent to serve in the war, mothers went to work, and siblings were needed to support the family. Fathers unable to provide because of war casualty, injury, or lack of work, and mothers who enjoyed the autonomy of earning, often left children unattended. Character-shaping influences increasingly came from outside the home, creating new questions and concerns.