Family and Society in American History [antikvár]

Preface Family and Society in American History is both an introduction to the literature on the history of American families and a reflection of the diversity of that literature. We have included essays that vary in their approaches to the topic by chronological period, by region, and by race, class, and gender. All demonstrate how family patterns have responded to changing circumstances from the eighteenth through the twentieth century. The anthology can stand by itself in inducing further exploration or it can be used to complement a general account of the history of American families by offering more depth and specificity to generalizations. It is designed not to increase the literature on the subject but to make it more accessible. No collection of essays can do full justice to a field so vast and complex as the study of families in America's past. The rich and diverse literature available in journals made our selection process difficult; many fine and timely articles had to be excluded because of the limitations of space. Documentation for all essays has been retained but in a revised format to provide consistency. Our historical sensibilities have led us to choose essays covering a period that ends in the middle period of the twentieth century, when historical perspective fades in deference to contemporary sociological studies. A discussion of the recent status of trends noted in the Introduction concludes the Epilogue. We have juggled a number of variables in developing this collection. Selections are grouped into broad chronological periods to indicate that scholarly discourse about families varies among these periods. We have also tried to maintain a balance among regions. Likewise, we have sought work that highlights the varieties of families that coexisted with the European-Amer-ican middle-class "norm" and illustrates the importance of class, region, and ethnicity. What follows is an eclectic collection of scholarly writings that we hope will provide a window into the rich mosaic of past families and introduce a wide variety of methods and approaches used to study them. We hope that