The Industrial Revolution and the Deterioration of the Traditional Family

In 1785, Thomas Jefferson said: "People who work on the earth are God's elected people" (Jefferson 1). These words helped to shape the United States for the next 100 years. American families work hard in agriculture and benefit from American dreams. Then in the late nineteenth century America was hit by a worldwide phenomenon known as the Industrial Revolution, and the United States transformed into an industrial giant. The vast land of the United States provides a wealth of resources for people who want to use them.

The Industrial Revolution completely changed the role of the family. In a traditional agricultural society, families take care of fields, sweater knitting, fire as they are produced as production units. Women can be parents or can help to produce food and goods that families need. The time of work and play is flexible and intertwined. Industrialization has changed everything. The same labor specialization that is done at the factory occurs in the life of the working class family, which is harming the economy of the family. Work and home life are very different. Men earn money for their families. Women take care of their families and see the economic role declining. Many factory workers are women at first, mostly young women who resign when they get married.

Family life has had a great impact on the industrial revolution, from domestic to the working class. The family live together, eat together, and now they are working together. More and more families worked during the industrial revolution, they brought their own wages and could buy more luxury. "Families are not only center of industry but also social center because their families get social satisfaction and cooperate to enjoy rural entertainment from family and rural green spaces ". Due to the industrial revolution, family life has generally changed rapidly. Responsibility and duty to each family is a major change in traditional male responsibility. "This is a dramatic revolution for women and children during the New England Industrial Revolution, not just about raising children, but about American families" (Smith, 1-4)