Essential Facts
- Marriage shifted from economic arrangements to companionate unions emphasizing emotional bonds. This applied primarily to upper—and middle-class families of European origin. Women in these marriages gained modest rights and responsibilities but remained subordinate to their husbands.
- Enslaved families faced threats of separation, leading to strong communal bonds.
- Native American Indian families practiced matrilineal inheritance, polygamy, and shared labor.
Significance
Marriage and Family in the New Nation is an important topic in American History because changing attitudes toward women, children, and households eventually led to equal rights in the United States, helping fulfill the Declaration of Independence.
The Transformation of Marriage and Family in Early America
During the American Revolution, the dynamics of marriage and family in the New Nation started to change, primarily for European-American families in the upper and middle classes.
- Families shifted from economic units to smaller households focused on building stronger emotional connections.
- Relationships between husbands and wives and mothers and children gained more importance.
These changes did not extend as quickly to Poor Whites, Free African Americans, and others in the lower class. However, nearly all ethnic groups maintained a patriarchal family structure.
- African-American families built slave communities to ease the constant threat of family separation.
- Native American Indian families maintained their matrilineal family structures and tribal systems.
Matrilineal Family Structure — A system in which lineage, inheritance, and social identity are traced through the mother’s line rather than the father’s. This system was common among many Native American Indian tribes in North America, such as the Iroquois and Cherokee, where women often held significant roles in decision-making and property ownership (Matriarch).
Patriarchal Family Structure — A social system in which authority, inheritance, and lineage are centered on the male head of the household (Patriarch). In this system, men typically hold primary power and decision-making roles, while women and children are subordinate. Common in European and Colonial American societies, patriarchal structures prioritized male dominance in legal, economic, and social affairs. Women’s roles were often confined to domestic duties, and their rights were limited under laws such as Coverture, which placed them under their husband’s authority. This structure shaped early American family life was the norm well into the 19th Century.
Marriage and Women
As American culture and society matured and education expanded, the traditional views of marriage started to change.
- In the 17th and early 18th Centuries, fathers arranged marriages for their daughters.
- Preferred husbands were economic providers and patriarchs who aimed to mold women into “Goodwives.”
- Marriage was seen as a miniature version of the state, with the husband as king and the wife as “helpmate.”
- European-American women had limited rights:
- They could refuse their husband’s sale of land brought into the marriage.
- They were entitled to 1/3 of their husband’s property upon his death.
- They could testify in court but could not sue.
- Wives were considered the property of their husbands.
Coverture — A legal doctrine in English and American law that defined the legal status of married women from the Colonial Era through the 19th Century. Under Coverture, a married woman’s legal identity was subsumed by her husband’s, meaning she could not own property, enter contracts, sue or be sued, or control her own wages. The husband often had legal authority over the wife and any property she brought into the marriage.
Goodwife — Popular in New England, this was a title used in Colonial America to address married women of modest social standing, similar to “Mrs.” It was often shortened to “Goody.” The Goodwife was central to maintaining the household and fulfilling roles as a wife, mother, and moral guide, embodying the Puritan ideal of womanhood.
- Most women in the New England Colonies and the Middle Colonies married in their early 20s. Men were usually 3-4 years older than their wives.
- A colonial wife typically had 5-7 children, with pregnancies spanning from early marriage to her early 40s.
While women with German, French-Canadian, and Scots-Irish backgrounds often worked in the family farm fields, English women did not unless it was necessary. They were tasked with managing the household, including:
- Preserving food
- Making candles
- Dairying
- Brewing beer
- Sewing clothes
- Caring for livestock
- Maintaining vegetable and herb gardens
Changing Ideas of Marriage
After the United States gained independence, the nation started to grow and expand, and the patriarchal structure was challenged. This changed how marriage was perceived.
- Early American fathers often divided their land among male children, but this practice slowly ended as regions became more settled.
- The inability of fathers to pass down sizable farms affected traditional marriage arrangements.
- Sons started migrating westward to less populated areas to acquire land, reducing the control of their fathers.
The expansion of education (see Education in the New Nation)and printing allowed people to read books like Pamela; or Virtue Rewarded, which challenged the contemporary views of male dominance in a relationship.
- Young women, influenced by literature, sought love-based marriages rather than economic partnerships.
- Some women pressured their parents by entering sexual relationships with men they chose to marry.
- Divorce cases, though rare, cited “alienated affections,” reflecting new expectations of love and affection in marriage.
- After the Revolution, women were given the ability to request a divorce, which was one of the most significant legal advances for women in the New Nation Era.
Pamela; or Virtue Rewarded — Pamela; or Virtue Rewarded is a 1740 novel by Samuel Richardson that tells the story of a young servant girl, Pamela Andrews, who resists the advances of her wealthy employer, “Mr. B.” Her insistence on refusing him and remaining true to her virtue ultimately leads to his reformation and their marriage, which is seen as rewarding her moral integrity. Its themes of virtue, morality, and social mobility were popular with readers in both England and the American Colonies. It is considered a foundational work in the development of the modern novel.
The Role of Women in the Early Republic
The ideals of the American Revolution encouraged companionate marriages and expanded roles and responsibilities for women in families.
- Men like Benjamin Rush and John Adams believed the success of the nation depended on instilling Republicanism in children and that mothers should be responsible for it.
- Educated women who could read and write transitioned from teaching children to read to becoming “Republican Mothers” who instilled virtue in their children.
Restrictions on women persisted despite these changes:
- Married women could not own property.
- Wives had no legal control over their children.
- In divorce cases, children went to the father.
- Upon a husband’s death, his family could claim the children.
Republican Motherhood — An 18th-century ideology that emphasized the role of women in nurturing civic virtue and patriotism in their children. Emerging after the American Revolution, it promoted the idea that women’s education was essential to prepare them for this role. While it reinforced traditional domestic roles, it also laid the foundation for expanding women’s access to education and participation in public life.
Republicanism — A political ideology centered on the idea that a government’s authority comes from the people instead of a monarchy or aristocracy. In a Republican nation, the people have the right to elect representatives to govern on their behalf. It also emphasizes civic virtue, individual rights, and the importance of limiting government power to prevent tyranny. In the context of American History, Republicanism influenced the founding principles of the United States, shaping the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
Marriage and Family Life in the Southern Colonies
Southern men and women adopted companionate marriage trends similar to the other regions. However, in the 17th century, a shortage of women in the Southern Colonies allowed them to choose their husbands.
- Widows often inherited all of their husband’s property during this period.
- By 1750, as the sex ratio balanced, women in the South lost these advantages.
- Marriage and family life in the South started to resemble the other regions.
Changing Views on Childhood and Family Structure
The transition to “companionate marriage” after the Revolution and Republican Motherhood, which emphasized instilling virtue in children, altered the family dynamics, which had been based on strict religious beliefs. Families started to adopt the Quaker mindset toward children instead of the Puritan mindset, which viewed children as small adults.
- Quakers believed every person had a spark of light leading toward God, requiring children to be nurtured.
- Quaker families prioritized the development of children.
- Republican ideals inspired child-centered families to cultivate virtuous citizens.
Declining Birth Rates and Changing Family Dynamics
Declining birth rates and better mortality rates allowed parents to devote more time to each child.
- Farm families in 1700 typically had 6-7 children.
- By 1800, the average number of children dropped to 5-6 overall.
- In long-settled areas with smaller farms due to divided inheritance, families often had only four children.
Improving Material Comforts in European-American Families
In the 17th Century, families often shared a bed, had one chair and bowl, and possibly a spoon. Material culture improved due to the nation’s stability, improved infrastructure, and access to goods and products. Americans increasingly looked to increase the comfort in their homes.
- Wooden houses were replaced with larger, permanent brick homes that offered more privacy.
- In the 18th Century, families bought more beds, chairs, clothing, forks, knives, and food than before.
- Wealthier families imported books, furniture, Madeira Wine, sugar, and teapots.
Composition and Roles in Early Republic Families
Households often included more than just parents and children, such as widowed grandmothers, aunts, or sisters.
- Widowed women, called “relics,” often lost independence when joining another household.
- Middle-class families often employed 1-2 servants for tasks like washing, cooking, livestock care, and farming.
- Apprentices, typically boys around 13, lived with families to learn trades like coopering, shoemaking, or harness-making.
- Young girls lived with families to assist with weaving, milking, food preservation, and sewing.
- Wealthy families hired live-in tutors to educate their children.
- In the South, visiting family or friends often stayed for months due to the distance between plantations.
Indentured Servitude
Indentured Servants were immigrants who agreed to work for an employer for seven years. In exchange, the employer paid for passage to North America. Servants often lived with the employer’s family.
- Indentured Servants could not marry during their service.
- Female servants who became pregnant owed additional time to their service.
- In the South, many Indentured Servants did not survive their period of servitude.
- After the American Revolutionary War, indentured servitude declined due to:
- Increased European immigration.
- Greater availability of enslaved people from the slave trade (until 1808) and natural birth rates.
- Fewer families included Indentured Servants by the early 19th century.
Family Life of African American Slaves
African American slaves faced challenges in maintaining family relationships. This was primarily caused by a slave owner selling family members at a slave auction or trading them in a business transaction.
- Laws prohibited slaves from marrying.
- Slaves created the custom of “jumping the broomstick” while holding hands to symbolize marriage.
- These marriages were recognized within the slave community but often disregarded by owners.
- Married slaves made significant efforts to maintain connections, including traveling secretly at night to visit separated spouses and children.
Jumping the Broomstick — A wedding tradition with roots in African heritage. It was often practiced by enslaved African Americans in the United States as a symbolic act of marriage when legal unions were prohibited. The ritual involved the couple jumping over a broomstick together to show their commitment. It became a way to honor and preserve cultural traditions under difficult circumstances.
Cultural Adaptation Among African-American Slaves
Early enslaved individuals often preserved tribal identities by marrying within the same tribal background and speaking tribal languages. Over time, intermarriage among different tribes led to the blending of cultures and the loss of distinct tribal identities.
- Slaves started speaking English, or a Gullah dialect, incorporating African words.
- The end of the International Slave Trade in 1808 reduced the arrival of new slaves who could teach traditional tribal practices.
- Despite the cultural loss, enslaved people retained aspects of their African heritage by singing African songs, using African-style instruments, and building African-style structures.
Gullah — A cultural group of African Americans living in the Lowcountry Region of South Carolina and Georgia, including the Sea Islands. Descended from enslaved Africans, the Gullah have preserved a cultural heritage that blends African traditions with European influences. They are known for their distinctive language, Gullah, a Creole dialect, as well as unique crafts, music, storytelling, and cuisine. The Gullah culture is a vital link to African heritage in the United States, shaped by their isolation on coastal plantations and islands.
International Slave Trade — The trade of enslaved Africans to the Americas from the 16th to the 19th Century (Transatlantic Slave Trade). Enslaved people were forcibly taken from Africa, transported across the Atlantic Ocean under brutal conditions, and sold into forced labor, primarily in plantations producing sugar, tobacco, and cotton. The trade shaped the economies and societies of the Americas, Europe, and Africa while causing significant human suffering. The United States officially banned its participation in the International Slave Trade in 1808, though illegal smuggling continued for decades.
Challenges for Slave Families and Children
Enslaved families could not develop the child-focused family structure of their European-American counterparts. Due to the legal doctrine of Partus Sequitur Ventrem, children inherited the status of their mothers.
- Slave mothers often carried their babies while working in the fields, with children starting work as young as age 4.
- Some slave children were fathered by owners or their sons, whether through mutual relationships or force.
- Children born to enslaved mothers were considered slaves regardless of their father’s status.
- Enslaved children could be separated from their mothers if they were:
- Sold to other plantation owners.
- Inherited by the plantation owner’s family members, who might relocate.
Chattel Slavery — Chattel slavery is a system in which individuals are treated as personal property (chattel) to be bought, sold, inherited, and owned permanently. Enslaved people under this system had no legal rights and were often subjected to harsh physical, psychological, and economic exploitation. Chattel Slavery was central to the economy of the American South, where enslaved African Americans worked primarily on plantations producing cash crops such as cotton, tobacco, and sugar. This institution dehumanized enslaved individuals, reducing them to commodities, and was legally upheld through laws such as Slave Codes. Chattel Slavery was abolished in the United States with the 13th Amendment in 1865.
Partus Sequitur Ventrem — Meaning, “that which is born follows the womb.” A legal doctrine originating in Colonial Virginia in 1662 that dictated a child’s status as free or enslaved was determined by the status of the mother. This principle, adopted from Roman law, meant that children born to enslaved women were automatically enslaved, regardless of the father’s status. Codified in colonial Slave Laws in the 17th Century, it ensured the perpetuation of slavery by tying the institution to maternal lineage.
Community Bonds and Stabilization of Enslaved Families
Despite their challenges, enslaved people did try to create strong communal ties to counter the threat of family separation.
- Older men and women unable to work in the fields often cared for children while parents worked.
- These caretakers were commonly referred to as “aunts” or “uncles,” even if they were not related by blood.
- Assigning family relationship names within the community reinforced a sense of unity and familial connection.
Enslaved families started to become more stable during the early 19th Century. The 1808 ban on legal slave importation raised the cost of slaves but also reduced opportunities for slaves to purchase their freedom.
- Slaves became increasingly valuable to plantation owners, leading to efforts to safeguard their health.
- Plantation owners hired doctors for slaves, even when many whites could not afford medical care.
- Slaves were often provided small plots of land to grow vegetables for personal use.
- Plantation owners were less likely to separate slave families, as stable families were seen as less likely to revolt.
Overall, there is limited knowledge about enslaved families due to the lack of written records, as most enslaved Americans were unable to read and write.
Native American Indian Family Life and Gender Roles
Like enslaved families, there is a limited historical record covering the family lives of Native American Indians.
- Indian families often practiced polygamy, with men having multiple wives and children by several women.
- Early explorers and historians viewed polygamy as a lack of “civilization.”
- Recent studies show that women valued polygamy for the shared responsibilities of child-rearing and household labor.
In everyday life, men were responsible for hunting, while women managed agriculture, growing corn, squash, and beans.
- Tasks like pounding maize for cornmeal were shared among women to help ease the workload.
- Indians practiced communal land ownership rather than individual family plots.
- The rights to cultivate or hunt land were inherited matrilineally, passing from mother to daughter.
- Tribal identity was linked to the mother’s clan, granting women higher status compared to European-American families.
APUSH
Marriage and Family Life in the New Nation is part of the following units, topics, and chapters in the AP US History curriculum:
Unit 3: 1754–1800
- 3.4 — Philosophical Foundations of the American Revolution
- 3.5 — The American Revolution
- 3.6 — The Influence of Revolutionary Ideals
- 3.10 — Shaping a New Republic
- 3.11 — Developing an American Identity
American Pageant Notes
- Chapter 8 — America Secedes from the Empire (1775–1783)
- Chapter 15 — The Ferment of Reform and Culture (1790–1860)
