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Based on a wide reading of letters, diaries and other contemporary documents, Mintz, an historian, and Kellogg, an anthropologist, examine the changing definition of "family" in the United States over the course of the last three centuries, beginning with the modified European... Read Full Overview

Many Americans are seriously questioning the future of the traditional family. Yet as Mintz and Kellogg show, the American family has undergone a series of transformations from its role as the center of colonial society to today's private independent unit. Two 8-page photo inserts... Read Full Overview

The American family has undergone a series of transformations from its socially sanctified role as the center of society to today's private, independent unit. The authors explain just how the family has adapted and endured these changes.