Historical Analysis of Work and Family Life in the U.S.: 1860-1940

This project was a historical analysis of work and family life, based on random samples of individuals drawn from the U.S. Censuses of Indianapolis in 1860 and 1900 (500 individuals between the ages of 18 and 40 in each year). Researchers subsequently followed each individual and his or her immediate family using the City Directory of Indianapolis, the manuscript schedules of the U.S. Census, and other historical records.

Using these data, the project considered a broad range of topics, including changes in family structure and size over time, the influence of family size and sibling composition (the number of brothers and sisters) on the mobility chances of individuals, differences within families in occupational success or failure, trends in occupational and class mobility over time, and changing patterns of women's participation in the paid labor force.

This study was supported by funding from the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University-Bloomington.