From Cottage to Work Station: The Family's Search for Social Harmony in the Industrial Age

by Allan C. Carlson

This book offers a fresh interpretation of American social history, emphasizing the vital role of the family and household autonomy and the joint threats to the family imposed by industrial organization and the state. Carlson shows that the United States - rather than being "born modern" as a progressive consumerist society - was in fact founded as an agrarian society composed of independent households rooted in land, lineage and hierarchy. It also explains how the social effects of industrialization, particularly the "great divorce" of labor from the home, has been a defining issue in American domestic life, from the 1850s to the present.
The book critically examines five distinct strategies to restore a foundation for family life in industrial society, drawing on the insights of Frederic Laplay, Carle Zimmerman, and G. K. Chesterton and outlines the necessary basis for family life. Family survival depends on the creation of meaningful, "pre-modern" household economies. As the author explains, "both men and women are called home to relearn the deeper meaning of the ancient words, husbandry and housewifery."

Genres: History, Economics, Cultural

181 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1993

About the author

Allan C. Carlson (born Des Moines, Iowa, 1949) is a scholar and professor of history at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan. He is the president of the Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society, a director of the Family in America Studies Center, the International Secretary of the World Congress of Families and editor of the Family in America newsletter. He is also former president of the Rockford Institute.

Reviews

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tremendous feat of scholarship and erudition. Will have to re-read.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a few years back and again this week, it raises many questions and gives an important perspective on the impact of the Industrial Revolution and the State on the family.