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One of the major events is the American Revolution, which ushered in a form of government with new rules of governance that supported religious, social, and moral ideals that were more conducive to a stronger family life. This chapter focuses on three changes in the family that took place as a result of the Revolutionary War: the expansion of white land ownership among a new middle class; the new economic system that developed within the new capitalist market system that was created; and a shift in the family structure in terms of the degree of intergenerational support that characterized both the young and the elderly. The third part of the chapter describes the ways in which the family was affected by immigration during the nineteenth century. The last part of the chapter provides a sketch of the changes in family structure during the first part of the twentieth century, with particular emphasis on the role of new technologies in shifting the age of marriage and childbearing and the impact of industrialization on increasing the amount of work among women. #### **White Land Ownership** As a result of the Revolution, all land was to be allocated by the new government in a way that promoted a stronger family life and stronger economic ties among family members and other kin groups. The new federal government took title to all vacant and occupied lands and distributed them to families (including orphans), who would be given titles to their land holdings. Families had a responsibility to create a title of their own, and those who failed to do so would be fined. The Revolutionary Act of July 4, 1776, required all land owners to pay for land that they would not occupy. The federal government also had the right to repurchase land from those who did not comply with the requirements of the act. All land in the western part of the country was to be offered for sale as individual parcels or in large chunks of land rather than in large tracts. This was intended to encourage settlement by families and to separate the ownership of land from occupation and possession. In sum, the government and the new citizens in the new states of the republic were expected to set a standard for a strong family life that would not be threatened by unmarried fathers who were seeking to avoid responsibility for their families. As a result, the government and the new citizenry adopted laws that would support both independence of economic initiative by wives and husbands as well as an interest in the