The Modernization of Fatherhood: A Social and Political History

The period between World War I and World War II was an important time in the history of gender relations, and of American fatherhood. Revealing the surprising extent to which some of yesterday’s fathers were involved with their children, this text recounts how fatherhood was reshaped during the Machine Age into the configuration we know today. Ralph LaRossa explains that during the interwar period the image of the father as economic provider, pal, and male role model, all in one, became institutionalized. LaRossa uses letters, popular magazine and newspaper resources to explore social and economic conditions of the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression. Chapter topics include: U.S. Children’s Bureau; the fathercraft movement; the magazine industry and the development of Parent’s Magazine ; and the creation of Father’s Day.