Description
Book SynopsisHow did mothers transform from parents of secondary importance in the colonies to having their multiple and complex roles connected to the well-being of the nation? In the first comprehensive history of motherhood in the US, Jodi Vandenberg-Daves explores how tensions over the maternal role have been part and parcel of the development of American society.
Trade Review"Vandenberg-Daves skillfully illustrates the activity and activism of mothers as well as the power of the rhetoric and the role of motherhood…an impressive synthesis of some of the most important recent scholarship on the topic."
-- Rima D. Apple * author of Perfect Motherhood: Science and Childrearing in America *
"A stimulating book that places mothers at the center of American history,
Modern Motherhood highlights the dramatic changes to maternal ideologies, politics, and experiences over 250 years. An impressive achievement." -- Molly Ladd-Taylor * York University *
"This book is a comprehensive...history of motherhood in the US. Recommended."
* Choice *
"Jodi Vandenberg-Daves helpfully synthesizes the scholarship on twentieth-century motherhood and its earlier roots. What, she asks, is the history of motherhood as institution and mothering as experience in modern motherhood? Existing scholarship tells most about the former ... Vandenberg-Daves also points to the patterns of social history and the departure of mothering from the institution of motherhood. What happened on the ground is compelling and diverse, if highly elusive in the archives." * Journal of American History *
"Whatever kind of mother you may be, or whatever kind of mother you had, you will find her, with her problems and her grief, her determination and her pride, somewhere in these pages." * Women's Review of Books *
"Weaving together various threads in the story of the emergence of modern motherhood in America, [Vandenberg-Daves] offers a compelling new look at the socio-cultural, historical, political, religious, and economic factors that coalesced to create our current conception of motherhood." * American Studies *
"Vandenberg-Daves skillfully illustrates the activity and activism of mothers as well as the power of the rhetoric and the role of motherhood…an impressive synthesis of some of the most important recent scholarship on the topic."
-- Rima D. Apple * author of Perfect Motherhood: Science and Childrearing in America *
"A stimulating book that places mothers at the center of American history,
Modern Motherhood highlights the dramatic changes to maternal ideologies, politics, and experiences over 250 years. An impressive achievement." -- Molly Ladd-Taylor * York University *
"This book is a comprehensive...history of motherhood in the US. Recommended."
* Choice *
"Jodi Vandenberg-Daves helpfully synthesizes the scholarship on twentieth-century motherhood and its earlier roots. What, she asks, is the history of motherhood as institution and mothering as experience in modern motherhood? Existing scholarship tells most about the former ... Vandenberg-Daves also points to the patterns of social history and the departure of mothering from the institution of motherhood. What happened on the ground is compelling and diverse, if highly elusive in the archives." * Journal of American History *
"Whatever kind of mother you may be, or whatever kind of mother you had, you will find her, with her problems and her grief, her determination and her pride, somewhere in these pages." * Women's Review of Books *
"Weaving together various threads in the story of the emergence of modern motherhood in America, [Vandenberg-Daves] offers a compelling new look at the socio-cultural, historical, political, religious, and economic factors that coalesced to create our current conception of motherhood." * American Studies *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Part One Roots of Modern Motherhood: Early America and the Nineteenth Century 1 Inventing a New Role for Mothers 2 Contradictions of Moral Motherhood: Slavery, Race, and Reform 3 Medicalizing the Maternal Body Part Two Modern Mothers: 1890–1940 4 Science, Expertise and Advice to Mothers 5 Grand Designs: Uplifting and Controlling the Mothers 6 Modern Reproduction: The Fit and Unfit Mother 7 Mothers’ Resilience and Adaptation Part Three Mothers of Invention: World War II to Present 8 The Middle-Class Wife and Mother Box 9 Mother Power and Mother Angst 10 Mothers’ Changing Lives and Continuous Caregiving Conclusion Notes Index
