Opportunity, Movement, and Marriage: U.S. Farm Sons at the Turn of the Century

Abstract

current research focuses on family formation in nineteenth-century United States, and she is starting a new project on the demographic determinants of Puerto Rican household structure.ABSTRACT: The implications of historic changes in the American industrial structure for the marriage behavior of farm sons are examined using data from the 1880-1900 National Panel Study. The analysis focuses on migration and occupational placement as mechanisms through which the structure of local opportunities potentially affected family formation. The findings suggest that narrowing opportunities for farm ownership channeled the sons of U.S. farmers into farm labor and nonfarm occupations. These alternatives, in turn, reduced marriage chances during the early adult years. In contrast, inter-county migration between childhood and young adulthood increased the likelihood of marriage among the men in each occupation. Overall, the analysis demonstrates clear linkages between opportunity, occupations, migration, and nuptiality.

Tenancy, Marriage, and the Boll Weevil Infestation, 1892–1930

“…In agrarian societies where marrying entails establishing a household and land is scarce, the landless often are “forced to postpone marriage” (Landale and Tolnay 1991:34). As land becomes increasingly available, the age at which people first marry tends to decline (Hajnal 1965:133; Landale 1989a, b; Tolnay 1999:61).…”

“…Because farmers were powerless to prevent the weevil’s arrival (Baker 2015:1140; Lange et al 2009:689), our estimates suggest that the relationship between tenancy and early marriage documented in previous research is causal (Bloome and Muller 2015; Landale and Tolnay 1991; Tolnay 1984, 1999). Second, our longitudinal analysis adds further weight to a body of cross-sectional demographic evidence showing that in agrarian societies, people waited to marry until they could acquire land (Hajnal 1965:133; Landale 1989a, b; Tolnay 1999:61). Studying the relationship between changes in tenancy and changes in marriage among African Americans is especially informative because becoming a tenant was one of the very few ways that black farmers could access land.…”

“…It made land accessible to groups—such as African Americans—who were unable to purchase it, thereby removing a common barrier to marriage in agrarian societies (Hajnal 1965:133; Landale 1989a, b; Thornton et al 2007:27; Tolnay 1999:61). Landlords also recognized the economic benefits of using husbands to oversee the work of their families (Jaynes 1986:185; Mann 1990:141; O’Donovan 2007:193).…”