Racial Differences in Household and Family Structure at the Turn of the Century

Abstract

Using recently available data drawn from the 1910 census manuscripts, this article documents sharp racial differences in family and household structure at the turn of the century. Compared with those of native whites, African-American households were less likely to be nuclear and more likely to be headed by women. Further, African-American women were much more likely than white women to have surviving children who were not living with them at the time of the census. Because such historical differences parallel contemporary ones, the authors call for greater attention to persistent structural, cultural, and demographic factors that affect racial different in family structure.