140 THE EVOLUTION OF THE FAMILY. 



housekeeping, to have or not to have children. Right 

 to paint, design, read, study, write, investigate, explore, 

 sing, play, debate, lecture, preach, plead, travel, row, 

 hunt, fish, climb, drive, etc. ; in brief, to enjoy life. 



Status of Children. Young America. The rights of 

 children. How affected by the rapid development of 

 America. Limited by the child's lack of knowledge, 

 its lack of power of self-support, and its lack of self- 

 control. 



Kinship. Use and abuse of relatives ; nepotism in 

 politics and business. Familism defeats the ends of 

 justice, condones wickedness, serves the upper classes 

 at the expense of the lower, constitutes a tacit conspir- 

 acy against society. Familism and feudalism, aristo- 

 cracy, social exclusiveness. Familism and conserva- 

 tism. Effect of democracy on the family spirit. 



Kinship a social filament. The family a mutual 

 insurance company ; promotes sense of solidarity ; 

 gives courage, hope, incentive ; favors discipline and 

 obedience ; lightens the burdens of the state. Kinship 

 as a basis for industrial association, social intercourse, 

 charity, and beneficence. 



The basis of family spirit. Old roof trees ; historic 

 homes ; portrait galleries ; libraries ; mementoes, relics, 

 heirlooms ; visits ; reunions. Familism and wealth. 



The decline of family spirit. Few historic homes in 

 America. No roof tree. Dispersion of members of the 

 family. Migration. Rootlessness of American life. 

 Small local attachment ; love of "moving" ; new no- 

 madism. Drifting into different social strata, different 

 occupations, different kinds of life. The American 

 family and the American state. 



