The American family is constantly undergoing change. In the early 1600s, the divine family was the predominant family structure of early Europeans who immigrated to the United States (Aulette, 2010). Until 1780, families were strictly patriarchal with a male head of household, who oversaw "all social activities, including education, health care and welfare", and ensured the family's self-sufficiency within its community (Aulette, 2010). Following this form, the modern family and its subcategories, the democratic family and the companion family, were the dominant family structures until the 1970s (Aulette, 2010). Over the course of nearly 200 years, families evolved into more private institutions, removed from the community, women increasingly withdrew from physical labor on the family property and focused on their designated profession as mothers, as a caregiver and housewife. Men were always the heads of the family and worked in a profession to financially support the family. During this period, gender roles within the family were reinforced, which is still partially in effect in today's society and family structure. Since the mid-20th century, the American family seems to be changing more rapidly than ever, in part because of the influences of the Great Depression and World War II, which led to the remarkable baby boom from 1946 to 1964. The year 1970 marks the beginning of the most recent stage in the history of the (European) American family, the postmodern family, and it is also the year that the first same-sex couple applied for a marriage license (ProCon.org , 2013). Although both men's request was denied at the time, same-sex couples and their family structure were in the middle of paper......http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy2.apus. edu/docview/205848478?accountid=8289Patterson, C.J. (2013). Children of lesbian and gay parents: psychology, law and politics. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 1(S), 27-34. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/docview/1419378920/abstract/143119B82 3C18C9AF9F/17?accountid=8289Ross, J. (1988). Challenging boundaries: a teenager in a homosexual family. Journal of Family Psychology,2(2), 227-240. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/docview/614294625/abstract/1431189061 C1BD9441/5?accountid=8289Smith, M. (2005). The politics of same-sex marriage in Canada and the United States. PS, Political Science and Politics, 38(2), 225-228. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/docview/224926337/abstract/143111 CD1B14E204651/1?accountid=8289