The 1990s saw the most significant changes in the United States’ families’ settings, both socially and in their organization. Some of these changes as it will be discussed; have had positive changes in national cohesion especially on the racial platform, while others have had negative effects on the citizen’s perceptions on various aspects that affect the country and the citizens at large. An important example to note is the interracial marriages have been on the increase especially in the 1990s and after the millennium, having been legalized by the Supreme Court in 1967. By the year 2000, multiracial Americans made up 2.4%, which translates to 6.8 million people. This is one of the factors that have promoted national cohesion. This trend however has been on the decrease even after the steady rise, since by the year 2006, there were only 6.1 million Americans, which translates to only 2% of the population. Most of the United States’ citizens however see this as a result of the increasing financial difference between the white Americans and the African and Latin Americans, with the white American being more economically independent compared to their African American and Latin American counterparts. This difference, with reinforcement from the media, has triggered tension between the two groups leading to fewer marriages between the two groups. This is one of the probable reasons that have led to a decrease in these interracial marriages, and if the trend continues, this means that in forty years, the population of interracial Americans could be less than 1.43 million people, and this could have both positive and negative effects on national cohesion (Platt & Edward 200).
On financial grounds, white families have been found to be more financially independent comparing to African American, Indian and Latin American families. However, there has been a significant financial improvement and change in these families, especially since the 1980 census conducted by the United States Census Bureau, as many families have ventured into real estates, entertainment, stock market, housing and vehicles. In 1998, there was an estimated mean of $50,000 savings for each non-white families and $80,000 for the white families. In 2002, the financial independence had risen from 57 to 74% in both the white and black. With the same trend, in forty years, there will be 86% financial improvement and independence among every American family (Census Bureau 874).
Works cited
Census Bureau. Statistical Abstract of the United States 2007 (Paperback): The National Data Book. Maryland: Census Bureau Press, 2007. Print.
Platt, Anthony and Edward Frazier. The Negro Family in the United States (African American Intellectual Heritage).Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 2001. Print.
