The research conducted by family historians over the past three decades challenges, modifies, and ultimately enriches sociological understandings about American family life today. By looking closely at the historical record, the author is able to debunk certain myths, such as the belief that the "ideal" family (male breadwinner and female domestic manager) has been historically prevalent: that the "traditional" family has been disintegrating in recent years; that the presumed breakdown of the family has left children more vulnerable than in the past. Drawing on and integrating this literature, then, allows students to develop new perspectives on contemporary social issues and reorients the kinds of questions sociologists bring to the study of family structures and processes.