1. The United States and its children, 1850-1890.
2. The Civil War, Reconstruction, and America's youth.
3. Growing up in a diverse land: child-rearing patterns in Victorian America.
4. Education for all? Schooling in an expanding nation.
5. Farm, factory, and home: children at work.
6. The pleasures of youth.
7. When families fail: coping with child poverty and delinquency.
Conclusion: uncommon childhoods.
