Too many women in my generation bought into the Feminst meme ‘you can have children even in your 40’s’. Many of us had trouble carrying children in our 30’s. A friend Resident Dr once asked me if I wanted children and I said of course. He said ‘don’t leave it too late’. I thank God every day that I was able to have one child. Many miscarriages after that in my late 30’s. Feminists ruined many women’s chances of children. But many of us didn’t know better and were swept up in the infancy of the Feminist movement. Happy I awakened to the lies. Sad that I didn’t awaken earlier than I did.
Let’s face it, the traditional idea that the husband works and provides, the wife is a stay-at-home mom, and children are given economically significant roles working (on the farm - most people were farmers) was optimal for population growth. The sons learned farming and/or trades/professions, and the daughters - having been mentored by their mothers in the homemaking role from infancy - were capable of starting a new generation while in their (not-so-late, in many cases) teens.In that scenario the sons became ready to take on the responsibility of fatherhood at a later age than the daughters became ready to take on the role of motherhood - so men married younger women. That scenario obviously obviously influenced Roy Moore . . .
Back in the mid-1950s, virtually all the girls who graduated high school were married within a year. And some didn’t wait that long to marry. In that scenario the wife, being junior in age, was also likely to be considered junior in decision making as well. Women who worked were teachers or nurses or secretaries. Schools were better back then for the simple reason that women had so few opportunities apart from teaching that the supply of competent woman teachers was more plentiful than the salaries teachers were able to command would otherwise have warranted.