Daniel Patrick Moynihan Background Born: March 16, 1927 Tulsa, OklahomaMarch Tulsa, Oklahoma Died: March 26, 2003 (aged 76) New York CityMarch New York City Nationality: American Political party: DemocraticDemocratic Spouse: Liza Moynihan Alma mater: Tufts UniversityTufts University Religion: Roman CatholicRoman Catholic

Background Contd.: United States Senator from New YorkUnited States SenatorNew York In office: January 3, 1977 – January 3, 2001 January 31977January Preceded by: James L. BuckleyJames L. Buckley Succeeded by: Hillary Rodham ClintonHillary Rodham Clinton

Political Career: He was a Kennedy delegate at the 1960 Democratic National Convention.Kennedy1960 Democratic National Convention Moynihan was an Assistant Secretary of Labor for policy in the Kennedy Administration and in the early part of the Johnson Administration.Assistant Secretary of Labor – In that capacity, he did not have operational responsibilities, allowing him to devote all of his time to trying to formulate national policy for what would become the War on Poverty. He had a small staff including Paul Barton, Ellen Broderick, and Ralph Nader (who at 29 years of age, hitchhiked to Washington, D.C. and got a job working for Moynihan in 1963).War on PovertyPaul BartonEllen BroderickRalph Nader

THE NEGRO FAMILY 1965 (Moynihan Report) Main Points: 1.Family is the heart of the deterioration of the fabric of Negro society-the basic social unit of American life; basic socializing unit. The role of the family in shaping character and ability is so pervasive as to be easily overlooked & causes instability. Negro families are headed by females. In essence, the Negro community has been forced into a matriarchal structure…retarding the progress of the group as a whole, and imposing a crushing burden on the Negro male…and the Negro women as well.

Main Points Contd. 2.There was a long history of discrimination that worked against the emergence of a strong father figure in the Negro family With the emancipation of the slaves, the Negro American family was formed in the U.S. as apposed to the white American family. The Negro was given liberty, but not equality…the most effected was the Negro male. With Jim Crow-mandated "separate but equal" status for black Americans-keeping the Negro “in his place” making it much harder for the Negro family.separate but equal These events worked against the emergence of a strong father figure

Main Points Contd. 3.The Unemployment on the African-American male has largely contributed to the present crisis of the Negro family which has been forced into a matriarchal structure The impact of unemployment on the Negro male, is the least understood of all of the developments that have contributed to the present crisis…The fundamental, overwhelming fact is that Negro unemployment, with the exception of a few years during WWII and the Korean War, has continued at disaster levels for 35 years…As jobs became more and more difficult to find, the stability of the family became more and more difficult to maintain… In essence, the Negro community has been forced into a matriarchal structure which, because it is so out of line with the rest of the American society, seriously retards the progress of the group as a whole, and imposes a crushing burden on the Negro male, and in consequence, on a great many Negro women, as well.

Conclusion: [A] national effort towards the problems of Negro Americans must be directed towards the question of family structure. The object should be to strengthen the Negro family so as to enable it to raise and support its members as do other families…

Questions:  What is wrong with having female heads of households?  What are the origins of “the tangle of pathology” in the black community?  How can the government alter familial relations?