Historical Events That Shaped Your Ancestors’ Lives

When History Got Personal (including a Historical Timeline Builder PDF)

What motivated your ancestors to migrate, change careers, or adopt new traditions? 

Historical events often played a key role in their decisions. 

Here are the top three types of events that shaped our ancestors' decisions in their lives: War, economic changes/Hardships, and Technological Advancements.

So, let's take a moment to examine the “what, why, and when” that directly affected the decisions our ancestors made during their lifetimes.

War

There is nothing quite as life altering as war. Wars often alter economic structures and exacerbate or reduce inequality depending on how they are financed. For example, wars of funding through public debt or indirect taxes can disproportionately burden lower-income groups, while direct taxation or war bonds can redistribute wealth more equitably. Wartime industries also create jobs, which are often temporary and unevenly distributed across classes.

Wars demand labor for military production, often creating higher-paying jobs for unskilled workers. However, this can also lead to inflation and shortages of goods that disproportionately affect lower-income households.

Working-class families are often pressured to contribute to war efforts through labor or small financial contributions, which can strain already limited resources. Military drafts also disproportionately affect lower-income communities due to limited alternatives.

Here is a list of pivotal wars that may have directly affected one or more ancestors and would make for an interesting story in your family history:

American Civil War (1861–1865)

Class conflicts were exacerbated by issues like the draft, where elites could pay for substitutes, leading to riots such as the New York City Draft Riots in 1863. Southern food shortages also led to events like the Richmond Bread Riots

World Wars I & II (1914–1918, 1939–1945)

These wars created industrial jobs but also led to rationing and labor strikes. The wars expanded unionization and improved wages for many workers

Vietnam War (1955–1975)

Disproportionately affected working-class communities as they provided most of the soldiers due to economic drafts. The war also diverted government spending away from domestic programs

Iraq and Afghanistan Wars (2001–2021)

Workers in military manufacturing gained temporary bargaining power but faced layoffs and reduced benefits after the wars ended

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Economic Changes and Hardships

The New Deal was born from the Great Depression, but economic hardships were hardly new in the 1930s. For decades, our ancestors faced burdensome times throughout their lives. 

Economic transformations like industrialization created distinct social classes, with the middle class benefiting from economic growth while the working class faced precarious conditions. Economic downturns (e.g., the Panic of 1819, 1837, and 1857, the Long Depression, and the Great Depression, etc.) hit lower-income groups hardest due to limited savings and job security.

Over time, economic changes have led to a shrinking middle class and growing income inequality. For instance, from 1970 to 2023, middle-class income growth lagged behind that of upper-income households while the share of lower-income households increased.

Recessions and financial crises disproportionately harm working—and lower-class families through job losses, wage stagnation, and reduced access to housing and education. These depressions and recessions affected our ancestors and impacted the decisions they made in their lifetimes. Plus, they would have affected the accessibility to housing, food, clothing, education, etc., and other things that shaped and reshaped their lives. 

Here is a list of historical economic changes and hardships that may have directly affected one or more ancestors and would make for an interesting story in your family history:

Industrial Revolution (19th Century)

Transitioned the U.S. economy from agrarian to industrial, creating factory jobs but also leading to poor working conditions and urban overcrowding.

The Great Depression (1929–1939)

Unemployment soared, disproportionately affecting the working class. Programs like the New Deal provided some relief but highlighted systemic inequalities.

Deindustrialization (1970s–1980s)

Manufacturing jobs moved overseas, leading to mass layoffs in industrial cities. This hit working-class families hard, reducing wages and job security.

2008 Financial Crisis

Foreclosures and job losses devastated middle- and lower-income families while wealthier individuals recovered more quickly due to government bailouts.

Pandemic-Era Economic Struggles (2020–2022)

While government aid temporarily alleviated hardships, many middle-class families struggled with rising costs of living after benefits were reduced.

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Technological Advancements

Technological advancements may sound like luxurious items that helped streamline our ancestors' daily lives, but in reality, they only helped the 1%. During the Industrial Revolution, the other 99% of the population was stuck building the new luxurious in new factories that displaced traditional artisanal jobs, rendering them obsolete.

New technologies often require advanced skills that are less accessible to lower-income groups. For example, automation has benefited high-skill jobs while reducing opportunities for mid-skill workers without higher education.

While technological advancements have improved productivity overall, their benefits have been unevenly distributed. Middle- and upper-class workers with access to education have adapted more quickly than those in lower-income groups who face barriers to reskilling.

Here is a list of historical Technological Advancements that may have directly affected one or more ancestors and would make for an interesting story in your family history:

Mechanization of Agriculture (19th Century)

Reduced demand for farm laborers, pushing many into urban industrial jobs.

Mass Production and Assembly Lines (20th Century)

Created factory jobs but often dehumanized labor and suppressed wages.

Automation and Computerization (Late 20th Century)

Increased productivity but displaced many blue-collar workers in manufacturing.

Rise of the Gig Economy (21st Century)

Offered flexible work opportunities but often lacked job security, benefits, and stable incomes for workers.

Digital Divide

Technological advancements in education and remote work have disproportionately benefited wealthier classes, leaving lower-income groups with limited access to resources.

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Tips on researching Wars, Economic Changes/Hardships, and Technological Advancements in History:

• Access digitized military records, draft documents, and wartime correspondence from platforms like the Library of Congress to analyze class disparities in conscription or labor roles

• Use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to visualize how wars affected specific regions or communities (e.g., industrial hubs during WWII or rural areas during the Civil War)

• Collect firsthand accounts from veterans or home-front workers to understand class-specific experiences, such as working-class soldiers’ perspectives.

• Study wartime media (posters, films) to assess how different classes were targeted for recruitment, rationing, or labor mobilization.

• Analyze census records, unemployment statistics, and wage trends to track disparities during events like the Great Depression or deindustrialization.

• Examine New Deal legislation or tax codes to evaluate their impact on wealth distribution and social safety nets for lower-income groups.

• Investigate union archives, strike records, and protest materials to understand how economic hardships galvanized working-class activism.

• Contrast urban and rural economic outcomes using digitized newspapers or regional economic reports to highlight geographic inequalities.

• Access corporate archives or patent databases to trace how innovations like assembly lines or automation reshaped labor demands and class mobility.

• Use text-mining tools to analyze large datasets (e.g., employment surveys) for patterns in job displacement or skill gaps caused by new technologies.

• Review literature, films, and advertisements to gauge public perceptions of technological shifts (e.g., resistance to mechanization in the 19th century).

• Investigate how class influenced access to technologies (e.g., rural electrification, internet adoption) through government reports or oral histories.

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Always Remember To:

• Prioritize Interdisciplinarity - Combine historical methods with sociological theories to contextualize class dynamics

• Verify Digital Sources - Cross-check digitized materials with physical archives to ensure authenticity and avoid misinterpretation.

• Engage Microhistory - focus on specific communities or individuals to reveal nuanced class experiences often overlooked in broad narratives.

A single source can present a limited or skewed view, while multiple sources offer a wider range of interpretations and facts. Using multiple sources helps to provide a more comprehensive understanding of a topic by considering diverse perspectives, verifying information, and reducing the risk of bias.

It's easy to sugarcoat history or romanticize what it was like, but when we better understand the volatile history surrounding our ancestors, we can better understand them, their lives, and their decisions--decisions that can make interesting stories.

By investigating the historical context of your ancestors' lives, you can uncover the moments, movements, and events behind their decisions and life choices, helping you gain fresh insights into your family history. These are the moments in time that hold the potential for transformative Historical Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, or simply recounting those pivotal moments for your personal reading pleasure.

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FREEBIE: Historical Timeline Builder Worksheet (Fillable PDF)

Historical Timeline Builder to Connect Your Family’s Story or Historical Characters to World Events

Bring your family history or historical writing to life with this Historical Timeline Builder! It is and easy-to-use fillable PDF designed to help you map out your ancestor or characters’ key life events alongside major historical milestones like wars, economic shifts, and technological booms.

This worksheet will make it simpler to see the bigger picture of your ancestors/characters’ timeline and challenges.

Download the Historical Timeline Builder HERE!

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