title: Ready, Willing, and Able? Impediments to the Onset of Marital Fertility Decline in the United States.
abstract: This study relies on IPUMS samples of the 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 censuses, aggregate census data, and the timing of state laws criminalizing abortion to construct regional estimates of marital fertility in the United States and estimate correlates of marital fertility. The results show a significant lag between the onset of marital fertility decline in the nation's northeastern census divisions and its onset in western and southern census divisions. Empirical models indicate the presence of cultural, economic, and legal impediments to the diffusion of marital fertility control and illustrate the need for more inclusive models of fertility decline.
authors.affiliation: Department of History, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota, 1110 Heller Hall/Del. Code 7062, 271 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA. hacker@umn.edu.
authors.forename: J David
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Hacker
mesh_terms: D000029:Abortion, Legal / Q000639:trends*; D000328:Adult; D001723:Birth Rate / Q000639:trends*; D019352:Censuses; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005193:Family Planning Services / Q000639:trends*; D005260:Female; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D008393:Marriage / Q000639:trends*; D008423:Maternal Age; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D014481:United States
keywords: Abortion; Fertility decline; IPUMS; Religion; United States