Before Funeral Homes, Burying Your Own Family Was Your Job

How death in America became a business, This video explores how families once cared for their own dead at home, how the Civil War helped create the modern funeral industry, and why embalming, caskets, and funeral homes became the norm. It’s a story about grief, culture, money, and what was lost when death was handed over to professionals. 00:00 Intro 01:00 Death At Home Before The Funeral Industry 02:52 Women, Children, And The Intimacy Of Death 04:18 The Civil War Creates A New Death Business 06:11 Embalmers Turn Grief Into A Market 07:54 Lincoln's Funeral Makes Embalming Mainstream 09:30 Funeral Parlors And The Birth Of The Living Room 11:06 Selling Fear And Luxury To Grieving Families 13:02 Jessica Mitford Exposes The Industry 15:29 The Psychological And Environmental Cost Of Outsourced Death 19:04 The Return Of Home Funerals And Green Burial 22:32 Outro