The origins of contemporary writing about household management in the United States have been traced back to Catharine Beecher's A Treatise on Domestic Economy. The expansion of academic programs in home economics, the rise of research using the scientific method, and the changing economic and social conditions during the early 20th century contributed to the transition from treatises offering household advice based on Christian precepts and customary roles to more analytical approaches to household management and the publication of textbooks for college courses. Using qualitative research methods, this study traced the 75‐year history of home management/family resource management textbooks published in the United States. The themes found throughout this period show both subtle shifts and dramatic changes in seven areas of analysis: the rationale for studying home management, the theoretical conceptualization of management, what is managed, individual and family concepts within home management, internal/external emphasis on resource management, pedagogical style, and audience.