Sport, recreation, and play changed significantly over the course of the 19th century in the United States because work changed significantly. The country moved from an agricultural society, where citizens worked at home and had little time for recreation to one in which the industrial revolution introduced mass production and mass distribution and with it, new concepts of time, space and economic realities. This led to the transformation and modernization of sports as we know it.
In the mid 1700’s and early 1800’s, colonial Americans were fairing much better in America than their predecessors a century before. The work during this time still consisted of back breaking, dusk ‘til dawn work on farms growing and cultivating the land for profit. …show more content…
Before the Industrial Revolution nearly all manufacturing and economic production was done at home. Farming was seen as seasonal and came in cycles. This meant specific windows of opportunity for crops which left little time for recreation. Work began to transform and workplaces were established outside the home. Labor was divided and standardized and a shift from master-apprentice work to employer-laborer began. The new American economy expanded the size of the American marketplace. The mechanization and technological advances brought by the Industrial Revolution brought rapid population growth in the United States and turned Manhattan into the largest marketplace for goods, services, entertainment, labor and recreation. This also caused them to face immigration, the crisis of public masculinity and defining the American …show more content…
These places became central for working-class recreation and social life. (592) Tavern brawls became consistent too and helped define the working class of the mid-nineteenth century. These brawls were seen as a way for working class males to assert their dominance in public as well as other versions of manliness such as courage, independence and pride. Immigrants also contributed to the brawls as a way for Irish immigrants in particular to show their courage, worth and pride. Tavern brawls were also the sight of contention with the vast growth of their urban cities, and harsh economic
In the mid 1700’s and early 1800’s, colonial Americans were fairing much better in America than their predecessors a century before. The work during this time still consisted of back breaking, dusk ‘til dawn work on farms growing and cultivating the land for profit. …show more content…
Before the Industrial Revolution nearly all manufacturing and economic production was done at home. Farming was seen as seasonal and came in cycles. This meant specific windows of opportunity for crops which left little time for recreation. Work began to transform and workplaces were established outside the home. Labor was divided and standardized and a shift from master-apprentice work to employer-laborer began. The new American economy expanded the size of the American marketplace. The mechanization and technological advances brought by the Industrial Revolution brought rapid population growth in the United States and turned Manhattan into the largest marketplace for goods, services, entertainment, labor and recreation. This also caused them to face immigration, the crisis of public masculinity and defining the American …show more content…
These places became central for working-class recreation and social life. (592) Tavern brawls became consistent too and helped define the working class of the mid-nineteenth century. These brawls were seen as a way for working class males to assert their dominance in public as well as other versions of manliness such as courage, independence and pride. Immigrants also contributed to the brawls as a way for Irish immigrants in particular to show their courage, worth and pride. Tavern brawls were also the sight of contention with the vast growth of their urban cities, and harsh economic