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| Recreation
By Casey Sears, Jason Faucette, Adam Friede, David
Synan, Ben Stepp, Richard Welton
Recreation between the years of 1865 and 1913 was really popular. People indoors would play cards or board games, watch magic shows, or just enjoy the circus when it came to town. Outdoors, they could watch horse racing, pass time at parks and playgrounds, and even ski in the winter. Indoor recreation was popular in this period. During this time, people could be seen getting together around the card tables drinking and gambling on games such as poker, seven up, forty-five, and twenty-one, also called black jack. Along with the card playing, people would be seen dancing in different styles, such as the square dance and jazz dance. Besides the card playing, there were also board games, such as chess and backgammon. Other forms of indoor recreation consisted of bowling, billiards, and table tennis. There were even ballets, bands, and theater for the artistic people. The circus was another form of recreational activity. This indoor activity was popular for entertainment; it included train cars, clowns, exotic animals, and dare- devil acts. The biggest circus, the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey's Circus, used a tent that was 500 feet long and 200 feet wide. Barnum and Bailey came together in 1907 and quickly gained everyone's attention, by having the biggest show in town. Sideshows were also part of the circus. They traveled with the circus and used smaller tents alongside the big one. Sideshows also attracted patrons with their strange sights, like a unicorn, sword swallower, giant, world's largest horse, and many other unusual things. Magic was another form of indoor recreation, and one of the most famous magicians of the period was Harry Houdini. Even at a young age he would be found reading a magic book or working on some tricks that he had already learned. After mastering many card tricks he began working on escape acts. One of his most watched performances was his escape act from an airtight tank full of water. The most impressive part of this act was the fact that he was handcuffed by the feet and hands. According to Webster's Guide to American History, “Determined to make his mark, he went abroad in 1900 and executed an escape from Scotland Yard (famous prison in London), gaining wide publicity and becoming a main attraction at the Alhambra Theatre in London” (1028). Harry Houdini died on October 31, 1926 while trying to escape from being buried alive. Outdoor recreation was also becoming popular during the postbellum period. Snow skiing has been part of our nation's history for close to 150 years. It started in 1856 with a man named John "Snowshoe" Thompson. "Snowshoe" used skis to deliver the mail in the mountains of California. It took him three days to carry the mail and two days to make his return. He covered the 90 miles on his oak skis and used only one pole. He continued this until 1869; then the transcontinental railroad was completed. During the 1860's, California gold miners took up ski racing to relax after working in the mines. In 1867 they formed the first ski club in the United States. It was in Laforte, California. In the 1880's and 1890's ski jumping became popular in the United States. College students made snow skiing very popular in 1909, shortly after Fred Harris organized the Dartmouth Outing Club. According to the Dictionary of American History, "The club put on the first winter carnival at the Hanover, New Hampshire campus." Dartmouth participated in the first intercollegiate ski meet in North America at McGill University in Montreal. Competition was in jumping and cross-country racing. Horse racing probably began as soon as the first horses were domesticated. The earliest records of people racing horses date back to 1500 B.C. During the postbellum period numerous events took place that have made horse racing what it is today in 1999. Pierre Oller developed pari-mutuel betting, which, according to Webster's Third New International Dictionary, is "a system of betting in which those who bet on the winning horse share the total stakes minus a small amount for the management" (1642). In the 1890's Tod Sloan introduced the crouched position of riding to horse racing. The crouch position has the rider leaning forward over the horse's neck. Before Sloan's technique the riders had sat upright, which didn't balance the horse as well. 1894 saw the development of the American Jockey Club. It was formed to encourage the breeding of thoroughbred horses and the maintenance of high ethical standards in horse racing (Encarta, 98). The jockey club developed a code that became the standard in American Racing procedure and conduct. Born in 1916, the National Parks Service was created by two presidents
well known for their love of the outdoors. These presidents were
Teddy Roosevelt and William Taft. Robert Douglas, the author of Forest
Recreation, indicates the first sign of life for the National Parks
Service was in 1872, when Judge Cornelius Hedges won a battle for yellow
stone, which in fact is now today Yellowstone National Park (6). Douglas
states that after Yellowstone came Yosemite National Park; then in 1906
Roosevelt passed the Antiques Act, which gave the government the right
to establish historic, scientific, or cultural sites as national monuments.
Ten years later the National Parks Act provided for the establishment of
the National Parks Service (Douglas 7). In the national parks of
the 19th century there where many things to do to pass the time, such as
picnicking, boating, camping, swimming, observing wildlife, horseback riding,
and scouting. Still today the Boy Scouts of America go out into these
national parks and other wildlife places and carry on their traditions
of outdoor fun.
BibliographyDulles, Foster Rhea. A History Of Recreation. New York: Meredith Publishing Co., 1965.This book tells of the different forms of recreational activities that were played between the years of King James I and 1965. Some of the activities that were mentioned no longer exist because of laws passed against them. This book also tells of the history of the beginning of sports, such as baseball and football. There is also a notes section in this book broken down by chapters that have listings of different books that can be looked for further reference. This book really helped for the period of 1865 to 1913 because this is when recreation was getting really popular.La Vahn, G. Hoh, and William H. Rough. Step Right Up! Crozet, Va.: Betterway Publications, 1990. This book is a secondary source that focuses on the past, as well as the developing present. The timeliness of this book is appropriate because the biggest circuses formed during the 1870’s, and this publication dating from 1990 covers it thoroughly because not much has changed with circuses in the last nine years. This book covers that period of American circuses very well. Step Right Up explains how and why circuses formed, how they survived, and why they were so popular. It portrays how P.T. Barnum, J.A. Bailey, and the Ringling Brothers formed “The Greatest Show on Earth” during the 1870’s. People loved to watch the circus when it came to town in its colorful train cars and with its exotic animals. The authors of this book used many circus historians and lots of people involved directly with circuses to help them with the information to enable them to write this book. LaVahn teaches a college course on circuses in America at the University of Virginia. Rough is a past president of the American Alliance for Theater and Education. These people were well qualified to be authors of this book.“Harry Houdini.” Webster’s Guide to American History. 1971 ed. This book is a source that gives a brief summary of American history facts, dealing with subjects from the presidents to Harry Houdini’s magic. Published in 1971 this book is modern enough to give a good description of a famous magician who died fifty years earlier. I feel the famous name Webster on the cover of the book gives it good credibility.Douglas, Robert W. Forest Recreation. Pergamon Press Inc: 1975. This secondary source tells a small part on the history of the outdoors and what was done in them. This book is a little old, being published in 1975; many historical finds could have been made in 24 years. Robert W. Douglas is the associate professor of Forestry at Pennsylvania State University.“Pari-Mutuel.” Webster’s Third New International Dictionary. 1986 ed. “Horse Racing.” Microsoft Encarta. 1998 ed. CD-ROM “Horse Racing.” World Book. 1999 ed. The World Book Encyclopedia is a good secondary source. The credibility of this source is excellent. The World Book is a good place to begin your research; facts, major names, and dates are listed. The World Book describes everything about horse racing in a general fashion. The place it was first recorded is England. It is modern enough to give a good description and facts. The 1999 edition is the latest version to be published; any new information is in it.“Snowskiing.” Dictionary of American History. 1976 ed. This source gives a brief summary of snow skiing. The book talks about some of the first days of skiing on up to the first intercollegiate ski meet. For example, “Snowshoe” Thompson used skis to deliver mail in California and the first intercollegiate ski meet took place in 1913. I consider this to be a very timely source as well as a very credible one. |
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