Sport and Physical Activity in Modern America Major Themes dream The Good Life people wanted to come to America because of the American Contributions of Other Countries immigrants brought with them the traditions and sport of their countries Perceived value guiding daily lives ethical and moral issues that arose on a daily basis Social Organization homogenous communities and social stratification Technology Industrial Revolution inventions played a huge role in the modernization of physical activity Changing concept of sport and physical education European Influences Colonial Era 1607 1783 Native Americans played a game very similar to lacrosse New England Massachusetts Puritan Work Ethic there is no idle play or leisure They developed this because they were trying to survive they were in a survival mode Prohibited sporting activities such as sledding football dancing swimming ninepins bowling and shuffleboard this is because they wanted people to be working more Strong desire to set up schools Absolutely no Sunday amusements Sunday was a day of religious observance Games for children had moral teachings Taverns were a major social center In 1635 Boston Latin School became the first public school for children in the United States In 1636 Harvard became the first university in the United States New York New Amsterdam Came to the new world with a strong commercial spirit wealth seekers Good food drink and gambling Bowling ninepins aka Skittles tennis cricket horseracing ice skating o Race areas were set aside for horse races they charged admission and prizes were awarded Played a game called pulling the goose They would grease the neck of a goose hang it loosely by the neck and see who could ride a horse and pull the head off of the goose Had strong family and community values as well as for frugality and diligence Pennsylvania Came in search of religious freedom led by William Penn Quakers Society of Friends This territory welcomes settlers from several European countries Sweden Germany France Scotland and Ireland Peace loving ice skating swimming hunting and fishing Around the 1770s there was an immerging theme of nationalism The emphasis was placed on health and strength Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were very vocal supporters of activity for healthful benefits Franklin wrote two books Proposals for the Education of Youth and The Art of Swimming Rendered Easy Southern Colonies Virginia Economic opportunity rather than for religious freedom Tobacco was the main crop Physical activity embraced 1619 African slaves provided labor Popular activities were foxhunting horseracing golf lawn bowling and dancing o Ninepins often included gambling Due to this it was outlawed Players added a tenth pin to the game so that they could participate in the sport and not have it be outlawed they used a loophole Taverns o Social center of town Meeting socialism entertainment and diversion from work o Animal baiting cockfighting billiards darts and dice were popular o Betting Early Education 1647 Elementary Secondary school Latin grammar school o Prepared boys for ministry medicine and law o No girls Harvard College higher education 1st Academy founded by Franklin 1749 o Lifelong practical skills o Academic subjects o Physical activity proponent of swimming Running leaping and wrestling o Began to replace secondary schools By 1840 133 towns had more than 2500 people huge growth 26 states belonged to the union 5 cities were the commercial and social centers Boston New York Philadelphia Baltimore Charleston 12 million immigrants Irish German African The Era of Good Feeling 1800 1860 Governments were established Cities began to grow Colonists began to migrate west Louisiana purchase The ability for people to communicate more due to the telegraph as well as easier travel due to railroads and steamboats Development of slavery controversy Early Development in Organized Sport Industrialization of the united states Expansion of America Decline of Puritan Orthodoxy English amateur sport movement Contributions of powerful individuals o 1891 Basketball invented by James Naismith o 1895 Volleyball invented by William Morgan Serious sport horseracing boxing rowing yacht racing baseball track and field and football Sport in the Early 1800s As the country was developing there were a lot of unique social qualities taking place in different sections of the country example city life vs frontier life Corpae mens and sans mens a sound mind and a sound body Horseracing o Popular in established cities o Gambling made it controversial o Banned in many northern cities due to gambling being at odds with some of the religious beliefs o Became more popular in the south Rich horse owners Importing breeding training of horses for racing Slaves jockeys and trainers o 1802 National Race Course was built as one of the first racetracks The race was won by Selima Many of her offspring were great champions as well Boxing in the Early 1800s Perceived by upper class as brutal Bare knuckles few rules Travelling professionals Slaves o Matches staged by slave owners o Tom Molineaux granted freedom fought in the US and Europe He fought the British champion Tom Cribb in 1810 o Tom Molineaux Born a slave in 1784 won his freedom by fighting in 1809 He left for England and began serious training The British fighters often used adopted false names so that losses against a slave weren t as embarrassing Fought Tom Cribb in the fight of the century in 1810 In the 28th round the Englishman went down The 30 second count began fighters had 30 seconds to toe the mark and get up Cribb cried foul and his trainer accused Molineaux of They went on for 16 more rounds a total of 44 rounds hiding weights in his hand and Cribb went on to win o During the 31st round Molineaux hit his head against the ring post and suffered a fractured skull but still continued to fight Molineaux wrote to Cribb saying that if the weather were better he would have won the battle In the letter he challenged Tom to another meeting He got a rematch but Cribb won again Baseball Early forms played by adults and kids base or goal ball rounders townball In 1791 a law in Pittsfield MA prohibiting baseball within 80 yards of town hall Described in the 1839 book The Boys and Girls Book of Sports Evidence of varied forms played throughout the east and frontier Baseball becomes a sport Alexander Cartwright s Knickerbockers Alexander Cartwright and his friends The Knickerbockers