For most of the 1800s, children were considered small, unruly adults who needed to be strictly disciplined and put to useful work as soon as they were able. The very concept of childhood itself, as a carefree, innocent time, is a result of increasing economic stability and changing family roles in the 1800s. Before child welfare laws were enacted and compulsory education enforced, children made up an important part of the industrial and agricultural workforce in 1800s America. Toys and time for games and fun may have been a luxury, but kids will be kids, and the adults that loved them made sure their lives weren't all work and no play. The establishment of public schools, more humane working conditions, and expanding economic opportunities helped improve the life of Americas children in the 1800s, but they worked hard and their pleasures were simple ones.
With a six day workweek, long hours on the job, and the hard labor required to keep house, leisure time was precious in the 1800s. Without recorded music, radio, movies, TV, video games, or the Internet, Americans had to make their own fun, and most of it was simple and very low tech - singing around the family piano, visiting with neighbors, or picnicking in the woods. In the bigger towns and cities, theaters offered live, professional entertainment ranging from classic plays to raucous minstrel shows. In the smaller towns and rural areas, people waited anxiously for those few times a year when a traveling show or circus might come through the area. As the 1800s progressed, leisure time and economic resources increased for many Americans and a more sophisticated public demanded new and more exciting amusements. Read all about America at play in the 1800s!
