It was all
going along well. Sport and play had their place in the calendar. Activities
were evolving, some were enjoyed by the working people, some by the nobles and
some by both. Then along came the Puritans.
It wasn’t as
if the Puritans disapproved of activity, they just felt that labour should
provide that kind of outlet. This was the mindset that they took with them when
they set off for the New World so it is natural that this attitude of looking
down on play would have caught on in the 13 colonies. Even in Britain, which
saw the restoration of the monarchy after Puritan ascendancy in the era of
Cromwell, the previous exposure to Puritan attitudes held some of the more
outrageous play in check. To be acceptable sport had to be cleansed of racy
language, dishonesty and immorality. But play for the lower classes was soon to
be curtailed even more.
With the growth
of industry brought about by the Industrial Revolution, time for play all but
disappeared, at least for the working classes. Work took most of their waking
hours. There was no time or energy left for play.
Sources
Brailsford,
Dennis. British Sport: A Social History, The
Lutterworth Press, Cambridge, 1992.
Wiggins,
David K. Sport in America: From Colonial
Leisure to Celebrity Figures and Globalization. Human Kinetics, Champaign,
Il. 2010
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