Societal Influences Of Recreation In The 19th Century

Who or what influences you to be you and do the actives you like? Do your parents, siblings, friends, school, home, beliefs and values influence who you are today? There are many people, objects, beliefs and values, that can influence a myriad of things. This panel will introduce you to the societal influences that played a part in recreation and leisure time in the 19th century. Canada was heavily influenced and also dependent on Europe, Britain, and the Untied States. They relied on these countries for supplies, immigrants, finances, and values. In addition, because Britain was such a strong influence to Canada in the 19th century, many of the sports and ideas of recreation have an underlying relation or idea from Britain. Churches played
a huge role in 19th century Canada. As the idea of christianity grew, so did its influence in society. In the beginning of the 19th century the churches had a inimical view of recreational actives. It was stated that unless a recreation implemented moral or religious ground it was considered useless. Christianity influenced taverns and public houses because of the ideas of Christian responsibility. The churches also opposed the expansion of sports actives, because they were tied to gambling and drinking. However, it became apparent to the church that they could not influence all aspects of life. Thus, towards the end of the century the church can a role in promoting recreational centres. Industrialization influenced the ideas of recreation. After the introduction of machines the relationship between people and time had changed. Jobs could now be done faster and more efficiently. Thus, more time was given for recreation. Politics also had an influence on recreation. 19th century liberalism had the basic views of individualism, progressivism, and science. Liberalists believed that using a scientific method would solve any problem in society. The idea of individualism and not allowing the government it interfere with the peoples decisions is what allowed for recreational facilities to be made.
In addition, the liberal idea of self help saw playing games or participating in leisure time as a higher moral ground and contributing to increase work force. Marxism gave society the idea that to preserve a man’s energy for work there should be less recreational time. Morals and character influenced how a variety of games were played. Often it did not depend on who one in the end, but the character of the player. A player had to show courage, endurance, and play fairly. The work hours also influenced the participation in recreation. The working class would often have to work 14 hour days, 6 days a week. The employer had a sense of entitlement over the worker, thus them having to work for so long. This lead to the employer disregarding leisure time. These working hours would also effect when and where a person would go. As the population grew so did the idea of leisure activity. This had an influence on all aspects of leisure because audiences, spectators, participators, would all be larger. However, one of the largest influences on society and recreational time was the social structure. The social structure influenced who, when, where, and why people would be at a particular event or gathering. These are some of what influenced recreation in 19th century
Canada.