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Marketplace and Theater
In the 1700s families would go to marketplaces where craft fairs would be held as well as theatrical entertainment. The most popular plays that were reenacted were those by Shakespeare. -
Billiards
In 1722, a Charlestown, Massachusetts tavern owner advertised billiards for the first time. Billiards is a game that is played on a felt table. The goal of the game is to use a long stick and poke the balls into one of the six pockets at the edge of the table. -
The First Great Awakening
Pulling away from ritual and cermony, the Great Awakening made Christianity intensely personal to the average person by creating a deep sense of spiritual conviction and redemption, and by encouraging a commitment to a new standard of personal morality. The Great Awakening challenged previously established authority and many slaves started to become involved. -
Common Sense
This pamphlet was written by Thomas Paine and was one of the first widely circulated pieces of writing that the American people could connect with and keep for themselves. This was able to pursuade the Americans why the fight for freedom was necessary. Paine used biblical references to relate to most colonists and overall from unity and patriotism to the colonies. -
Deference of Fort McHenry-poem
Poem written by Francis Scott Key that would become the Star Spangled Banner, our national anthem. This was inspired the bombardment of Fort McHenry in the British pursuit of Baltimore and provided unification and entetainment for Americans. -
Frankenstein
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley was a popular book for Americas to read at this time. It was a romantic novel about creating a human from old body parts and bringing it to life with electricity and the mayhem that ensued. -
Last of the Mohicans
Written by James Fenimore Cooper, this novel explored the French and Indian War and became immensely popular in America. -
Penny Press Newspapers
Newspapers started to become the way they are today and popularity increased dramatically. -
Minstrel Shows
In the 1840s and 1850s Minstrel Shows became a popular form on entertainment for working class whites. These shows were performed by white men who wore black masks or paint on their face and performed racist comedic skits that created negative stereotypes toward blacks. -
New York Knickerbockers
The first organized baseball team in America. Originally a childern's game, this activity was transformed into a professional sport and became America's pastime -
Coney Island
Coney Island was one of the first amusement parks in America. It was a place for family fun in the late 1800's and is still active today. It held rollercoasters and ferris wheels and many fun rides and games for families to enjoy. -
John L. Sullivan popularizes boxing
John L. Sullovan began his bareknuckle boxing career, going on to win 38 out of 41 fights. He revolutionized boxing and provided a manly form of entertainment. -
New Musical Technology
The phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison to play musical records. Edison also recorded the frst human voice. Emile Berliner created a way to record and play music on a disc. -
Saloons
At this point in U.S. History, saloons were in full swing. In one Kansas town, there were 150 saloons. Many breweries owned lavish saloons to attract customers so they could promote their beer. -
Vaudville
Vausdville was a very popular theatre show. It was big for lower class families and immigrants. They contained skits and songs an other forms of entertainment. -
Huckleberry Finn
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" was written by Mark Twain. This is one of the most famous books ever but it was ery controversial at the time due to its mild racism, stereotype and "cuss words" -
First musical recording
Thomas Edison records the first musical performance. This set the stage for entertainment in the future years. -
Movies
In 1889, Monkeyshine's No.1 was filmed ever shot using a continuous strip of film. The movie was not designed for the public and it showed Thomas Edison goofing off. However, it paved the way for a new wave of entertainment. -
Bicycles
Bicycles became very popular and by 1890 over 1 million Americans owned a bicycle. -
Jazz
Jazz becomes very popular to start the new decade. It first became big in th south, namely Lousiana, and blacks were known to be superior Jazz musicians, helping to weaken the prejudice. -
Horse Racing
In 1890, horse racing was at its prime in the United States. There were 314 horse tracks in the country at the time. The sport was popular because anyone could bet on the outcome of the race. -
Basketball
In the beginning of 1891, James Naismith invented basketball in Springfield, Massachusetts. He figured the game would keep his physical education studrnts fit. The game soon turned into one of the most popular sports in the world. -
Maggie: A Girl of the Streets
Stephen Crane publishes Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, a book that portrayed the harsh lives of the poor. -
The Grand Columbian Carnival (Chicago World Fair)
The Chicago World Fair was an event created to show off the U.S economy and prove that the U.S is the most powerful nation in the world. -
Maple Leaf Rag
Scott Joplin became "the king of ragtime" when he released his song, "Maple Leaf Rag". This song boosted the popularity of ragtime significantly. -
Baseball
Baseball became popular at the beginning of the 20th century. It was very popular in big cities and drew large amounts of spectators. It was played in the streets and became very popular to watch and play. -
The New Record
New types of records with advanced technology were sold, which increased music's already impressive audience. -
Ragtime Music
This new face paced, brass and jazz based new style of music became very popular during this time period -
Reader's Digest
This incredibly popular magazine is first established by Dewitt and Lila Wallace. This contained tips, articles, and stories of families, health, money, and housekeeping. -
First Miss America Pageant
This pageant first began as an advertisement for bikini's and bathing suits, but transformed into a competition over the years. This drew lots of attention and was a very important source of attention for women. -
The Radio
The radio became a very popular piece of technology that brought entertainment to 3 million Americans by 1923. -
The "Charleston"
This new type of fast paced dance became very popular around this time period -
The Ford Model T
The new 2 door roadster Ford Model T was created. Cars boomed during the 20's and many people made the new technology a passion and it was a great deal of entertainment to many Americans. -
The Jazz Singer
The first ever "talkie", or movies with sound, came out. It was very popular of people to go to the movies and was a great source of many Americans entertainment. -
Disney
Walt Disney created the first cartoon, Steamboat Willy. This was a very popular cartoon and was just the first of many legendary cartoons created by Walt Disney. -
Steamboat Willie
Walt Disney creates the cartoon "Steamboat Willie". Children and even parents obsess over Disney's work, thus beginning an illustrious carrer in entertainment. -
Fireside Chats
Fireside chats were informal radio addresses made by President Franklin Roosevelt that went over his presidential agendas. Roosevelt often used these addresses to silence rumors and explain his reasoning for social changes. Over the course of 15 years, President Roosevelt made 30 fireside chats. -
Little Orphan Annie
Little Orphan Annie was a 15-minute radio broadcast aimed towards young children. The broadcast was about a little girl, Annie, who was an orphan with a dog named Sandy. The broadcast attracted 6 million fans and remained on the air for 11 years. -
Three Little Pigs
The Three Little Pigs was an animated short film produced by Walt Disney. It was about three pigs who build homes out of straw, sticks, and bricks. The big bad wolf comes by and destroys the houses made out of straws and sticks while the brick house remains intact. The film won an Academy award in 1934. -
The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath was a novel written by John STeinbeck. The book is set during The Great Depression and focuse on a poor family of tenant farmers who are driven off their Oklahoma farm due to poor economic conditions and the Dust Bowl. They seek a new life in California. -
Television
The first televisio was debuted at the World Fair in 1939. However, it was not immediately available. -
Abstract Expressionism
Abstract Expressionism became a new art fad in this time period. It was the dripping and splattering of paint on a blank canvas. Franz Kline helped make this style popular. -
The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care
Dr. Spocks book "The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care" was extreamly popular throughout the 50's and 60's. As suburbia began to develope and people started settling down and having kids this book became essential to the everyday house wife. -
Museum of Modern Art
Created in 1951 the museum of modern art was to show off abstract art and replaced paris as the epicenter of all great art. -
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presleys' music with its upbeat and different style became very popluar to Americans during the 50's. -
Them!
Them is a film about genetically mutated ants that survived a nuclear atomic bomb test in New Mexico and now are huge and want to kill humans. This film was so popular because of all the nuclear bomb testing and the arms race between Russia and the US that scared many Americans. -
The Pill
Women going on "The Pill" became very popluar during the 1960's because it was very common for both males and females to experiment with there sexuality. -
General Election Presidential Debates
Democratic nominee John F. Kennedy and Republican nominee Richard Nixon were the two participants in the first televised presidential debate. This was important because it allowed the public to view the candidate's image like never before. Many people believe these televised debates helped John F. Kennedy win the Election of 1960. -
Silent Spring- book by Rachel Carson
This book exposed the dangers of the harmful pestisides used in the enviorment and in farming. This got alot of Americans scared and promted the Clear Air act of 1963. -
The Feminine Mystique-book by Betty Friedan
In this book Friedan argues and supports that women should feel as if they need to achieve more in life instead of just being a stay home mom and taking care of the kids and cooking dinner and baking cookies. -
Bob Dylan
Dylan releases his new song "Blowing in the Wind". It becomes one of the most famous songs of all time and is a protest song for the most part, with hints of rhetoric regarding the war. -
Muhammad Ali is "born"
The greatest boxer in the world, Cassius Clay, changed his name to Muhammad Ali. He was later charged with draft evasion and his boxong career ended. His religious name change was relatively unheard of at the time and led to acceptance of the muslim religion at a better rate. -
Drugs
Starting in the 1960s, many anti-war protestors, hippies, and other counterculture members started using drugs such as LSD, shrooms, and marijuana. Drug use became a popular, yet highly dangerous fad during the Vietnam War. -
The Beatles
The Beatles arrived in America for the first time in 1964 and they immidiately become one of the most popular group of the 60's and 70's. -
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
The autobiography, detailing Malcom X's life is released and becomes a bible of sorts for the black power movement. -
Haight-Ashbury/The Summer of Love
Haight-Ashbury was a street corner in San Francisco that became known for the Summer of Love when high school, college students, and counter culture America went down to experiment with drugs, love, and sexuality. There were many songs written about San Francisco and the Summer of Love. Also psychedelic rock and performers started to come around here at this time. -
Woodstock
In 1969, a 3-day concert event was held in Woodstock, New York. Anti-war protestors and hippies piled onto the grounds of Woodstock to listen to legendary musicians such as jimmi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, and The Who performed. An estimated 400,000 people attended the festival. -
Okie from Muskogee
The song "Okie from Muskogee" was written by Merle Haggard inspite of the hippies that dropped out and rebelled against society. He sings about living a blue collar life with a wife and kids and working to support them instead of doing drugs and protesting agaist society. -
Earth Day
A peace activist, John McConnell, introduced the idea of Earth Day at an Unted Nations Conference in 1969 as a way to honor both peace and the Earth. The event was clebrating nation-wide by over 20,000 Americans in 1970 and later spread to become an international day. -
Yuppies
"Yuppie" is short for young urban professional and includes young adults apart of the upper middle and upper class. Yuppies are supposedly egotistical and believe that unless a man has a job in law with a high income, had a good education, have a cool-appearace and are fit , he is not a real man. -
VCR's, CD's, and PC's
VCRs and CDs became very popular in the 1990's with almost 70% of Americans owning these entertainment devices. People were able to use VCRs for watching or recording films and CDs for music. Steve Jobs, Paul Allen, and Bill Gates then invented computers, allowing people to access businesses in other parts of the world from their homes. -
Famous Movies
Here is a list of famous movies that came out from the 90's on: Braveheart (1995), Gladiator (2000), Forrest Gump (1994), Titanic (1997), Unforgiven (1992), Saving Private Ryan (1998), & Pearl Harbor (2001) -
Farm Aid
Performances from Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Nelson, and Roy Orbison played at concerts to raise money to support small dying farms.
