Sports and the Industrial Revolution

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the impact that the industrial revolution brought to the world of leisure and sports. It discusses why the industrial revolution impacted sports at all and the ways in which it did. The paper also looks at the ways that social and cultural life changed and the relationship this had to sports and leisure at the time. The paper contains appended original sources.

From the Paper:

"As we see, the industrial revolution brought profound changes to much of the world. Social and cultural life changed completely. While some aspects of sport and leisure remained unchanged, in that people continued to do some of the things they loved, other aspects of sport and leisure were profoundly changed. For one thing, people simply had more leisure. In addition, the growth of mass culture brought change to sport. For example, the phenomenon of mass venues for hundreds of spectators, not seen since the Greek and Roman times, was revived. In addition, there was a growing awareness that the industrial revolution had caused lifestyles to become less active, and this led to a growing awareness of the need for recreational sport. However, it would be a long time before physical education was widely offered to the masses. In particular, the working class, girls and women would wait a long time before they would be able to benefit from such education."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Ashton, T. S. The Industrial Revolution, 1760-1830. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
• Davey, Peter. "A Little Exercise." The Architectural Review Dec. 1995: 4+.
• Hobsbawm, E. J. The Age of Revolution: Europe, 1789-1848. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1962.
• Holt, Richard. Sport and the British: A Modern History. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992.
• Lindaman, Matthew. "Wrestling's Hold on the Western World before the Great War." The Historian 62.4 (2000): 779+.

More papers on Sports and the Industrial Revolution:

• Term Paper # 133746 : "The Industrial Revolution"
• Analytical Essay # 139459 : "Europe and the Industrial Revolution"
• Analytical Essay # 139960 : "African Slaves and the Industrial Revolution in Britain"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: