Figure 1.--Here we see a beach outing in 1922. It looks like a mother and grandmother with two little girls. The girls have bathing caps, we are not sure what the purpose was. In the 1910s we still see voluminous bathing suits. After World ar we beging to see the beginning of more modern looking bathing suits. There is no indication where the beach was.

We have no information about American interest in the seaside and bathing during the 18th and early-19th century. As far as we can tell there was little or no interest in the seaside at the time. In fact the whole idea of a saeaside vacation is a very new phenomenon. There is no evidencde that the seaside was a point of diversion in the ancient world. In fact just the oppoosite. The Bible references to the sea convey a mysterious and destructive place. It is where the Great Deluge appeared. It appears in Genesis as a 'great abyss'. The Romans enjoyed the cool breezes at the seaside, but there is no evidence that they enjoyed the seaside. The Roman poets and philosophers Horace, Ovid and Seneca all hated the ocean as an 'unsociable' force that divided people. And this continued into the medieval and early modern period. Shakespeare depicted the seas with tempests, chaotic journeys, and shipwrecks. [Corbin] Colonial Anericans had basiclly the sane outlook. The change in outlook began in Britain largely led by wealthy people and for preceived medical benefits. Those of us who have visited British beaches know that they are a far cry from the warm beaches of sunny Florida. The British interet in the seaside spread to both Europe and Amnerica. Again wealthy people began the cultural trend. We see rich southern planters building summer cottages in places like Newport, Rhode Island to escape the heat (mid-19th century). Soon after, escially after the Civil War, rich northerners followed suit. We also see the behinning of the summer camp movement. Swimming and boating began to become popular for mny of the same reasons that people were attracted to the seaside. As the population of the great northeastern cities began to increase, there was great interest in summer seaside outings by all classes of society. And changes in America began to make vcacations possible. The railroads made this possible at low cost. People wanted to escape the sweltering tempeartures of the increasingly crowded cities for at least a short time during the summer. The expanding economy in America after the Civil War gave an ever greater proportion of the population the finacial ability for such outings. Unlike Europe, however, many American cities were located at some distance from the ocean. For the people of the industrial Midwest, there were beaches on the Great Lakes. But until the 20th century, sea-side jaunts were mostly available to the population of the northeastern cities located close to the coast.

The 18th Century

We have little information about American interest in the seaside and bathing during the 18th century. We nore claims that Cape May, New Jersey cal Cape Island was the first American seaside resort (1761). Visitors came mstly from nearby Philadelphia. Traveling even shrt ditances wsnot easy at the time. Roads were almost non esistent, rudimentary at best. But vsitors made their way by horse-drawn wagons, stagecoaches, sloops, and schooners. We are not away of any written material encouraging sea bathing.

The 19th Century

We also have little information on American interest in the seaside and bathing during the early-19th century. As far as we can tell there was little or no interest in the seaside at the time. The only beach resort we know of continue to be Cape May. Visitors found overnight lodging in public houses, taverns, and resident homes. Boarding houses appeared. Word began to spread about Cape May's appeal. Visitors were attracted from a wider area than just Philadelphia. Other states along the eastern seaboard. Congress Hall, was the first substantial beach resort hotel (1816). The whole idea, however, of a seaside vacation was still a very new phenomenon. There is no evidence that the seaside was a point of diversion in the ancient world. In fact just the opposite. The Bible references to the sea convey a mysterious and destructive place. It is where the Great Deluge appeared. It appears in Genesis as a 'great abyss'. The Romans enjoyed the cool breezes at the seaside, but there is no evidence that they enjoyed the seaside. The Roman poets and philosophers Horace, Ovid and Seneca all hated the ocean as an 'unsociable' force that divided people. And this continued into the medieval and early modern period. Shakespeare depicted the seas with tempests, chaotic journeys, and shipwrecks. [Corbin] Colonial Americans had basically the same outlook. The change in outlook began in Britain largely led by wealthy people and for perceived medical benefits. Those of us who have visited British beaches know that they are a far cry from the warm beaches of sunny Florida. The British interest in the seaside spread to both Europe and America. Again wealthy people began the cultural trend. We see rich southern planters building summer cottages in places like Newport, Rhode Island to escape the heat (mid-19th century). Soon after, especially after the Civil War, rich northerners followed suit. For the ordinary working population, this process began at Coney Island. No expensive trip or boarding facilities were needed. Coney Island which began life strangely enough as Gravesend, was located in New York City. It began to develop as a seaside resort (mid-19th century) and amusement parks began to appear (late-19th century). We also see the beginning of the summer camp movement in America. Swimming and boating began to become popular for many of the same reasons that people were attracted to the seaside. As the population of the great northeastern cities began to increase, there was great interest in summer seaside outings by all classes of society. And changes in America began to make vacations possible. The railroads made this possible at low cost. People wanted to escape the sweltering temperatures of the increasingly crowded cities for at least a short time during the summer. The expanding economy in America after the Civil War gave an ever greater proportion of the population the financial ability for such outings. Unlike Europe, however, many American cities were located at some distance from the ocean. For the people of the industrial Midwest, there were beaches on the Great Lakes. The very word vacation was fashioned by these developments. The British say holiday, the American usage began to develop in the mid-19th century as middle-class people began to take holidays, mostly in the summer. Only with the incredible success of the American economy did the average working Joe and his family have the ability to enjoy a vacation. Americans workers were the highest paid in the worlds. This was one of the main reasons that Europeans emigrated to America in such large numbers.

The 20th Century

Until the 20th century, sea-side jaunts were mostly available to the population of the northeastern cities located close to the coast. Places like Coney Island dominated the American idea about seaside vacations. New York was very important in american culture at the time. The population of California, Florida, and the Gulf coast were still relativelt small. The idea of a vaction became more and more popular and as incomes rose more and more Americans were taking vacations. The American summer camp movement was crowing. And no camp worth its salt was a camp without a lake for swimming and boating. A whole new factor came into existance in 1909--the Model T Ford. The Model-T, an automobile workers could afford, provided unprecented mobility, although it would be a few years before the automobile would become a factor in American vacations, but a major factor it would become. At first it was the railways that were the major factor. Seaside vacations aof course was only one of the optioins, but they were a popular one and growing in importance. President William Howward Taft proposed in 1910 that every American worker needed two to three months of vacation a year �in order to continue his work next year with the energy and effectiveness that it ought to have.� (1910) The idea had more force in Europe at first, but gradually employers began to accept the idea. After World War I, beaches in Florida, the Gulf Coast, and southrrn California began to attracht more and more people. The idea expanded during the Depression and unions began to demad vacation time. The idea was firmly establkished with post-War prosperity (1950s). And the family car became the primary mode of transport. And more than any single destination -- it was the beach where they headed. This has continued to be the case, although with the advent of cheap air fares, many families headed off the more exotic climes. Even so this oftem meant each resorts in the caribbean or Mexico.

Sources

Corbin, Alain. The Lure of the Sea: The Discovery of the Seaside in the Western World, 1750-1840

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Created: 4:03 AM 4/9/2018
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