Figure 1.--Here we see boys playing craps (a popular dice gane) in New York City. The photograph is not dated, but we would guess the 1900s. Note thatr none of the boys are wearing knickers. This suggest the phrograph was taken inthe 1900s and not the 1910s. Also notice that the boys are wearing suspenders.

We do not have a great deal of information on gambling trends among American boys. During the 19th-century, religion was a very powerful force in America and many churches promoted a very strict moral code. This of course included prohibitions on gambling. But of course gambling was very common among adults, mostly men, and this affected boys. Parents could not watch their children all the time and some parents were not that concerned with moral standards. Thus we are not sure just how common gambling was among boys or what kind of gambling they pursued. Here we are talking about boys and younger teens. Older teems would have been involved in adult behavior as most children began working at a much earlier age than is common today. Photography provides few cluses as most photographs were studio portraits. We recall one Civil War photograph and paintings with drummer boys playing cards (1860s). This would hve been less likely if they had been at home. We know more about the 20th century with the advent of the snap shot. We see boys playing craps at the turn-of-the 20th century, mostly in city suburbs. I can recall as a boy two forms of gambling (1940s). Boys both pitched pennies and flipped sports cards. The girls never participated. Today gambling seems a much more serious problem, especially among teenagers. There are today a variety of legalized ways of gambling and thus gambling is more accessable to teenagers.

Created: 2:12 AM 5/22/2009
Last updated: 2:12 AM 5/22/2009