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Especially important activities for American boys are hunting and fishing, although this has declined somewhat as America continues to urbanize. This was different than Europe where hunting and fishing in many years was limited to the nobility or the owners of estates. Thus by a large margin, most images of boys fishing are American images. It was an activity that everyone could enjoy regardless of social status or income. Quite young boys could enjoy fushing, although because of the patience involved, it was primarily persued by school age boys. The only equipment needed to be purchased was the hook. The rest could be fashioned from easily available materials, although of course expensive rod and reels were available. A barefoot boy with a simple fishing pole and a straw hat is a virtual icon for Ameican boyhood, although today out of date. Activities such as sports were more limited in the 19th century. Fishing was a perfect activity for boys. Most boys lived in the country near some kind of waterways: bayous, irrigation ditches, lakes, marshes, rivers, and streams. Thus it was an activity that most boys could enjoy. Fishing was much less popular with girls, we are not entirely sure why. It was fun and even the poorest boy could afford a fishhook and line. It was conducted away from home beyonf effect adult supervision for there was an element of freedom involved. And on a hot summer day a day of fishing could be topped off by a swim in the pond or river. And unlike hunting with a gun was not dangerous. Thus very young boys could participate with little or no supervision. And if all of this was not enough, the boy brouht back food for the family table.
Fishing in America was different than Europe where hunting and fishing in many years was limited to the nobility or the owners of estates. There were lstrict aws limiting fish and game to the nobility or landowner. People could get into a lot of trouble for what became known as poaching. Land was much more widely held in America. Brooks and streams were rarely limited to a family farm. And rivers and streams were open to the public in a way that was not the case in much of Europe. Thus while America was a largely rural country, most boys were able to fish. Fishing was an activitythat a nboy could do alone or with a brother/friend. It was a major boyhood activity in the years before urbanization and the rise of sports as a dominant youth activity. Thus by a large margin, most images we have found of boys fishing are American images. Fishing in America was an activity that everyone could enjoy regardless of social status or income. A barefoot boy with a simple fishing pole and a straw hat became a virtual icon for Ameican boyhood, although today woefully out of date. It was fun and even the poorest boy could afford a fishhook and line.
Quite young boys could enjoy fishing, although because of the patience involved, it was primarily persued by school age boys. The only equipment needed to be purchased was the hook. The rest could be fashioned from easily available materials, although of course expensive rod and reels were available.
Activities such as sports were very limited in the 19th century, esecially the early-19th century. And before urbanization, boys living in rural areas could rarely get together the numbers needed for team sports. Even at school, small rural schools did not have the numbers needed. And professional teans were only beginning to become popular in the late-19th century. America is a well watered country with realtively easy ccess to streans, lales, and rivers. Thus fishibg is something that almost all rural boys could do. All he needed was an inexpensivce hook. Ples could be fashioned from a tree branch. This appears to be a quitensential boy activity. It doesnot seem to have the same allure with girls. Photography was primarily studio photohraphy in the 19th century, thus we do not have a lot of images phitigraphs. Many genre artists provide us charming images. A good example is George Lambdin's 'The Bittle Children on the Schuylkill' (1869).
Fishing was a perfect activity for boys. Most boys lived in the country near some kind of waterways: bayous, irrigation ditches, lakes, marshes, rivers, and streams. Thus it was an activity that most boys could enjoy.
Fishing was much less popular with girls. We have found countless images of men and boys fishing. Rarely do we see girls with them or girls fishing on their own. We are not entirely sure why. There are probably several reasons. For one thing, girls were expected to stay around the home more than boys. And they were probably more inclined than boys to do so. Probably a penchant for cleanliness among girls was another factor as well as less interest in the outdoors. As was a general aversion to worms. I'm not sure if aversion to killing was a factor. Probably less so than huntging animals. We suspect that boys were more likely to take pleasure in huntging and killing animals, but fish are generally perceived differently for some reason.
It was conducted away from home beyond effect adult supervision for there was an element of freedom involved. And on a hot summer day a day of fishing could be topped off by a swim in the pond or river. And unlike hunting with a gun was not dangerous. Thus very young boys could participate with little or no supervision.
And if all of this was not enough, the boy brouht back tasty food for the family table. Fish was accessible enough that it was commonly seen as food for the less well-to-do in comarison with meat and poultrty. This did not change until after World War II.
Especially important activities for American boys are hunting and fishing, although this has declined somewhat as America continues to urbanize.
Today few boys live close to a place where he could fish. Not to mention that boys now have more recreational activities, many more appealing to a boys' innate interets like sports and computer games.
And most parents do not want boys close to water unspervised until into their teen years. And of course fishing licenses are needed if a boy wants to fish.
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