 The Carpenters union of 1889 uses the popular phrase of “eight hours for work,eight hours for rest, and eight hours for what we will.”  Many people during the period used the what we will time to enjoy amusement park, bicycling, tennis, and spectator sports.  Cities set aside “green space” which included parks and playing grounds for the outdoor enjoyment for residents.  Many leaders for this trend were New York and Chicago.

 Cities constructed amusement parks on the outskirts of town. Most companies that built them where trolley-car companies that were interested in more passengers.  The amusement parks offered an assortment of rides and picnic grounds.  Coney Island had the first rollercoaster in  Chicago had the first Ferris Wheel at their Worlds Fair in 1893.

 At the turn of the century many pastimes such as bicycling entertained women as well as men.  The first American bicycles, manufactured by Colonel A. Pope in the 1870’s challenged riders.  Bicycling was once a all male sport because a bump would send you over the handlebars.  Women started when the Safety Bicycle with smaller and air filled tires was made.  Women wore split skirts and tailored blouses while cycling to make it more comfortable.  Woman suffragist Susan B. Anthony said that at the time, “bicycling had done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world”, because it,”gives women a freedom and self-reliance.”

 Tennis was also a sport that was popular.  The modern version of the sport originated in England in A yeah after that America saw its first Tennis match.  Brand names in food products were now made. Brands like Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola along with Hershey's were all recognizable brands.

 During this time sports like baseball and boxing became very popular.  John L. Sullivan was the first great heavyweight boxer.  Baseball was popular when a group of New Yorkers sat down and came to an agreement on a set of rules for the sport.  This led to the formation of teams and eventually a professional team called the Cincinnati Red Stockings that toured the country.  Many other teams followed this idea which led to the formation of the National League in 1876 and the American League in 1903.

 African Americans that were excluded due to discrimination from playing formed their own leagues. The Negro National League and the Negro American League.

 Some women stars of the time were Sarah Bernhardt an actress from France, Lillie Langtry an actress from Great Britain, and Jenny Lind who was a singer from Sweden.  There were three types of performances that included serious dramas like Shakespeare. Melodramas like a hero story, or a Vaudeville which would be like somewhat of a comedy with song and dance.  The biggest Spectacle was the Barnum and Baileys Circus started by P.T. Barnum and Anthony Bailey and was the “Greatest show on Earth.  The circus had things like trapeze artists, lion tamers, clowns, and acrobats to amuse their audiences.  African Americans were only used in exaggerated imitations of African-American music and dance with reinforced stereotypes of blacks.

 In the Early 20 th Century live entertainment got competition from motion pictures.  Most successful series were melodramas like an action hero type story. One successful story was called The Perils of Pauline.  The advantages movies had over live entertainment is that they could be shown all over the world at the same time and they were relatively cheap to view.

 The two main newspapers for the times where the New York World that was bought by Joseph Pulitzer in 1883, and New York’s Morning Journal which was purchased by William Randolph Hearst.  The two papers competed and used lie tactics to try to win the upper hand.  There were tales of scandals cruelty and hypnotism to gain control of the market.  The two papers also contributed their ideas to make a large Sunday paper, to add comics and even have a sports section.

 Cleveland had the nations first shopping center in  Shopping centers were a place where you can enjoy shopping for a variety of items while enjoying music or some form of entertainment.  Marshall Field pioneered the concept of a department store.  He had the motto of “give the lady what she wants”  This motto allowed woman to take something home and return it if it was not satisfactory.

 The chain store idea was started by F.W. Woolworth when he found out if he offered an item at a very low price,” the consumer would purchase it on the spur of the moment.”  He created a store where he charged only a nickel or a dime for everything in the store and called it the five-and-ten-cent store  Advertising was also a very big boom during the turn of the century.  Mail-order catalogs from Montgomery Ward and Sears and Roebuck brought department store purchases to farmers and residents of small towns  Rural Free Delivery system was used to deliver packages directly to every home. In 1913 the initiation of parcel post made it possible to send a 50 pound package from Chicago to anywhere else in the country.

1.) Eight hours for what we will 2.) Cincinnati Red Stockings 3.)Barnum and Bailey’s Circus 4.)Cleveland 5.)New York Morning Journal, New York World