Early American Pop Culture Research Paper

Daniel Byers

Prof. Scott Keys

History 111

23 November 2016

Taverns, Gaming and Almanacs in Early American Culture

American pop culture is defined as cultural activities or commercial products reflecting, suited to, or aimed at the tastes of the general masses of people (Dictionary.com, LLC 2016). It serves to bring a large diverse population of individuals together with a unified cultural identity. For most of us, pop culture is what we fill our leisure time with. It can include a variety of sources such as entertainment like music, literature, theatre, art and food. Pop culture can also include the products consumers buy in order to participate in current tastes and fashions. Pop culture grows when a substantial population,

with enough leisure and income, participates in the availability of various consumer products in the common culture. These conditions likely existed in what would become the United States by the beginning of the American Revolution. If censuses were correct during this time period, the colonial population was growing at nearly twice the rate of Europe's, doubling about every twenty-five years. In 1720, there were nearly 500,000 European and African colonists. By 1750, there were over 1,000,000, and by 1775 more than 2,500,000. (The Colonial Williamsburg Journal, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Spring 2008).
Early American popular culture can be described by the customs, preferences, tastes and behaviors of the time and their influences on society. During the late colonial and early evolutionary periods, taverns became increasingly popular throughout colonial America, especially in New England, resembling those in England. Taverns were an integral part and a
necessity of colonial life in America. Means of travel required a tavern every few miles on the main thoroughfares, where tired and hungry travelers could find food and drink and a bed or floor upon which to sleep. Most colonial taverns were the only available public meeting place in early American towns and countryside's.
Taverns were influential in the development of new settlements.

Men from all walks of life gathered inside taverns to conduct business, gamble, share a newspaper, peruse the latest broadside or pamphlet, and discuss politics or the latest news and gossip, over hearty food and a bottle of wine, pint of stout, a tankard of ale or a bowl of punch. They served as the first town hall, inns, news centers, post office, trading posts, courtrooms, and general store. The local militia would also assemble there to join ranks with the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. (Dobbin House Inc., 2012; Dobbinhouse.com). Newspapers were delivered to taverns by postal carriers and the literate patrons read them aloud to their illiterate neighbors. (American Antiquarian Society 2010; Americanantiquarian.org).

Tavern culture was complicated and chaotic. Drunkenness and debauchery were common as well as crime such as prostitution, yet these same places formed the foundation of public discussion and thought. For all the variety of functions urban colonial taverns served, the one constant in all of them was the presence of alcohol. Colonists of every sort, size, and age, including children, drank often and in quantity. The distilled liquors of the time, such as rum and rye whiskey, averaged 45% alcohol, or 90 proof. (Keating, Aaron Man Full of Trouble, 2013;

manfulloftrouble.wordpress.com).
As leisure time and income steadily grew, so did demand for things such as novels and other books, music, toys, equipment for outdoor sports like hunting and fishing, and games such
as cards, backgammon, and billiards. Many pop culture activities such as card and dice games were popular at local colonial taverns and coffeehouses even though they were vehicles for gambling or "gaming." Many of the games played in taverns like billiards, cards, dice and backgammon were condemned by some segments of colonial society for moral reasons. Soon laws were enacted in New England jurisdictions which forbade taverns to keep "dice, cards, bowls, billiards, quoits, or any other implements used in gaming." But the laws were not always enforced. Some games like checkers and dominoes were never banned. Some, however, while technically illegal, like dice, billiards, backgammon, and cards, were acceptable as long as there was no wagering taking place. (Larkin, Jack, Old Sturbridge Village Visitor, Fall 2005; www.teachushistory.org).
Billiards, one of the popular games played at local taverns, evolved from a lawn game similar to croquet played sometime during the 15th century in Northern Europe. A place where billiards is played is often called a “poolroom” but in the 19th century a poolroom was a betting parlor for horse racing. Billiard tables were used by patrons to pass the time between races. Today, the terms billiards and pool are used interchangeably. (Billiard Congress of America; http://bca-pool.com/). Its not known exactly how billiards came to America but it is believed that it was brought over by Dutch and English settlers. American cabinetmakers produced exceptional billiard tables in the 1700's and the popularity of the game spread throughout the Colonies. By 1830, despite primitive equipment, public rooms devoted entirely to billiards appeared. (Billiard Congress of America; http://bca-pool.com/). Billiards rise in popularity are due to Michael Phelan, the father of American billiards. Phelan emigrated from Ireland and in 1850 wrote the first American book on the game. He was influential in developing rules and
standards for the game.

He was a tireless promoter of the game and created a manufacturing company which later merged with its chief competitor, J.M. Brunswick & Balke, to form the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, which is today Brunswick Billiards, the largest American manufacturer. While the game has had its heroes since the early 1800's, it has had to wage a constant battle for respectability. Poolrooms were often the target of politicians and legislators eager to show an ability to purge immorality from the community. Even today, obtaining a billiard license can require compliance with out-dated regulations. (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 2016;

www.en.wikipedia.org).
Backgammon is one of the oldest games in existence, and was often played in taverns. The name, Backgammon, first appeared in print in 1645. It was quite popular with well-educated New England professional men in the 1830s. The board with its twenty-four points and thirty checkers (or pieces or men) has been around for a long time but the game has not always been called backgammon. (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 2016; www.en.wikipedia.org).
Various forms of media help play an important role in advertising what is popular in fashion and entertainment which help shape our popular culture. American printed materials, augmented by shipments of English materials, provided popular literature at increasingly affordable prices. There were simple "broadsides", which were single sheets of paper printed on one side and sold for a penny, in the late 1600s. Many of these contained poems and often set to music which gained an audience in taverns. By the 1680s, colonists had access to "chapbooks", cheap books with paper covers. As colonists became increasingly literate by the middle of the eighteenth century, public libraries began appearing throughout the colonies. Newspapers offered local news and advertising, but they provided a more significant contribution to building a
common, or popular, colonial culture. Much of their content consisted of reprints of articles and essays from other newspapers throughout the colonies as well as from England. They also offered poetry, humor, and satire. (The Colonial Williamsburg Journal, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Spring 2008).
Almanacs appeared in the colonies by 1639 as annual publications that consisted of a calendar of the coming year but also included collections of meteorological and astrological information as well as poetry, proverbs, essays on history and science, bits of wit and wisdom, features on agriculture, and short biographies of historical personalities. They became one of the most widespread and popular genres of American literature by the time Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard appeared in 1732. (The Colonial Williamsburg Journal, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Spring 2008.)
Franklin first published the Poor Richard Almanac under the name of Richard Saunders in 1732 and continued annually for 25 years until 1758. It sold exceptionally well for a pamphlet published in the American colonies reaching 10,000 copies per year for its mixture of seasonal weather forecasts, practical household hints, puzzles, and other amusements.
The Almanack also had a strong cultural and economic impact in the years following publication. In Pennsylvania, changes in monetary policy in regard to foreign expenses were evident for years after the issuing of the Almanack. The King of France named a ship given to John Paul Jones Bonhomme Richard, or "Good man Richard" after the Almanack's author. Noah Webster were inspired by the almanack, and it went on to influence other publications of this type such as The Old Farmer's Almanac, which has included a picture of Franklin on its
cover since 1851. Numerous farmer's almanacs trace their format and tradition to Poor Richard's Almanac. (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 2016; www.en.wikipedia.org).

Work Cited
Cheever, Susan. Drinking In America: Our Secret History. New York: Hachette Book Group, 2016.

Struzinski, Steven. "The Tavern in Colonial America." The Gettysburg Historical Journal, Vol. 1, Article 7 (2002): 29-38.

(The Colonial Williamsburg Journal, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Spring 2008.)

(Billiard Congress of America; http://bca-pool.com/).

Larkin, Jack, Old Sturbridge Village Visitor, Fall 2005; www.teachushistory.org

Dictionary.com, LLC 2016

Dobbin House Inc., 2012; Dobbinhouse.com

American Antiquarian Society 2010; Americanantiquarian.org

Keating, Aaron Man Full of Trouble, 2013;  manfulloftrouble.wordpress.com