Entertainment In The 1800s Essay

Can you imagine if today, in a conversation about hobbies, a friend mentions hairpin theft? This seems crazy today, but it is actually very common in the 1800s. Common forms of entertainment common in the early 1800s are very strange, such as watching public hangings and stealing other people’s hairpins.

This is proven by the quote, “In the 1800s, hangings were considered entertainment and provided a boon to business for shopkeepers, peddlers and tavern owners. Hangings took on the characteristics of a ceremonial event in which elected officials and clergymen participated” (Curland). This means that during the 1800s it is so common to watch public hangings for entertainment that respected members of the community participate in them. In addition, the article further shows how strange the pastimes of the 1800s are by stating that the fad of stealing hairpins “started off innocently enough with boys asking favored girls for hairpins as keepsakes” (Weeks), but later he states that the purpose is to “get them without the girls knowing what you are about” (Weeks). This

This is proven by the quote, “Today, it’s hard to believe such inhuman practices took place, but letters, journals, interviews and research all prove they did” (Curland). This means that today, watching people be hanged in public for fun seems horrible and barbaric, because our culture evolves in a way that this is no longer acceptable, though it is back then. In addition, the article further shows how our culture evolves so that these pastimes are no longer normal by stating, “Eventually, prison sentences replaced these punishments, especially for women, who were sent to workhouses rather than given whippings” (Curland). This validates the idea that our culture evolves to be more normal because it shows how laws change and ethics evolve so that our forms of punishment are more humane