New Ways to Play and New Ways to Play and the Panama Canal the Panama Canal

PresentationPresentationBy: Rhayven CoatsBy: Rhayven Coats

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Jessica ReedJessica Reed

New Ways to PlayNew Ways to Playpages 486-487pages 486-487

Rural to City Life

Work schedules remained the same throughout the year unlike agricultural work schedules

Worked mainly indoors not out Most people had the desire to spend weekends

and evening leisure time outdoors.

The Boring Streets and Some New Ideas Most cities in mid 19th century, children had only

the streets to play in Streets became increasingly crowded making

play for children dangerous. Most Americans could not afford expensive

toys/family vacations to provide fun for themselves or their children

Jacob Riis proposed a series of parks for New York to make play or relaxation time easier for children/ adults

Central Park is BornCentral Park is Born

Built between 1857 and 1876Built between 1857 and 1876 Covers 840 acres in the middle of Manhattan island Covers 840 acres in the middle of Manhattan island

in NYin NY In 1857 NY state legislature paid $5 million for the In 1857 NY state legislature paid $5 million for the

land that was once farm, livestock, and open sewer land that was once farm, livestock, and open sewer landland

Terrain shaped by Frederick Law Olmsted and Terrain shaped by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert VauxCalvert Vaux

The terrain included flat, grassy areas, rolling hills, The terrain included flat, grassy areas, rolling hills, woods, and ravineswoods, and ravines

Pathways & Bicycles

After the 1880s, modern bicycles were made To accommodate this, many parks included

pathways for joggers and bicyclists Bicycling through the park became a popular

activity for both men and women Many people enjoyed long walks through the park Others took carriage rides or sat on benches

watching the passersby

Boating in Central Park

Central Park had a number of lakes and lagoons

Most people though could not afford a boat so they rented one from Central Park

From Boats to Ice Skating

Even during winter, people enjoyed outdoor activities One such activity is ice-skating on frozen ponds and

lakes In the 1850s E. W. Bushnell designed and produced a

skate with steel blades to replace the wooden skates with iron blades

This new ice-skate turned skating into a speedier and more graceful form of exercise/ activity

The Panama CanalThe Panama Canalpages 548-549pages 548-549

Trade Fuels Exploration European nations gradually evolved a

system of mercantilism (establish a favorable balance of trade by exporting more than importing)

U.S. firmly establishes global trade in late 19th century

Cutting Up for the Panama Canal First cut was through the Isthmus of Suez in 1869 Another cut was made later in Central America Cutting through Central America very advantageous

because it substantially reduced sailing time between the U.S.’s Atlantic and Pacific ports

A Few Years and Many Vessels Later…

Took the United States 10 years to construct the Panama Canal (1904-1914)

By 1996 over 700,000 vessels with about 70 different nations flags passed through its locks

Limits On Vessel Size To fit the canals locks ships had to be certain

dimensions Can not be no more than 106 ft across and 965

feet in length The depth of the vessel below the water line when

fully loaded must not exceed 39.5ft Tolls are paid based on size of the vessel, its

cargo, and the number of passengers

Extra Info

• NYC and other U.S. Atlantic ports accounted for about 60% of the traffic using the Panama Canal in the early decades since its premier

• New Orleans has served as a major port of the produce of the areas along the Mississippi River since its founding (1718)

• Sailing from NYC to San Francisco by going around South America is 13,000mi

• Using the Panama Canal, it was only 5,200mi