The Birth of American Tourism

The Birth of American Tourism PDF

Author: Richard H. Gassan

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13:

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Today, the idea of traveling within the United States for leisure purposes is so commonplace it is hard to imagine a time when tourism was not a staple of our cultural life. This text shows how tourism first emerged as a cultural activity in early 19th century America.

The Birth of American Tourism

The Birth of American Tourism PDF

Author: Richard H. Gassan

Publisher: Univ of Massachusetts Press

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 9781558496651

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Today the idea of traveling within the United States for leisure purposes is so commonplace it is hard to imagine a time when tourism was not a staple of our cultural life. Yet as Richard H. Gassan persuasively demonstrates, at the beginning of the nineteenth century travel for leisure was strictly an aristocratic luxury beyond the means of ordinary Americans. It wasn't until the second decade of the century that the first middle-class tourists began to follow the lead of the well-to-do, making trips up the Hudson River valley north of New York City, and in a few cases beyond. At first just a trickle, by 1830 the tide of tourism had become a flood, a cultural change that signaled a profound societal shift as the United States stepped onto the road that would eventually lead to a modern consumer society. According to Gassan, the origins of American tourism in the Hudson Valley can be traced to a confluence of historical accidents, including the proximity of the region to the most rapidly growing financial and population center in the country, with its expanding middle class, and the remarkable beauty of the valley itself. But other developments also played a role, from the proliferation of hotels to accommodate tourists, to the construction of an efficient transportation network to get them to their destinations, to the creation of a set of cultural attractions that invested their experience with meaning. In the works of Washington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper and the paintings of Thomas Cole and others of the Hudson River School, travelers in the region encountered the nation's first literary and artistic movements. Tourism thus did more than provide an escape from the routines of everyday urban life; it also helped Americans of the early republic shape a sense of national identity.

Selling the Sights

Selling the Sights PDF

Author: Will B. Mackintosh

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2019-01-08

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 1479889377

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A fascinating journey through the origins of American tourism In the early nineteenth century, thanks to a booming transportation industry, Americans began to journey away from home simply for the sake of traveling, giving rise to a new cultural phenomenon —the tourist. In Selling the Sights, Will B. Mackintosh describes the origins and cultural significance of this new type of traveler and the moment in time when the emerging American market economy began to reshape the availability of geographical knowledge, the material conditions of travel, and the variety of destinations that sought to profit from visitors with money to spend. Entrepreneurs began to transform the critical steps of travel—deciding where to go and how to get there—into commodities that could be produced in volume and sold to a marketplace of consumers. The identities of Americans prosperous enough to afford such commodities were fundamentally changed as they came to define themselves through the consumption of experiences. Mackintosh ultimately demonstrates that the cultural values and market forces surrounding tourism in the early nineteenth century continue to shape our experience of travel to this day.

See America First

See America First PDF

Author: Marguerite Shaffer

Publisher: Smithsonian Institution

Published: 2013-08-06

Total Pages: 439

ISBN-13: 1588343855

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In See America First, Marguerite Shaffer chronicles the birth of modern American tourism between 1880 and 1940, linking tourism to the simultaneous growth of national transportation systems, print media, a national market, and a middle class with money and time to spend on leisure. Focusing on the See America First slogan and idea employed at different times by railroads, guidebook publishers, Western boosters, and Good Roads advocates, she describes both the modern marketing strategies used to promote tourism and the messages of patriotism and loyalty embedded in the tourist experience. She shows how tourists as consumers participated in the search for a national identity that could assuage their anxieties about American society and culture. Generously illustrated with images from advertisements, guidebooks, and travelogues, See America First demonstrates that the promotion of tourist landscapes and the consumption of tourist experiences were central to the development of an American identity.

Selling the Sights

Selling the Sights PDF

Author: Will B. Mackintosh

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2019-01-08

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1479826170

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A fascinating journey through the origins of American tourism In the early nineteenth century, thanks to a booming transportation industry, Americans began to journey away from home simply for the sake of traveling, giving rise to a new cultural phenomenon —the tourist. In Selling the Sights, Will B. Mackintosh describes the origins and cultural significance of this new type of traveler and the moment in time when the emerging American market economy began to reshape the availability of geographical knowledge, the material conditions of travel, and the variety of destinations that sought to profit from visitors with money to spend. Entrepreneurs began to transform the critical steps of travel—deciding where to go and how to get there—into commodities that could be produced in volume and sold to a marketplace of consumers. The identities of Americans prosperous enough to afford such commodities were fundamentally changed as they came to define themselves through the consumption of experiences. Mackintosh ultimately demonstrates that the cultural values and market forces surrounding tourism in the early nineteenth century continue to shape our experience of travel to this day.

American Tourism

American Tourism PDF

Author: Jonathan Mark Souther

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781935195238

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American Tourism reveals the remarkable stories behind the places Americans love to visit. From Independence Hall to Las Vegas, and from Silver Springs to Seattle's Pike Place Market, the collection pulls back the curtain on many of America's most successful tourist attractions to reveal the carefully hidden transformations that turn places into destinations. Readers will discover that a powerful creative process, rather than chance, has separated the enduring attractions from the many failures that litter the highways and byways of tourism history. Written by leading academic and public historians, writers, and tourism professionals, the thirty-five lively, illustrated essays that comprise this volume illuminate the visionaries who created such iconic destinations and the business models that sustained them. Covering issues of design, culture, and impact, American Tourism will appeal to scholars, tourism professionals, and armchair travellers alike.

How the New Deal Built Florida Tourism

How the New Deal Built Florida Tourism PDF

Author: David J. Nelson

Publisher: University Press of Florida

Published: 2019-04-11

Total Pages: 315

ISBN-13: 0813057094

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Florida Historical Society Rembert Patrick Award Florida Book Awards, Silver Medal for Florida Nonfiction Countering the conventional narrative that Florida’s tourism industry suffered during the Great Depression, this book shows that the 1930s were, in reality, the starting point for much that characterizes modern Florida’s tourism. David Nelson argues that state and federal government programs designed to reboot the economy during this decade are crucial to understanding the state today. Nelson examines the impact of three connected initiatives—the federal New Deal, its Civilian Conservation Corps program (CCC), and the CCC’s creation of the Florida Park Service. He reveals that the CCC designed state parks to reinforce the popular image of Florida as a tropical, exotic, and safe paradise. The CCC often removed native flora and fauna, introduced exotic species, and created artificial landscapes that were then presented as natural. Nelson discusses how Florida business leaders benefitted from federally funded development and the ways residents and business owners rejected or supported the commercialization and shifting cultural identity of their state. A detailed look at a unique era in which the state government sponsored the tourism industry, helped commodify natural resources, and boosted mythical ideas of the “Real Florida” that endure today, this book makes the case that the creation of the Florida Park Service is the story of modern Florida.

Royal Tourism

Royal Tourism PDF

Author: Phil Long

Publisher: Channel View Publications

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 1845410807

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The relationships between tourism and royalty have received little coverage in the tourism literature. This volume provides a critical exploration of the relationships between royalty and tourism past, present, and future from a range of disciplinary perspectives.

See America First

See America First PDF

Author: Marguerite S. Shaffer

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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In See America First, Marguerite Shaffer chronicles the birth of modern American tourism between 1880 and 1940, linking tourism to the simultaneous growth of national transportation systems, print media, a national market, and a middle class with money and time to spend on leisure. Focusing on the See America First slogan and idea employed at different times by railroads, guidebook publishers, Western boosters, and Good Roads advocates, she describes both the modern marketing strategies used to promote tourism and the messages of patriotism and loyalty embedded in the tourist experience. She shows how tourists as consumers participated in the search for a national identity that could assuage their anxieties about American society and culture. Generously illustrated with images from advertisements, guidebooks, and travelogues, See America First demonstrates that the promotion of tourist landscapes and the consumption of tourist experiences were central to the development of an American identity.