What is the history of vacations in the United States

The family vacation or even just vacations by individuals and couples is a tradition in the United States that goes back to at least the early 19th century. Today, most of us consider it part of middle-class life, that is to go on vacation out of town and even abroad if one can afford it. The idea of a vacation and what it means has evolved as our tastes, and our finances, have changed.

Early History of the Vacation

Vacations probably begin in antiquity, with records indicating in the Roman Empire period the presence of inns and travel lodges available in parts of the Roman Empire that allowed individuals, usually reasonably wealth, to travel and enjoy the countryside or areas within the Roman Empire that were relatively peaceful. The Roman Empire was probably among the first states, although it is possible vacations go back even further in time such as the Achaemenid Period, where infrastructure, such as roads and hotels or lodges, were purposely built for people to enjoy time away from their normal daily life. What we might consider wealthier upper-middle-class and elites would have been likely the ones taking these holidays in different parts of the Roman Empire to enjoy a new atmosphere or simply relax. Perhaps the Roman Empire was also the first to extend the idea of vacations beyond only very wealthy individuals. Vacations seem to die out after the Roman period, at least in Europe, although they may have continued in more prosperous regions such as the Middle East and China in the early Medieval periods. However, wealthy individuals in these regions likely partook in vacations. Desert castles, such as in Jordan, have been found, suggesting they were holiday homes for the wealthy elites, for instance. In late Medieval and early Modern Europe, vacations were essentially retreats for the wealthy who had homes in the countryside or were able to travel, sometimes for months, to new destinations to spend time away from their normal dwellings. This included going on extended hunting or even

The concept of vacations only for the wealth, where they would spend sometimes months in the countryside away perhaps from their urban homes, extended to the United States after its founding. Thomas Jefferson's home, the Poplar Forest, is an example of a vacation, retreat home for the early elite Americans. This exemplified the concept of European-style vacations for the wealth, who would retreat into more isolated countryside for sometimes long retreats. They might be engaged in writing, reading, hunting, going on walks, or possibly other sport and leisure activities. Exploration became a theme in the Renaissance, and with the United States expanding across North America, wealthier individuals also went on long excursions exploring the vast continent.

Changing Attitudes in the 19th Century

What perhaps changed the perception of the vacation was the railroad. In the 1830s, the United States began to build railroads, initially just outside of cities such as New York and Boston, that people began to use on their days off from work to venture beyond confines of their towns. Perhaps among the earliest destinations were coastal beaches on the East Coast and soon in the South. Coney Island, just outside of New York, became among the first places that catered to vacationing individuals. The railroad, powered by steam engines, helped to vacationers usually for very short stays, perhaps no more than a few days, and sometimes even shorter. Nevertheless, this became the first form of mass vacationing in the United States.

By the mid-19th century, Americans began to see Florida, and then later California, as popular areas for longer vacations. Places such as Silver Springs in Florida offered rowing and became among the first resort-style places to attract mass tourism. In addition to beach holidays, boating and rowing were popular leisure activities in rivers and lakes around the country. The railroad had begun to increase its spread in the United States, but the Civil War brought leisure activities to a standstill until after the war. By the late 19th century, attitudes to leisure and vacations began to expand to more types of workers, including the lower classes. In the 1890s, companies and local councils and governments began to pay or even subsidize leisure and vacation time for their employees. Vacation homes were built by these organizations to allow their employees to spend time away from work along with their families. These heavily subsidized vacations made vacationing affordable. In the 1890s, a teacher taking a vacation with the family could pay no more than $75, which would include room, board, leisure activities, and lectures. This also covered up to six weeks of summer vacation. Effectively, this became the first form of employee vacation policy. Most companies and workplaces did not have such policies but increasingly some companies and organizations realized the benefits of giving their employees time off for vacations because of the health benefits, where workers were often more productive and better rested, and thus less stressed, after vacations. Some medical researchers already recognized the benefits of vacations and began to encourage their patients to take time off.