Describe the growth of sport in the American South.

Question

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Answer 1

The American South was different from the North in many respects. The growth of sport in the South was facilitated by a favorable climate, the absence of Puritan reformers, and the importation and practice of sports, games, and amusements by the various immigrant groups, especially the English.
The southern gentlemen of Virginia were extremely competitive, individualistic, and materialistic, elements that reflected the economic conditions of the South. A number of prominent American politicians, including many of the Founding Fathers, enjoyed horse racing. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Marshall, Henry Clay, and Andrew Jackson, among others, loved to wager on the races.
During the early days of horse racing, it was not unusual for races to be held on town streets. Racetracks were built in Virginia, Maryland, and South Carolina. Wagering was often heavy, and both women and men placed bets. The big races were often followed by elaborate festivities attended by those who could afford to participate.
Horse racing, however, was not the only popular sport. Southerners also enjoyed fox hunting, hunting, fishing, rowing, lawn bowling, dancing, cock fighting, boxing, and fencing, which were "imported" by English settlers and other European immigrants who settled in the South. Shooting matches were popular throughout Colonial America, and the South was no exception.