As has been stated earlier, swimming was being practiced by men in
Europe when the early colonists were leaving their old homes.
Nevertheless, the task of establishing new homes left them little time
to practice the "art of swimming" or to teach it to fellow colonists.
Benjamin Franklin is no doubt the most famous early proponent of
swimming in the colonies. In his autobiography written in the form of a
letter to his son in 1771, Franklin revealed his early interest in
swimming.
I had from a child been delighted with this exercise, had
studied and practiced Thevenot's motions and position, and added
some of my own, aiming at the graceful and easy, as well as the
useful.[23]
[23] JARED SPARKS, _The Works of Benjamin Franklin_ (Boston: Tappan
and Whittemore, 1844), vol. I, pp. 63-64.
Benjamin Franklin used every opportunity to encourage his friends to
learn to swim,
as I wish all men were taught to do in their youth; they would,
on many occurrences, be the safer for having that skill, and on
many more the happier, as freer from painful apprehensions of
danger, to say nothing of the enjoyment in so delightful and
wholesome an exercise.[24]
[24] J. FROST, _The Art of Swimming_ (New York: P. W. Gallaudet,
1818), p. 57.
Not only was Franklin in favor of being able to swim but when requested
he advised friends on methods for how to teach oneself. His
instructions, in his letter of September 28, 1776 to Mr. Oliver Neale,
were published a number of times even as late as the 1830s.
America's first swimming school was established at Boston in 1827 by
Francis Liefer. Two expert swimmers, John Quincy Adams and John James
Audubon, the ornithologist, visited the school and each expressed
delight at having found such an establishment.
Numerous books instructing men how to swim were brought into the United
States in the early 19th century and some were republished here, but the
first original work (i.e., not a plagiarism) by an American was not
published until 1846. In this book the author, James Arlington Bennet,
M.D., LL.D., based his instructions upon his own personal observations
as an experienced swimmer. Dr. Bennet's publication requires special
note not only due to the basic value of the information but because of
the extraordinary title (i.e., _The Art of Swimming Exemplified by
Diagrams from Which Both Sexes May Learn to Swim and Float on the Water;
and Rules for All Kinds of Bathing in the Preservation of Health and
Cure of Disease, with the Management of Diet from Infancy to Old Age,
and a Valuable Remedy Against Sea-sickness_). Thanks to this explicit
title we learn that Dr. Bennet was in favor of women learning to swim.
This energetic aquatic activity had long been considered a masculine
skill and, despite such a significant publication, this attitude
continued until much later in the century.
We have already noted in a previous discussion that the Berkeley Springs
bath houses of the 1850s provided a swimming bath for men but no similar
facilities for women. Also at certain seaside resorts of the same
period, a special time was set for men to practice the art of swimming
without clothing, but women had no similar opportunity. When the ladies
entered the water they were clothed from head to toe because men were
also present. The description of women's bathing costume, which will
appear in a later section, clearly shows that women could do little more
than try to maintain their footing. Undoubtedly some "brazen" women did
find the opportunity to swim, but the general attitude was that women
should only immerse themselves in water.
By the 1860s there was a widespread health movement which gave
additional momentum to the belief that physical exercise was good for
one's well-being. As a result, women were being encouraged to emerge
from their state of physical inactivity imposed by social custom.
Swimming had already gained recognition as a healthful exercise for men,
but with this fresh approach it was even being suggested that women
should swim. A column that appeared in 1866, entitled "Physical Exercise
for Females," asserted that
Bathing, as it is practiced at our coast resorts, is, no doubt,
a delightful recreation; but if to it swimming could be added,
the delight would be increased, and the possible use and
advantage much extended.[25]
[25] _Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper_ (August 25, 1866), vol.
22, no. 569, p. 355.
In answer to the possible objection that the facilities for teaching
were not always available, the writer maintained that in addition to the
seashore there were rivers, lakes, and ponds as well as the swimming
baths found in most large cities. He further asserted that if the demand
were great enough, certain days could be appropriated exclusively to
women as was done in some of the London baths.
The type of baths referred to in this case were not built simply to
supply a health-giving treatment or for recreation as described earlier.
As part of the health movement mentioned above, there was a growing
concern in regards to personal cleansing; it was realized that merely
splashing water on the face in the morning was not sufficient for good
personal hygiene. While facilities for washing the whole body were being
installed in wealthy homes, there was also a growing concern for the
masses of people who could not afford such extravagance. Thus
philanthropic individuals encouraged the building of public swimming
baths in densely populated, low income areas. It was hoped that,
although the patrons would be covered by bathing costume and would be
seeking refreshment and recreation, this unaccustomed contact with water
would improve their personal hygiene.
In 1870 a reporter for _Leslie's_, who was describing two elegant large
bathhouses (the type described above) in New York City, stated that
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays were set apart for ladies and Tuesdays,
Thursdays, and Saturdays for gentlemen. These baths became quite popular
in the large cities, particularly among people who could not afford the
time or money to make trips even to the near seaside resorts. By the
1880s they were so popular that bathing time was scheduled to allow many
sets of bathers to enjoy the water. Thus a number of women who had
probably never been completely covered with water before had the
opportunity to learn to swim.
While women were being encouraged to practice swimming as a healthful
exercise, this activity was being recognized as a recreation and sport
for men. The increasing affluence during the last three decades of the
19th century, which made possible the widespread popularity of summer
excursions, encouraged swimming as an individual pastime as well as a
growing spectator sport. This was true not only for swimming but for
nearly every sport we enjoy today. In 1871 a reporter wrote:
It is not underrating the interest attached to yachting or
rowing matches, to say that swimming clubs and swimming matches
can be made to create wider and more useful emulation among "the
Million" who can never participate in or benefit by those
notable trials of skill and muscle.[26]
[26] Ibid. (July 29, 1871), vol. 32, no. 826, p. 322.
By the 1890s this growing interest in spectator and individual sports
evidenced several interesting results. Separate sporting pages were
established in the formats of many newspapers. In addition to being a
summer pastime, "the art of swimming" became an intercollegiate and
Olympic sport, and was included on the roster of events for the 1896
revival of the Olympic Games held in Athens. Innovations in facilities
and techniques helped to alter the character of swimming. The most
notable of these were the development of the indoor pool and the
introductions of the crawl stroke into the United States.
It was in this time period that swimming for women was becoming socially
acceptable. In 1888, Goucher College, a prominent girls' school, built
its own indoor pool and the following year swimming was listed in its
catalog for the first time. Writers, in turn, no longer felt it
necessary to convince readers that women should be more active in the
water, but concentrated instead on what a woman should know when she
swims. This changing attitude gained world-wide recognition in 1912 at
Stockholm when the 100-meter swimming event for women was included in
the schedule.
The period of prosperity following World War I brought a marked increase
in the appreciation of recreation, resulting in an increase of swimming
pools and available beaches. Indoor pools, which made swimming a
year-round activity, were becoming even more numerous than beaches.
Swimming was now established as a sport and a recreation for both men
and women. According to a 1924 magazine article in the _Delineator_,
seldom was a swimming meet held anywhere in the country without events
for women. At Palm Beach, however, one of the few remaining citadels of
"high society," an axiom of fashion dictated that a lady or gentleman
not go into the water before 11:45 in the morning; should one do so, one
ran the risk of being taken for a maid or valet. The masses, however,
swam for pleasure without regard to the inhibitions of high fashion.
This period was also marked by the advent of swimming personalities of
both sexes. Johnny Weissmuller became a popular hero for his
accomplishments in competitive swimming from 1921 to 1929. Even before
the war Annette Kellerman, star of vaudeville and movies, had become
famous for her fancy diving as well as her celebrated figure, which she
daringly exhibited in a form-fitting, one-piece suit. In addition to
writing an autobiography, she authored articles and a swimming
instruction book for women. As an example of what exercise, including
swimming, could do for women, Annette Kellerman also lent her name to a
course of physical culture for less "well-developed" ladies. Another
product of this new age of recreation was Gertrude Ederle, who learned
to swim at the Woman's Swimming Association of New York. She rose to
sudden fame in 1926 as the first woman to swim the English Channel.
As previously stated, swimming was practiced through the Middle Ages as
a useful skill for men. Gradually this activity became regarded as also
a healthful exercise and then as a recreation. Finally by the late 19th
century swimming also had achieved the status of a competitive
sport--but for men only. It was not until the 1920s that social
attitudes permitted women the same full use of the water as men.
The restrictive attitudes defining women's proper behavior in the water
prior to the 1920s were one element of the mores defining women's
participation in society. Thus as more liberal attitudes gained
acceptance and modified the original concept of the "weaker sex," women
gradually achieved social acceptance of their full participation in
aquatic activities.