A discussion about the history and current status of leisure activities in the USA -- with a historical overview of the political, philosophical, legal, and scientific advances that influenced the world's idea of what constitutes "free time" activities and hobbies. From the Declaration of Independence's famous words "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" to the U.S. Constitution's inclusion of legal protection for artistic and scientific works and ideas through copyrights, patents, and trademarks; we discuss how these great documents paved the way for everything that Americans (and many people around the world) enjoy during their leisure time. Air, road, and sea travel; music; sports; and more are all discussed.

1. S
The Pursuit of
Happiness:
What Americans Do For Fun
David Burns
23 April 2015
UCR – Liberia

2. Peace Corps Response

3. How to contact me:
David Burns – Cell: 8416 2367
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4. Planets of our Solar System

5. M – V – E – M – J – S – U – N - P

9. April 23rd – English Language
Day

11. Let’s brainstorm…
S What are some leisure or entertainment activities
that are UNIVERSAL? Why are some
international and others only local?
S What are some that are specific to Costa Rica?
Guanacaste?
S What are some that are specific to the USA?
Why the differences in preferences?

12. Culture, history, tradition, language, society,
economy, religion, geography, philosophy….
S Culture greatly affects how we
act, what we enjoy and how we
enjoy it…
S Language is one of the strongest
binds citizens of nations or
groups of nations together…
S The English language in the
USA and – more frequently –
around the world is the universal
language of entertainment…
uniting culturally different peoples
around the world…

13. U.S. Declaration of Independence – July 4,
1776

17. Preamble to the U.S.
Declaration of Independence
S IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
S The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of
America
S When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for
one people to dissolve the political bands which have
connected them with another and to assume among the
powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which
the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent
respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should
declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
S http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/

19. S 4 July 1776: Declaration of Independence from England
– King George III
S American War of Independence: 1776 – 1783
S Articles of Confederation (the first federal constitution):
written in 1778 and ratified in 1781.
S Neither federal courts nor a president, and the single
chamber of Congress had no way to enforce its laws.
S Individual states could and did ignore federal laws with
impunity. U.S. Constitution ratified in 1788.
Founding of the U.S. Legal
System

20. Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of
the U.S. Constitution empowers
Congress:
S To promote the Progress of Science
and useful Arts, by securing for limited
Times to Authors and Inventors the
exclusive Right to their respective
Writings and Discoveries.

21. Intellectual Property (IP) Law
S Trademarks
S Copyrights
S Patents
S Service Marks

22. Louisiana Purchase from
France (1803)

23. What are the top 10
languages spoken in the
USA?
http://arcgis.mla.org/mla/default.aspx

24. Most Spoken Languages in
U.S.
50 Million People Speak Languages other than English
1. English (216 M)
2. Spanish (40 M)
3. Chinese (3 M)
4. French (incl. Cajun, Patois)
5. German
6. Tagalog
7. Vietnamese
8. Italian
9. Korean
10. Russian
11. Polish
12. Portuguese
13. Japanese
14. French (Creole – Haiti)

25. Native Languages in the
USA

26. La Poblacion Hispana en los
Estados Unidos

27. And the pursuit of
happiness…
S Travel: road trips, hotel/motel, camping, beaches, mountains,
lakes, deserts, forests, rivers, National Parks, state parks…
S Music, Film, and the Arts: live music, cinemas, museums,
photography, dance, literature, poetry – arts in the schools.
S Sports: Professional, collegiate, amateur, high school,
children’s (little) leagues.
S Family & Friends: dinners, picnics, reunions, BBQs, ‘get
togethers’, games, weddings, b-day parties, funerals,
anniversaries.
S Volunteering: schools, hospitals, urban centers,
environment…

28. Americans love the open
road…

30. Eisenhower Interstate
System
S Championed by President Dwight
Eisenhower in the 1950s.
S Authorized by the Federal Aid Highway
Act of 1956.
S Total over 46,876 miles (75,440 km):
tunnels, bridges, overpasses, exit/entry
ramps.
S Total cost was over $450 billion, making it

31. Air travel is also very
popular…

32. Air Transportation in the
USA
S 17 of the world’s 30 busiest airports are in the USA (Atlanta is the world’s
busiest – with over 92 million passengers in 2011 = 252,000 passengers
daily).
S 12 of the world’s 30 busiest airports in terms of cargo (Memphis is the
world’s busiest – FedEx HQ).
S There are over 200 domestic passenger and cargo airlines and many
U.S.-based international carriers (American, Delta, United, and US
Airways the most notable).
S Over 5,000 paved runways are utilized in the USA.
S Many local, regional, and budget airlines fly to even the smallest of towns
and cities.
S Major air transport bi-coastal hubs for Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Ocean

33. National Park Service (NPS)
http://www.nps.gov/index.htm

35. Yosemite National Park

36. Music in the USA:
S What are some of the types (genres) of
music that you associate most with the
USA?
S Can you name some singers and/or
musicians from the various genres?

37. Music in the USA:
S Jazz
S Blues
S Rock N’ Roll
S Classical
S Rap
S Hip Hop
S Gospel
S Popular (Pop or Top 40)
S Rhythm & Blues
S Soul
S Folk
S Country & Western
S Latin (Cuba, Mexico, DR)
S Traditional (Zydeco in
Louisiana)

38. American Music
S The U.S. has the world’s largest music industry and
its music is heard and influences other music all
around the world.
S The long history of immigration in the USA has
greatly influenced our music. Native Americans,
Europeans, Africans, and Asians contributing
notably to the ‘melting pot’ that is American Music.
S Eclectic and diverse are the two best words to
describe American music.

40. Live Music

41. Media & Pop Music
S Media outlets like MTV have
spread American popular
music around the world.
S Internationally popular music
groups tour the world and
sometimes are more popular
abroad than in the USA.
S Internet radio stations, iTunes,
and file-sharing sites allow us
to sample the diverse music of
USA.

42. JAZZ:
America’s One Truly Original Art Form

43. New Orleans, Louisiana

44. Festivals like Mardi Gras

45. Learn more about New Orleans &
Louisiana:
S WWOZ (Jazz, blues, funk - radio station available online)
http://www.wwoz.org/
S New Orleans Online
http://www.neworleansonline.com/
S Louisiana Tourism
http://www.louisianatravel.com/

46. Public & Private Museums
S Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, is the
nation’s landmark museum, educational, and
research institute – funded completely by the U.S.
Government. There are 19 museums and galleries
and the national zoo in DC which are part of
Smithsonian.
S Many museums and arts institutes were endowed by
philanthropic gifts from some of America’s wealthiest
families, including: John Rockefeller, Andrew
Carnegie, Walt Disney, George Soros, Henry Ford,
Bill Gates, Andrew Mellon, Warren Buffett, Paul
Newman, Oprah Winfrey… etc…

47. Air & Space Museum

48. Theme & Adventure Parks

49. Disney Theme Parks

51. Hollywood, California
S Hollywood is an area (neighborhood) of Los Angeles.
S All major U.S. film studios are located in or near Los
Angeles – but most are owned by companies based
on the East coast.
S Hollywood is the largest film industry in terms of
revenue but Bollywood produces the most feature-
length films in the world.
S Largest studios: Paramount (Viacom); Warner Bros.
(Time Warner); Columbia (Sony); Walt Disney;
Universal (GE); 20th Century Fox (News Corp.).

52. Multiplex & Cineplex

53. Art House Cinemas

55. Sports in the USA:
S Can you name the most popular sports in
the USA?
S Do you know the names of some of the
professional and amateur sports’ leagues
in the USA?

56. Most popular professional
sports:
S Football (American football) – National Football League (NFL). 32
teams. Averages over 67,000 fans per game. Fall/Winter.
S Baseball (America’s past time) – Major League Baseball (MLB). 30
teams (1 in Canada). Spring/Summer/Fall.
S Basketball – National Baskeball Association (NBA). 30 teams
(one in Canada). NBA players are the highest paid pro athletes in
the world (by average salary per year). WNBA.
S Soccer (Football) – Major League Soccer (MLS). 19 teams (3 in
Canada).
S Ice Hockey – National Hockey League (NHL). 30 teams (7 in
Canada). Has players from over 20 different countries.
Winter/Spring.

59. Other popular pro sports:
S Golf – Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA & LPGA).
S Tennis: United States Tennis Association (USTA).
S Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) – National Association of Stock Car
Racing.
S Wrestling: World Wrestling Federation (WWF). ‘Professional’
athletes; combination of athletics and dramatic performance.
S Rodeo: Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the
highest paying rodeo organization in the world and sanctions
rodoes in 37 U.S. states and 3 Canandian provinces.

60. Amateur, collegiate & high
school sports:
S NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). Very
popular college & university level sports. The 20 largest
stadiums in the USA are NCAA university stadiums.
S High School Athletics: Very popular and competitive.
Depending on the school – all major sports
representatives including rugby, lacrosse, tennis,
wrestling, swimming, etc. Most high schools have large
stadiums, practice fields, swimming pools, etc.
S Little Leagues: Every town and city has organized leagues
for all the major sports. Especially popular are soccer,
baseball, basketball, softball, and American football.

61. LSU Stadium – Baton Rouge,
Louisiana
Seating capacity of 92,542 (10 in NCAA; 17 in world).

62. Volunteering
S Americans are proud of their history of
volunteering and helping others in need.
S Can you name any American volunteer
organizations? Do you see any volunteers in
this room?
S What are some major volunteer organizations in
Costa Rica?

63. International & Domestic
S Peace Corps
S AmeriCorps
S Volunteers of America (VOA)
S Habitat for Humanity
S Rotary International
S Thousands of opportunities
on campuses around the
USA.

64. Religion in America
S The USA is one of the most religious countries in the world
– over 85% of Americans consider themselves ‘religious’.
S This greatly affects how, where, and with whom many
Americans seek leisure activities.
S Church, temple, mosque, choir, youth, mission and other
activities are very popular.
S What are the major religions represented in the USA?

70. Hopscotch (Rayuela)
S Hopcotch: Travel, Culture, Life
S www.facebook.com/rayuelando
S Twitter: @Rayuelando

71. Useful websites:
S http://www.si.edu/
S http://www.livescience.com/28945-american-culture.html
S http://www.everyculture.com/To-Z/United-States-of-America.html
S https://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/9780472033041-101AmerCult.pdf
S http://www.edupass.org/culture/
S http://www.internationalstudentguidetotheusa.com/articles/culture.htm

72. Muchas Gracias!
Many Thanks!