It wasn’t that long ago that Sunday felt completely different in America. Rather than being another day off, stores were dark & ballgames were banned in some places. Getting a beer was also illegal, depending on where you lived. Let’s find out about the time when Sunday stood out from the rest of the week & how things changed.
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Key takeaways
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- How a five-day workweek made Sundays part of the weekend
- What courts said about Sunday closing laws & what they limited
- Why mail no longer arriving on Sundays was so important
A weekly day off becomes standard
Long before Sundays became a day off, in the 1800s, people debated whether the Post Office should deliver on Sundays. Congress resisted cutting it for years. This all changed in 1912 when lawmakers voted to end the practice & make Sunday a mail-free day across the country. It was the start of Sundays being different.
In the 1920s, Sundays became part of the official weekend for more workers. This was mostly thanks to Henry Ford, who was one of the first big names to make the switch, and he shut his plants down for both Saturday & Sunday in 1926. That was practically unheard of back then.
A year later, more than 260 other large businesses followed his lead. By 1940, the Fair Labor Standards Act capped most workweeks at 40 hours. This made two days off each week part of everyday American life. Now, Sunday was officially no longer a workday.
Store doors shut
State laws also meant that many stores & movie theaters were closed on Sundays. Originally, this was because of religious reasons, although in 1961, the Supreme Court ruled differently in McGowan v. Maryland. They argued that states could keep these Sunday laws by framing them as “day of rest” laws instead of religious mandates.
Entertainment also wasn’t easy to find on Sundays, as parts of the US banned public shows for the day. This was especially true in New England during the 1800s. That meant no plays & no concerts, not much of anything, really, which was bad news for any traveling theater groups that came into town on a weekend. They had to wait until Monday to put on a show.
Later, the rules began to shift because people were pushing for more freedom to enjoy music & theater outside of the workweek. Sunday nights at plays & concerts were back on the calendar by the early 1900s. It took time, but Sunday went from a quiet night to one with a few more options.
The difference with Sunday papers
Anyone who’s ever held an old Sunday paper will know that this edition wasn’t the same as the weekday edition.
Starting in the late 1800s, newspapers created Sunday issues that had whole sections just for comics & glossy supplements. They also had longer features. The “Sunday paper” later became a product of its own by the 20th century. So much so, in fact, that some readers waited for it especially, even though they skipped the daily editions.
Sunday literacy & lessons
When public schools weren’t yet everywhere, Sunday schools filled the gap, starting in the early 1800s. However, these didn’t just focus on Bible stories. Kids often learned to read there, and for many families, it was the only chance their children had to practice basic skills.
Some numbers put it at about one in ten American children going through a Sunday school program in the 1810s. Today, it might not seem like a lot. But it really was, given how education was rather spotty back then.
As the decades went on, public schools spread. They took on the role of teaching reading & writing. Sunday schools kept going, yes, but the focus moved towards religion & less to literacy. Even so, those early years gave the day a very different purpose. It was church and classroom, rolled into one.
Sunday rhythms in agriculture and farmers’ markets
In farm towns, Sundays also used to be different. Work didn’t stop completely, of course, since you still had to feed animals or check on things, but the heavier jobs often waited. Plowing & hauling were pushed to Monday.
Markets were part of that routine, too, as a lot of small towns had Sunday morning markets that only ran for a couple of hours. They were a chance for people to buy fresh eggs & bread, maybe some vegetables, then catch up with neighbors before heading home. Sure, these markets do still exist. But they’ve mostly moved to Saturdays or special events.
People who grew up with lazier Sundays remember just how much slower & steadier they used to be. It was a day to get up early and deal with a few chores, then relax with family. The workweek always pressed in. Yet Sundays cut a little space away from it.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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