Sport and American mentality, 1880-1910 / Donald J. Mrozek.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mrozek, Donald J.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sports--United States--History.

Sports.

Social values.

History.

United States.

Sports--Social aspects--United States.

Sports--Social aspects.

National characteristics, American--History.

National characteristics, American.

Social values--History.

Physical Description:

xx, 284 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Knoxville : University of Tennessee Press, [1983]

Summary:

Few observers of American life today would doubt that sports occupy a prominent place in our society, but equally few have examined the origins of the country's greatest passion. Probing our history, culture, and consciousness, Professor Mrozek shows how sports gained national acceptance and became as standard as fried chicken and church on Sunday.

Today's boom has its roots in the period 1880-1910. As Mrozek shows, forgotten as well as famous public figures and athletes helped shape the modern craze. They included nutritionist Horace Fletcher, strongman Eugene Sandow, journalist Elizabeth Paine, and such familiar personalities as Teddy Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge, and John Muir.

A national interest in sports could develop only after the governing classes had ceased to oppose organized games. Thereafter many forces worked on the public mind. National unification after the Civil War, changes in the role of women, and increases in leisure time all played a part. Other contributing trends were interest in an energetic life-style, the beginnings of a youth culture, and a generalized need for acceptable ways of expressing sexuality and sensuality. Mrozek's wide-ranging book paints a lively and compelling portrait of the American people in quest of sport.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Strategies of Regeneration 3

Chapter 2 Social Efficiency and the Spirit of Victory

The Ideas and Sporting Practices of Politicians and Military Officers 28

Chapter 3 Winning and the Regulated Life

The New Experts in Physical Culture 67

Chapter 4 Sporting Life as Consumption, Fashion, and Display

The Pastimes of the Rich 103

Chapter 5 From "Swooning Damsel" to Sportswoman

The Role of Women as a Constituency in Sport 136

Chapter 6 From Playing Fields to National Parks

The Instinct toward American Nationalism in Sport and Recreation 161

Chapter 7 Toward a New Image of the Body

Champions of Movement and Action 189

Chapter 8 Sport and Mentality 226.

Notes:

Includes index.

Bibliography: pages 257-277.

ISBN:

0870493949 :

OCLC:

9282907