The Representation of American

Society in Baseball

The Representation of American

Society in Baseball

Alex S. & Seth G.Horace Greeley HS KLM 2006

Alex S. & Seth G.Horace Greeley HS KLM 2006

How has baseball reflected American

society over the course of the first half of the 20th century?

How has baseball reflected American

society over the course of the first half of the 20th century?

Well--it's our game; that's Well--it's our game; that's the chief fact in the chief fact in

connection with it: connection with it: America's game; it has America's game; it has

the snap, go, fling of the the snap, go, fling of the American atmosphere; it American atmosphere; it belongs as much to our belongs as much to our

institutions, fits into institutions, fits into them as significantly as them as significantly as

our Constitution's laws; is our Constitution's laws; is just as important in the just as important in the sum total of our historic sum total of our historic

life.life.Walt WhitmanWalt WhitmanWalt WhitmanWalt Whitman

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US Histor

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US Histor

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Progressive EraProgressive EraProgressive EraProgressive EraWhen Teddy Roosevelt became the 26th president of the United States, his goal was to change what had become of his beloved nation

Roosevelt entered office at a time in which the U.S. was already undergoing a slight transformation

The Progressive Era, as it became known, was a period of reform that lasted from the 1890s through the 1920s

Progressive Era MovementsProgressive Era MovementsProgressive Era MovementsProgressive Era Movements

This era helped influence movements such as:

Social Gospel advocates

Education reform

Trustbusters

Banking reform

Goo-Goo’s

Populists

Conservationism

Workers Rights

Social Justice

Temperance

Suffragettes

Muckrackers

Settlement Houses

Key Aspects of the Key Aspects of the Progressive EraProgressive Era

Key Aspects of the Key Aspects of the Progressive EraProgressive EraHepburn Act of 1906

Gave the ICC the power to set maximum railroad rates

Anthracite Coal Strike of 1902

Lasted 163 days

Workers given a 10% pay increase and awarded a nine-hour day

Organized labor celebrated the outcome as a victory for all unions

Square Deal

Program that curbed “bad” trusts and encouraged “good” trusts

Immigration in the 1900sImmigration in the 1900sImmigration in the 1900sImmigration in the 1900s

During the 1900s many Jews, Italians, Asians (first 1/2 of the decade), and Russians entered America

The Role of Women The Role of Women in the Progressive Erain the Progressive EraThe Role of Women The Role of Women

in the Progressive Erain the Progressive Era

Jane AddamsLeader in both the

women’s suffrage and the pacifist movement

Ida TarbellOne of the leading

muckrakers and the author of The History of the Standard

Oil Company

Baseball

Baseball

Players Protective Players Protective AssociationAssociation

Players Protective Players Protective AssociationAssociation

Players Protective Association is founded in 1900

Originated from the Brotherhood of Professional Baseball players (1885)

One of the first unions created by players who objected the reserve clause

Forced players to stay with one team at the owners disposal

Players had no say as to where they were traded/sold

Byron Bancroft JohnsonByron Bancroft Johnson Byron Bancroft JohnsonByron Bancroft Johnson

Created the American League in 1901, which offered higher salaries and better contract options

Players like Cy Young, John McGraw, and Nap Lajoie jumped from the National League

Cracked down on dirty play and banned liquor from ballparks

Baseball was becoming a more acceptable activity

Immigration and BaseballImmigration and BaseballBaseball was becoming a reflection of the changing ethnic composition of America.

Many European immigrants became club owners due to limited entrepreneurial opportunities in a less risky environment.

A number of Northern and Eastern European immigrants played on teams as a means for social mobility.

Olaf Henriksen DenmarkOlaf Henriksen DenmarkOlaf Henriksen DenmarkOlaf Henriksen Denmark

Alta WeissAlta WeissAlta WeissAlta Weiss

1907 First Woman to Play Professional Baseball

Take Me Out to the Ball Take Me Out to the Ball GameGame

Take Me Out to the Ball Take Me Out to the Ball GameGame"Take me out to the ball game,

Take me out with the crowd.Buy me some peanuts and cracker

jack,I don't care if I never get back,

Let me root, root, root for the home team,

If they don't win it's a shame.For it's one, two, three strikes, you're

out,At the old ball game."

Jack Norworth1907

1910s1910s1910s1910s

US History

US History

A New World PowerA New World PowerA New World PowerA New World PowerThe 1910s were a period of great change for the United States

Thanks to Teddy Roosevelt’s progressive mindset, the US was finally known as a ‘world power’

Many of the same issues found in the 1900s were still present, including:

Escalation of immigration and poverty

Labor and monopoly battles

Work safety and child labor problems

Unfortunately, this seemingly positive decade ended with the US involved in the first world war

Woodrow WilsonWoodrow WilsonWoodrow WilsonWoodrow WilsonIn 1914, Wilson created the federal trade commission

The purpose of the FTC was to stop unfair trade practices

In addition, President Wilson passed the Clayton Antitrust Act in 1914

According to Samuel Gompers, leader of the American Federation of Labor, this act was the Magna Carta of labor

This act made certain business practices illegal and made individual company officers liable if their company violated the law

It also ended union liability antitrust laws

Labor UnionsLabor UnionsLabor UnionsLabor UnionsDuring the 1910s, labor unions continued to grow as the middle classes became increasingly unhappy

Unsafe working conditions were highlighted by the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory

In this disaster 146 female workers were killed, spurring the growth of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union

Children were hired to work in factories, mills, and mines in unsafe conditions for many hours

By the middle of the decade every state had passed a minimum age law

Industrial Workers of the Industrial Workers of the WorldWorld

Industrial Workers of the Industrial Workers of the WorldWorldThe IWW was the most militant working

class organization at the time

This union was formed from a mixture of unions fighting for better conditions in the west’s mining industry

They felt that all workers should be united within a single union as well as the wage system abolished

The organization helped improve conditions for migratory farm workers by using direct action at the point of production and striking “on the job”

By 1912, the organization had around 50,000 members and was involved in over 150 strikes

WobbliesWobbliesWobbliesWobblies“The working class and the employing class have nothing in common. There can be no peace so long as

hunger and want are found among millions of the working people and the few, who make up the

employing class, have all the good things of life. Between these two classes a struggle must go on until the workers of the world organize as a class,

take possession of the means of production, abolish the wage system, and live in harmony with the

Earth.”

Lawrence Textile StrikeLawrence Textile StrikeLawrence Textile StrikeLawrence Textile StrikeThis strike was led by the IWW after the mill owner decided to lower wages

This strike was ground-breaking in two ways:

The strike was primarily led by women

It was the first strike in America that brought working people together from over 25 different nations

The slogan “Bread and Roses” was first originated in this strike

In the end, the workers won pay increases, time-and-a-quarter pay for overtimes, and no discrimination against strikers

The strikers are also credited with inventing the moving picket line

BaseballBaseball

The First, First PitchThe First, First PitchThe First, First PitchThe First, First Pitch

William Howard Taft establishes the tradition of throwing out the first pitch on

April 14, 1910

Player-Owner Player-Owner RelationshipsRelationshipsPlayer-Owner Player-Owner RelationshipsRelationshipsPlayers were becoming increasingly frustrated

with poor conditions on and off the field

1912-Players Fraternity created

Attempted to negotiate better conditions, but quickly fell apart

1912-First players strike

Detroit Tigers players struck over Ty Cobb’s suspension after fighting with a fan

Tigers President, Frank J. Navin, hired scabs off the street to replace his striking players

This and numerous other problems helped to increase the sense of injustice within baseball, eventually leading to the Black Sox Scandal

The Black SoxThe Black SoxThe Black SoxThe Black SoxCharles Comiskey, Owner of the Chicago White Sox, paid extremely low wages and treated his players poorly

Due to their poor treatment, players leaped at any opportunity to earn more money

A group of players including: Joe Jackson and Eddie Cicotte, accepted money to throw the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds

Charles ComiskeyCharles ComiskeyCharles ComiskeyCharles Comiskey

The ScandalThe ScandalThe ScandalThe ScandalMultiple rumors and accusations led to the investigation of eight players, and their eventual trials

During the investigation, both Cicotte and Jackson confessed, although shortly after their confessions went missing

Now, with no evidence, all eight players were acquitted

Because of the evident problems, Federal Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was brought in as the sport’s first commissioner

Unfortunately for the players, Landis was not as forgiving and banned all eight players for life

Federal Judge Kenesaw Federal Judge Kenesaw Mountain LandisMountain Landis

Federal Judge Kenesaw Federal Judge Kenesaw Mountain LandisMountain Landis

“Regardless of the verdict of the

juries, no player who throws a ball game, no player

who undertakes or promises to throw

a ball game, no player who sits in confidence with a bunch of crooked players and does not promptly tell his club about it,

will ever play professional baseball.”

World War One and World War One and BaseballBaseball

World War One and World War One and BaseballBaseballBan Johnson ordered his teams to learn

close-order drills

John K. Tener, President of the National League, stated “This is a war of democracy against bureaucracy. And I tell you that baseball is the very watchword of democracy.”

With baseball now one of the leaders in the entertainment industry, owners felt no reason to stop playing

This decision sparked a great deal of criticism across the nation along with a drastic decline in attendance

Players or Soldiers?Players or Soldiers?Players or Soldiers?Players or Soldiers?Owners argued that baseball be considered an essential industry so that players could not be drafted

Secretary of War Newton D. Baker disagreed with this statement, leading to the drafting of 227 MLB players

Three professional players were killed in combat, one of whom was Eddie Grant, former captain of the Giants

Eddie GrantEddie GrantEddie GrantEddie Grant

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US Histo

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US Histo

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Isolationism, The New Isolationism, The New American IdealAmerican Ideal

Isolationism, The New Isolationism, The New American IdealAmerican Ideal

Disillusioned by the failure of the war to achieve high ideals promised by President Woodrow Wilson, Americans chose isolationism

Isolationism led to the reliance of homegrown ideals

This renewed sense of nationalism created the need for a hometown hero

Charles Lindbergh

Babe Ruth

The Roaring The Roaring TwentiesTwenties

The Roaring The Roaring TwentiesTwentiesThe 1920s were given the

nickname the Roaring Twenties, due to the immense array of new consumer goods

Although it took time to convert from a wartime economy to a peacetime economy, the decade saw the US become the richest country in the world

America’s newfound wealth led to an increased interest in the many aspects of the entertainment industry, such as: sports, movies, and music

Al JolsonAl JolsonAl JolsonAl JolsonLangston HughesLangston HughesLangston HughesLangston Hughes

The Unfortunate The Unfortunate FewFew

The Unfortunate The Unfortunate FewFewIn spite of America’s numerous advancements,

African Americans, once again, did not benefit, along with the many other “2nd Class Citizens”

70 million people lived below the poverty level of $2000 a year per family

After the US’ entrance in WWI, in which African Americans were put into segregated units run by whites, the belief that blacks were “sub-human” remained in the back of everyone’s mind

Three months later, in the city of Chicago, 38 people were killed, 537 were injured, and ~1000 were left homeless after the Chicago Race Riot of 1919

This constant disrespect for Blacks resulted in a new sense of black pride, which led not only to the famed Harlem Renaissance, but to the creation of a handful of “black-only” baseball leagues, known as the “Negro Leagues”