The United States underwent a remarkable economic expansion

In the late nineteenth century, the United States underwent a remarkable
economic expansion, becoming the largest industrial manufacturing nation in the world.
Industrialization changed the physical landscape of the nation. It contributed to the rapid growth
of industrial cities. It stimulated the spread of railroads across the country. It drew the United
States into more and more global trade and finance. Industrialization and commercialization
also changed American society in countless ways. People flocked to new urban cities in search of
jobs—in factories, homes, and shops. Cities not only provided new forms of work but new forms
of leisure and recreation as well, from amusement parks to museums and spectator sports. But
equally important, industrialization challenged the foundations of traditional social
arrangements, disrupting family life, work patterns, gender relations, and cultural stability.
All of this was reflected in the nationwide discussion in the early 20th century about the role of
sports in American life. For most of American history, people assumed that sport was a mainly
activity. In the late nineteenth century, people continued to consider athletic prowess as a manly
activity through which men could demonstrate how far removed they were from any feminized
influences such as religion, education, and culture. This was especially important for upperclass and middle-class men who had not served in the military, engaged in "manly" (physical)
labor, or socialized at private men's clubs. If sport was considered manly, what place was there
for women in athletics? Middle-class women participated in sociable coed sports like ice skating
and croquet, but vigorous athletics were considered inappropriate for women. The conventional
wisdom was that Victorian women had little need for physical fitness and that active sports were
unfeminine.
The documents below reflect this nationwide debate at the turn of the century about the
importance of sporting activity for both men and women. Please read the following documents
and then answer these essay questions:
• What do these documents tell us about how sports and sporting activities were viewed in
the early 20th century? How were these views similar to or different from the view of
sports held by Americans in the colonial period and in the early 19th century?
• How were sports used to define gender roles in this time period? Do you see any
comparisons to how we view and discuss sports in America in the early 21st century?