ABSTRACT
As competitive sports gained greater social acceptance, they became an arena where Americans relegated to the margins of the new industrial society sought to demonstrate their fitness for broader social roles. Native Americans, African Americans, and women seized on sports as a path both to individual fulfillment and to broader social advancement. Teams such as the powerhouse Carlisle Indians from the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, individuals such as cyclist Major Taylor, and physical educators such as Senda Berenson broke barriers and created new opportunities. The struggle for respect would be a long one. African American athletes suffered particular setbacks; they were pushed out of professional opportunities in baseball, cycling, and horse racing as part of the late-century rise in white supremacy that relegated African Americans to second-class citizenship. Seeking to head off potential accusations that female athletes were stepping into male territory, female physical educators shaped a sedate, noncompetitive approach to athletics that placed significant limits on students’ exertion and self-expression. Still, these varied efforts helped make sports an arena for debating issues far larger than simply victory or loss.
