Baseball in the 19th century was both an extracurricular activity and a cathartic activity for American society that suffered from the demands of industrialism. In order to better understand the sociological perspective of baseball in relation to the social context of its’ origination, this paper will consider baseball in the context of Max Weber’s theories about status and social stratification. Although his theories are seemingly similar to Karl Marx, their theories are essentially different. Marx primarily believes that economics and class are distinguishing factors of society; whereas, Weber believes that status and social stratification are the distinguishing factors of society. When applying a sociological perspective of Max Weber …show more content…
An empirical example of the prestige associated with baseball in the 19th century was the elusive Knickerbocker Club, an example of a new social stratification, fraternities. “Among the clubs, highly ritualized relationships helped preserve the integrity of the early fraternity.” (Rader 14). These rituals were extensions of the highly ritualized rules of the game of baseball. And in a tertiary fashion, thus mimicked the highly organized bureaucratic rationalization of society. The Knickerbocker Club also went against societal norms by hosting raucous parties with lewd and baseless activities. These activities were aberrant in day-to-day existence, yet the Knickerbockers were able to get away with this kind of behavior. Additionally, one aspired to be a Knickerbocker, or at least like them. Possibly, the start of these lewd clubs was the catalyst for the changes in modesty during the 1920’s. Baseball, for Weber, gives the 19th century working class an opportunity to assimilate outside of their working affiliations, or Marxian-like class associations. Weber would have analyzed baseball by simultaneously reaffirming community interactions and involvement, which provided opportunity for exclusion and inclusion. Weber asserts that conflict is the most important element in society. The conflict
Spalding’s World Baseball Tour laid the roots of the new empire and exemplified the United States onto the world stage. It highlighted our country’s economic growth, the search for overseas markets, improvements in communication and transportation, and the rising cultural interactions. Thomas Zeiler’s main emphasis is on the baseball players and their entourage as “tourists” who helped disperse American culture abroad and brought global influences back to their homelands. Thomas Zeiler concluded that because of the immense impact of the World Tour, it was the process of globalization of baseball that laid the structure of the growing American identity. Baseball was used to sell and export the American way. The game associated itself with the values of the American dream. In America’s foreign diplomacy, baseball was used to promote patriotism and nationalism.
In 1839 Americas soon to be favorite past time was invented right here in New York, Baseball. Baseball whether you like the game or not, has weaved itself deeply into our culture and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. There are countless movies, articles, songs, playing cards, bobble heads, merchandise and books all made about baseball. The players are often idolized by children and adults alike. Baseball in our country was and still is a huge topic of discussion, whose batting average is higher, which team is better, is someone cheating. Troy Maxson like many American’s knows a lot about baseball like how striking out is bad and homeruns are how you win but there are things about baseball that Troy doesn’t know. The article, Walking Around the Fences: Troy Maxson and the Ideology of “Going Down Swinging”, written by David Letzler. Letzler Delves into the ideology of batting and walks in baseball in explanation of the main character Troy Maxson of August Willison’s play Fences, and his thought process of going down swinging and Troy’s thoughts on some of the major league players of that time.
The article “America’s Pastime” by Robert S. Fay and Tom Pfannoch, teaches readers about the history of baseball. The first unofficial baseball games were played in the early 1800’s, these games otherwise known as “town ball”. One of the earliest organizations to influence modernized baseball was the knickerbockers, the knickerbockers put together a set of rules and gave the game structure which helped standardize how the game is played today. Soon after, the game spread throughout the country and gained popularity among players and spectators as well, which led to the professional sport of baseball. Following the professionalization of the sport many leagues were formed, the present day MLB (Major League Baseball) has been considered America’s
History In the early 1800’s, the primary mode of education for the lower class were charity schools (Tyack & Cuban, 1995). These schools were created by Protestant organizations and focused on serving as many needy children as possible (Tyack & Cuban, 1995). With limited budgets to operate on, extracurricular activities were not offered (Gorn, 2004). By 1850, many states paid for public schools through taxes and budgets increased compared to their charity school counterparts (Zirin, 2008). At this time, the popularity of sporting events was growing (Tyack & Cuban, 1995). The game of baseball, a variation of the English game rounders, was becoming the most popular sport in America
So they play baseball. And how sweetly it is played! Another element in the socio-economic factor is for many young men, it is the only road to success; either make it in baseball or go work in the mills. This is a drive which pushes them even harder to become exceptional baseball players.
It can be seen that baseball was not a full time occupation during the 19th century because many players who played baseball during this period were individuals who played on behalf of the companies that they worked for at the time. For example, Frank Pidgeon was a factory worker, like many of the other players. As mentioned if Benjamin Rader’s book Baseball, which stated “we had some merry times among ourselves; we would forget business and everything else on a Tuesday afternoons…at such times, we were boys again” (Rader 13). This quote is an example of how during the 19th century, baseball was not fully at the level of a profession because it was used for leisure and to forget about a hard day’s work at the factory. Not only did players work in factories, but many players were playing baseball while fighting
World War II was one of the most tragic, depressing wars in history. There was poverty, rationing of food and clothing, hunger, and death. The middle class had a hard time functioning regularly and some families had to say goodbye to their fathers, brothers, cousins, uncles, or sons. World War II put a large hole in our nation, but our national pastime had no trouble filling the gap. Baseball gained a lot of popularity during the roarin’ twenties, which grew throughout the thirties and held its strength in people’s hearts through the early forties. Attendance nationwide spiked during the United States’ involvement in World War II(1941-1945). Whether that was due to a nation looking for a bone to chew while their family was at war, the uprise
The Negro Leagues, baseball leagues for merely black players, allowed urban communities to “pass down the tradition of ‘their’ game 25.” As the Negro leagues ended, baseball’s popularity diminished because it no longer acted as a unique and individualized aspect of African-American culture. The Negro Leagues and the black baseball movement inspired hope as a part of the larger civil rights movement of the 20th century and the black community utilized baseball “as a means of collective identity and civic pride 26.” African- American’s racial advances in baseball signaled the long term success of the larger civil rights movement of the 20th century. As a result, baseball became essential in identifying the progress and identity of African-American culture. Baseball lost its social prevalence after the African-American civil rights movement due to the emergence of other
Like the bald eagle, baseball has become an icon for the term “American”. It was the nation’s first major sport and quickly was coined America’s pastime. It was created from a combination of other games during the 1840’s and became increasingly popular during the years of the Civil War (Brinkley 392). In their
The development of baseball solidified the significance of organized team sport in American culture beginning in 1845. While baseball was originally played solely by amateurs, on oddly shaped fields, and with not an incredible amount of action outside of the infield, baseball encompassed the reasons behind the importance of organized team sport. Not only do team sports encourage self-government, they also unite the community through
The paper that is about to be presented is about how a theory invented by Karl Marx can intertwine with sports as we know it. The Marxist theory mainly affects how people
The photo displayed above provides some of the people who introduced baseball in America. These are individuals in the American history that have a substantial significance to lives of Americans today; they introduced baseball that some American depend on as a career to earn money to cater for their daily necessities (Panacy, 2017). Development of baseball by G. Wright, Alison, C, Leonard L.F, among others promoted entertainment in every part of the continent. Baseball development identified America has a continent with innovative change through various aspects of social life such as entertainment. In this manner, America shows advancement in some areas of life than other countries. America is identified by its nurturing value represented by the invention of the baseball, which has gone through
Baseball has for a long time been a staple in the American sporting culture as baseball and America have grown up together. Exploring the different ages and stages of American society, reveals how baseball has served as both a public reflection of, and vehicle for, the evolution of American culture and society. Many American ways including our landscapes, traditional songs, and pastimes all bear the mark of a game that continues to be identified with America's morals and aspirations. In this paper I will be addressing the long residuals of baseball as it specifically relates to the emergence of the
Weber does not feel that the power of a class is a very important issue. Weber feels that classes are only important, within the struggle for power, when they state they are part of their class in their actions. Classes, along with status groups, are just passive members in society. Only if a political party solely represents the class, then it becomes active. This unimportance of classes shows Weber's feelings that the economic issues within capitalism do not effect authority or the struggle for power.
Weber claims that economic interest is at the forefront of class status as well as social power. Weber goes onto note that in past time periods, mainly the Middle Ages, economic interest was monopolized causing the gap between the rich and poor to be vast (p. 106). The organization of people around specific situations, or class struggles, in fact strengthens class structures, mainly because they reinforce the boundaries. However, he feels that this does not make a class a community since the assumption that people in similar class situations must share similar ideals and beliefs is over-simplifying a complex situation.