• The Olympic games were used to show U.S dominance across the popular sports.(Baseball, Football, Basketball)• The Olympics being in Europe kept the

U.S.A from participating because of the countries not being able to fund the travel cost every year • they then changed it to a 4 year cycle

Period #1 Red DayOlympics 1900-1909

slide #1

• At the Paris games Americans proved they are just as good as them and that they have the same focus on training• Americans gained uniqueness and

created a national identity.

Olympics 1900-1909 slide #2

•American support of the Olympics led the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to

award the nation the Games for 1904•American athletes can now shine without

traveling to Europe•American leaders believed the 1904

Games would stake its claim as one of the leading nations in the world

Olympics 1900-1909 slide #3

5

• European nations stayed away, missing international flavor• Athletes wore club or school uniforms,

rather than U.S. uniforms

• 1904 was the first year gold silver and bronze were awarded • 4 new events for men :boxing, dumbbells,

the decathlon, and freestyle wrestling• For women, archery

• Hungary's Zoltan Halmay beat American J. Scott Leary by just one foot, orders rematch after American judge says he won, Halmay win again.

• Track and Field; runners left stadium and embarked on an unpaved course,

• Horseman cleared trial in front, doctors, judges, and reporters, followed horses, resulting in a cloud of dust in the runners faces.

• The Olympic marathon was used by Luther Gulick and Charles Lucas as a platform to demonstrate science's ability to improve human performance.

• Lucas monitored British-born Thomas Hicks, who ran for the American team throughout the race. They used strychnine and egg whites to help Hicks achieve his supposedly maximum potential.

• Instead of giving Hicks water they sponged his mouth out, and bathed him in warm water from the boiler of a steam automobile along with the strychnine and a shot of brandy

• Hicks ran the race in 3:28:53

Slide 9

• 1904 marathon was the 1st Olympic race to include the 1st 2 black Africans (Lentauw, Yamasani)

• They were called Kaffirs by prejudice Americans

• Americans were still unprepared to see blacks as equals

Slide 10

• 1906 Olympics in Athens • Big success, attendance records set• American Olympic committee and AAU ensure

best American team would go• Olympic organizers held local fundraisers, got

15,000 to help with travel costs

Slide 11

• Americans beat everyone in Track and Field• Media declares US winners of games, even

though they did not win the medal count• Athenians set up time frame for games so they

would not go on for months

Slide 12

• Great Britain, best sports country in the world, embraces the Olympics

• Credibility is added to the Olympics, USA is now challenged

13

• During the Olympic era between the time of 1900-1909 the US and Great Britain came to a agreement that the Olympic games would be hosted on British soil

• The US was not comfortable with their agreement because of their past of being controlled by Great Britain

14

• 1908 London’s organization committee set new standards for organization efficiency

• Limiting the competition to the central Olympic contests (following the Greeks)

• 1st parade of nations (over 2000 athletes and officials representing 18 countries

15

• No American flag was flown• British explained that no suitable flag could be

found• American Athletes/officials decided to break

protocol • The actions set the stage for a bitterly fought

games between US and England

16

• The 400 meter track final at the Olympics was going to be competed by 3 Americans and one British native.

• During the last turn Judges ruled that one American runner fouled the British native and called the raced to be rescheduled and rerun.

• Other Americans refused to run next race and British native won uncontested

Olympics 1900-1909 slide #17

• American distance runners vs. British distance runners.

• The British runner Pietri fell before finishing the race and John J Hayes was close behind to finish who was an American.

• The British officials dragged their guy to finish even though he was out of the race. The British cheated

Slide #18

• The British put the officials in a rough spot because they cheated but the officials supported them so it was tough.

• The British said the U.S was selfish and always won.

• This was very childish of the British.

Slide #19

• After the 1908 Olympics, America claimed they won their 5th straight Olympic championship and they were the greatest athletic nation in the world.

• British took offense and said America’s claims didn’t reflect their medal count.

Slide #20

• Olympics consisted of different racial/ethnic groups consisting of Teutons, Anglo-saxsons, celts, slaus, black ethiopian and red indians.

• Still racism in U.S• Still no blacks in baseball and the melting pot

idea was not real.