[lbo-talk] Muscular Christianity, Eugenics, War, Football, and Imperialism

[michael perelman]

In the late nineteenth century, a fear about the softness of American
society raised doubts about the capacity of the United States to carry out
its imperial destiny.  This problem was associated with the final
settlement of the frontier.  As important as the development of open space
was to the expansion of the territory of the United States, the completion
of the continental expansion brought an attendant fear that traditional
masculinity was on the wane and would bring about a withering of the
individual and the national body.  This fear spread to the church as well,
where the result was thought to be a moral softening (Miller 2011, p. 38).
To make matters worse, waves of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe
were flooding American cities with foreign cultures.  This concern became
so pressing that talk of “race suicide” became common.

Here is the complete section:

http://michaelperelman.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/foot.pdf

comments and critiques are gratefully welcome.

-- 
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA
95929

530 898 5321
fax 530 898 5901
http://michaelperelman.wordpress.com