The most familiar aspect of the reading was when the US had the goals of ‘Manifest Destiny’ and the US focusing on expanding its influence and reach throughout the 1800s, especially approaching the 20th century. The Spanish-American War is a war that is largely remembered today as a war of expansion for the United States, and the war established the US’ control of the Americas and the acquisition of many territories across the Pacific and Hawaii. This time in American history is unique in a way that the US had a different outlook on its role globally then it did in the past. Expansionism and ideas of ‘Manifest Destiny’ that became prominent after the Civil War were key in creating a sense of American Exceptionalism, and expanding political and religious ideas throughout the Americas.
A dimension that I definitely did not know much about this time was the role that religious movements had in developing sports and formal education in South America. Throughout the mid 1800s education in Brazil was becoming more accessible, and American missionaries were an important part in advancing the education systems throughout cities in Brazil such as Rio and Sao Paulo. It was very interesting to see how these missionaries brought games such as Basketball and Volleyball to Brazil. These games were very new in America but due to the help of the missionaries they became very popular in Brazil very early on in their history. James Naismith created Basketball in the US in 1891, and before the turn of the century basketball had gained popularity in schools throughout Brazil. It’s fascinating to see how fast American sports were spread to Brazil, and I imagine Brazil’s integration of these sports into their education programs was instrumental for Brazil becoming a global sports powerhouse by the early 20th century.
Another interesting aspect of the reading was how the YMCA was so influential in Brazil due to their missionaries bringing sports to Brazil. The Y importing sports into Brazil through its education programs was very important in establishing the organization’s influence in Brazil. I thought it was fascinating to see how an organization that most people know now for their youth basketball leagues was so important in developing the culture of a massive country like Brazil. American YMCA schools were heavily invested in expanding their influence throughout South America, and were constantly developing and expanding their programs into South America. It was really interesting to see the YMCA as an organization be so integral to developing the culture of Brazil through sports and its kind of unfortunate to see how this story has gone under the radar in US education.
