Jackie Robinson

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Theodore Roosevelt once said, “We can have no ’50-50’ allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all.” The question everyone is now asking what is an American? An American is a man who has the dedication to achieve his or her dream no matter the obstacles in their path. The ideal personification of being an American is Jackie Robinson from the Brooklyn Dodgers. Jackie Robinson’s dream was to play professional baseball with white American’s. Though the numerous amount of obstacles that cut short other talented African American’s or discouraged even attempt this dream were disregarded by Robinson, and continued pursue his dream. The mere fact that Jackie Robinson was able to play in the Major League Baseball (MLB) league in 1947 at time where segregation was at its apex was an astonishing accomplishment for African American’s everywhere. After Robinson was signed on with the Brooklyn Dodgers, the true challenge began. Jackie Robinson had to demonstrate himself to everyone he deserved to be on the team. He not only proved himself worthy, but as well earned his teammates respect and friendship over course of his career. All things considered, Jackie Robinson’s dedication, courage, and personality made him the quintessential American.

Jackie Robinson’s dedication was a crucial instrumentality to achieve his goals in life, not just to make it into the MLB league. During World War II, Jackie Robinson was drafted into the U.S army in 1942. Jackie Robinson, and many other African American soldiers applied to Officers’ Candidate School (OCS), but all were rejected (Jackie Robinson, Facing Racism in the Army). With the help of Joe Louis, famous heavyweight champion, and Jackie Rob...

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...as handled by his courage were the first few years he was signed on to the Brooklyn Dodgers. In the interview between Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey, Dodgers president, said to Robinson:
Jackie (Robinson), we’ve got no army. There’s virtually nobody on our side. No owners, no umpires, very few newspapermen. And I’m afraid that many fans will be hostile. We’ll be in a tough position. We can win only if we can convince the world that I’m doing this because you are a great ballplayer, a fine gentleman. (Quoted in Giants of Baseball, Gutman, Rickey)
In the quote above, Branch Rickey is attempting to explain the difficult journey ahead not just for Robinson, but for Rickey as well. The courage needed to attempt this during this time period is unimaginable. If it had not been for Robinson’s courage he would have never had the opportunity to play major league baseball.

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