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Muhammad ali research paper
Muhammad ali research paper
Muhammad ali research paper
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Fate loves the ones who are fearless. It does not matter what one loses in life but, it matters how much impact they have on the world with their life. One of those individuals who undoubtedly left a great impact on the world, is the boxing legend Muhammad Ali. Ali proved to be one of the greatest fighters but, his biggest fights were outside of the ring. During the drafts for the Vietnam War, many men just agreed and went to war because they feared the consequences. Instead, Ali refused to be drafted and faced those consequences and stood thick and thin with his beliefs. Ali’s name will always live long in history as the man who took a stand for his ideals even though it was a great risk. While the Vietnam war was going on and discrimination …show more content…
was a serious issue he stood up for what he believed in and did not fear any circumstances that he had to go through. Muhammad Ali took a stand in history by, evading the draft for the Vietnam War due to his beliefs, fighting against the judicial system to prove his innocence, and promoting anti-war ideas even while most of America supported the Vietnam War. Historical Context of Event- Background There was segregation that separated the Whites and the Blacks. The Civil Rights Movement was going on during this time and African Americans were trying to attain their basic rights and the end of discrimination. The Civil Rights Movement was lead by Martin Luther King Jr. The Vietnam War was going on and America went to war so, the Communist North Vietnam does not take over the South. Military drafts for troops was going on and one third of the troops in the war were inducted from the drafts. Muhammad Ali’s career was going well and he was the heavyweight champion in boxing. 1st Argument When Muhammad Ali was selected to fight in the Vietnam War he refused due to his Muslim belief./ This showed Muhammad Ali’s belief was more important. Muhammad Ali said, “Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and simple human rights?”/ Muhammad Ali also, believed that he should not go to war because the African Americans in America are not treated well and do not have their rights. Therefore, he should not fight for America. Muhammad Ali refused to be inducted into the military even when he knew the consequences would be a possible five year term in prison and his title being stipped away from him./ Muhammad Ali sill stood for his belief even when he knew the consequences. Muhammad Ali knew that by refusing to go to war could cost his boxing career and at least $10 million./ He knew what other problems he might have faced but did not change his decision which caused him to lose a lot of money and his title. Due to him refusing to fight in the war he lost all of state boxing license./ He risked his whole career for his beliefs.
Second Argument: Muhammad Ali stood up against courts for his innocence.
Due to Ali’s refusal to fight in the war, he spent four years battling courts. He was sentenced time in prison (His lawyers kept him outside of jail with appeals) and all state boxing licenses were taken away from him. / Ali did not give up fighting for what he lost and did not give up proving his innocence.
Ali was given chances to apologize and join the military but, he refused./ Ali had the chance of getting out of the prison term but he did not and refuse because he was that strong towards his beliefs.
Ali’s lawyers brought up in court that there are more than 90 people who were convicted of crimes such as, second degree murder, theft, and rape. However, they were still licensed to box. Also, they claimed Ali was just a victim of discrimination./ Ali’s lawyers proved that there was no real reason for his boxing license away because there were so many convicted felons that still had theirs.
In 1971 Case: Clay v. United States the court said they made a mistake and freed Ali from his conviction for the Draft Evasion and he got his boxing license back./ Ali risked everything for his beliefs and he kept fighting the courts and eventually,
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won. Argument 3 Muhammad Ali promoted anti-war ideas Ali was criticized and looked down upon.
He was even called “the most disgusting character in memory to appear on the sports scene” by Newspaper Editorial writers./ Muhammad Ali was being hated by many but he did not care.
While Muhammad Ali was not able to box due to the court's conviction, he went around college campuses promoting anti-war./ Ali spread his ideas of anti-war.
Ali was seen as the person that brought the black liberation movement and the anti-war movement together.The Civil Rights leader Martin King Luther Jr. claimed he was against the Vietnam war a year after Ali did. / Muhammad Ali was uniting and growing the anti-war movement gaining more support.
When the 1960’s was coming to an end most of America turned against the Vietnam war making Ali more popular./ Ali was against the war at first while others were not. After some time, most of Americans were against the Vietnam war, which boosted his popularity and supporters.
Why was your topic important in history? What did it do?
Short Term: The idea of anti-war spread because Ali and it affected many individuals.
Long Term: Ali is now considered a hero and is respected by the public for standing up for his beliefs. However, in the beginning he was hated for refusing to be
drafted. Effects on society examples: Before Muhammad Ali, athletes did not talk about political or social issues in order to avoid controversies. However, athletes now talk and share their opinions on political issues. For example, they wear shirts to express their opinion and make social media posts. Muhammad Ali made himself a legend with his actions. He took a stand in history by, refusing to be drafted to war, fighting against courts to prove his innocence, and promoting anti-war. . Ali knew he could have lost everything he had when he refused to be drafted in the war but, that did not change his mind. Also, when he was faced with a prison term and was stripped from his boxing license he did not give up. Ali kept fighting until he won. Ali did not care about controversies or what people thought about him. Ali spread anti-war ideals when most of America was for the Vietnam War. Eventually, after some time most Americans were against it. He had many people who hated him and criticized him. However, he also, received a lot of love and supporters. Eventually, some of the people who hated him started to support him. Muhammad Ali went through so much in life that proved he shook up the world.
Ali proved to be a strong-willed individual that did leave a huge impact on America, but what impact had increased as time continued and his faults have been somewhat forgotten. Those believing that Muhammad was more of a hero than Jackie Robinson most likely feel that Ali’s action of standing up against the United States government, when he was drafted, was an act of courage and bravery. The main reason why Ali didn 't wish to go to war in Vietnam was because he believed he shouldn 't be fighting for a country that ultimately didn 't support his own people within its own borders. Ali has developed into a figure of courage after the time that his happened. In the 1960s when this originally happened, Ali had more enemies as a result of his religious and social views and ideas than fans. Today we see that what he did may be considered heroic, but back when it actually occurred, Ali was seen as a nuisance to America. He was spreading word and influencing people to act against their own country in a time of war. Since Muhammad Ali’s retirement from boxing the course of time has faded criticism of Ali and left mostly just the positive parts of his life and career. As a society we’ve buried the controversial side of Ali’s existence in our minds and history simply remembers his greatness as an athlete. Robinson had an impact on
What they did not know was the self proclaimed greatest in the world was planning the one of the greatest changes in his life. Behind the scenes Cassius was studying Islam, he became good friends with Malcolm X and studied under Elijah Muhammad. Cassius took the name Muhammad Ali, saying he did not want to be called by a slave name any longer. He took Muhammed from the first prophet of Islam with the name meaning worthy of being praised, and the last name Ali which meaning is to be elevated. During a time where racial tensions were high people had a hard time accepting his new name. Often times the media would continue to call him Cassius, one didn't famed ABC sports reporter Howard Cosell, he respected Ali, because he too had changed his name from Cohen a Jewish name to Cosell, because in those time it was also a disadvantage to be Jewish. In 1965 Ai was scheduled to fight Floyd Patterson, who insisted on calling him Cassius, Patterson paid a big price for that, there is documentary footage which shows Ali giving Patterson the beating of a lifetime, making sure not to knock him out taking him through all 12 rounds repeating “now what’s my name
Remnick goes into some detail about Ali's private live, including his religious conversion, his connection with Malcolm X, and his brief marriage to and divorce from Sonji Roi. He lets us in behind-the-scenes on some sports-writers, as well as on Norman Mailer, Angelo Dundee (Clay/Ali's trainer), and the bout between world champion Floyd Patterson and contender Sonny Liston. His primary focus, however, is on Clay/Ali's fight with Liston after Liston defeated Patterson.
The first reason Muhammad Ali isn't a hero is because he is violent. For almost all of his life he fought in boxing matches that all started when he was a boy because he wanted to beat up the kid who stole his bike. For 14 years, on-and-off, he was heavyweight champion and before that a lightweight champion. To do this, you had to have the rage to hurt your opponent. Muhammad Ali even said, “I believe in the eye-for- an-eye business, I got no respect for a man who won’t hit back. You kill my dog, you better hide your cat” (Myers 36). Now, in his 60’s,...
Boxer Muhammad Ali, was born as Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., on January 17, 1942, he was the son of Marcellus Clay Sr. and Odessa Grady Clay. He lived in Louisville, Kentucky where he experienced discrimination and racial prejudice towards himself and his family, which led him to his fascination towards boxing. Later in his life, he would win the Olympic gold medal for boxing in 1960 and became the world heavyweight boxing champion in 1964, and was the first fighter to recapture heavyweight champion three times. But Clay was not only a boxer, he was also a philanthropist and social activist with astonishing effrontery, he spoke out against problems such as race, religion, and politics that cause him to become such a controversial figure.
Born in Georgia, the leader of the Nation of Islam was a man named Elijah Muhammad. He has often been portrayed as a saint by his peers, but during World War II, Elijah Muhammad expressed support for Japan, on the basis of its being a nonwhite country, and was jailed for sedition. On August 24, 1946 Muhammad was released from prison in Milan, Michigan. According to the journal named The Black Scholar by Claude Clegg, Muhammad’s time at Milan had done more for him than ever before and after his release, Muhammad had unquestionably become “the premier martyr of the Muslims” (Clegg 49). From his speeches on the radio and in newspapers, Muhammad was also thought of by many people as a fierce man, one of thes...
history in the 1950's and 1960's by hitting the society. Ali was a great boxer who was very confident in his boxing game. Ali wanted to make a change in society by trying to get rid of the racial discrimination in America. Ali was also against the war in Vietnam. Ali said “Unless you have a very good reason to kill, war is wrong.” Ali sent messages of hope to the African American community by telling them to have pride. Ali said “Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people while so called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs?” Ali said “The Vietnamese had nothing against him” (Schwartz).When he was drafted to fight in the war, a lieutenant called Ali by his real name, Cassius Clay, and he said, “Sir that isn't my name, my name is “MUHAMMAD ALI!” Ali said, again “Sir that is a slave name my name is “MUHAMMAD ALI” (Muhammad Ali [HH:MM:SS]). After that, Ali refused to serve in the Vietnam War. This lead Ali to the Supreme Court, and he was five years in imprisonment. Ali was precluded from the athletic commissions for fighting in the United States for three and a half years. Even though Ali was released from his five year sentence, he still had a jail sentence of four years, which was overturned by the Supreme Court (Schwartz). Ali was also stripped of the heavyweight boxing title because he refused to serve in the draft Following his suspension, Ali reclaimed
When prominent boxers of the 20th century are discussed, many heavyweight champions are mentioned. Names like Floyd Patterson, Sonny Liston and Joe Frazier always find their way to the front of the conversation. But it is Muhammad Ali, a three-time heavyweight champion and political activist, who always seems to find the forefront of it all. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. on January 17, 1942, Ali came into the ring after his bike was stolen at the age of twelve. He brought up his anger to Officer Joe Elsby Martin Sr. who suggested he start boxing. Ali quickly became a star after winning a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics. At 6’3”, Ali demonstrated extraordinary speed and accuracy and he quickly became a contender for the heavyweight title.
John Mills, a moral philosopher, “feared state intervention into private affairs because he thought that “some projects are more worthy than others, and liberty is needed precisely to find out what is valuable in life, to question, re-examine, and revise our beliefs about value”” (Leclerc & Herrera, 1999, p. 427). When given the choice to participate in boxing, athletes have the right
...efforts to help those in need around the world. He is a recipient of an Olympic gold medal, and a three time heavyweight champion. Ali had received countless awards for his service, including the United Nations Messenger of Peace, for his effort with developing nations, International Ambassador of Jubilee, a global organization that relieves debts in nations, Germany’s Otto Hahn Peace Medal, for involvement in civil rights movement in the U.S, and several more.
Muhammad Ali was a man made to box. He had a great career before him since he made his first professional fight under President Eisenhower presidency. His Professional Career was really impressive. His had a great balance and was able to move his hands and feet in great speed and coordination. Ali was said to dance in the ring while destroying his opponents. Ali started fighting at a very short age, and his first teacher was Joe Martin (Hauser 18). Through hard work and discipline, he became a professional fighter and eventually the Heavyweight champion of the world. Although he lost the title twice, he regained it three times, putting him in the history books. His boxing career was put to an end when he started suffering from Parkinson's disease. This was the end of his boxing, but his greatness will never die.
At first, Muhammad Ali had no intension of boxing. After his bike was stolen, in the month of October 1954, when he was twelve, his whole life was set. Upon finding out that there was a police officer in the basement of a gym, Ali went down to the officer in a shocked state of mind demanding a "state wide bike hunt" for hsi stolen bicycle. But all the cop told him to do was to learn to fight. and that
Muhammad Ali, whose birth name was Cassius Marcellus Clay, was born in Louisville, Kentucky January 17, 1942. He was named for a white, Kentucky abolitionist, Cassius M. Clay, and received the name Marcellus from his father’s name. Ali’s father, Marcellus Clay was a mural painter who did a lot of work for many churches in the community and his mother Odessa (Grady) Clay was a domestic worker. As a young boy, Cassius Clay was full of energy and carried a loud mouth wherever he went. One day when Ali discovered that someone stole his bicycle, he became enraged and made loud threatening comments by exclaiming that he would “whup whoever stole it.” Upon hearing these threats, Louisville police officer Joe Martin persuaded Ali to take out his frustration in the boxing ring rather than on the dangerous streets of Louisville. At age 12, Ali’s boxing career had officially begun.
Muhammad Ali is an example of an athlete who voiced his political ideologies in sports to advocate for the Civil Rights Movement and protest the War. As an Olympic gold medalist, heavy weight titlist, and many other victories, he used the fame to project his humanitarian efforts. Ali refused to serve in Vietnam due to his religion and as a result, he was stripped of his 1967 title . He retired in 1981 with an incredible 59 wins and five losses, but he will always known as symbol of courage, will power and strength, not for his career milestones, but for breaking racia...
Muhammad Ali is an example of an athlete who used politics in sports to advocate for the Civil Rights movement and protest the war. As an Olympic gold medalist, heavy weight titlist, and many other victories, he used the fame for humanitarian efforts. Ali refused to serve in Vietnam due to his religion and as a result, he was stripped of his 1967 title. He retired in 1981 with an incredible 59 wins and five losses, but he will always known as symbol of courage, will power and strength, not for his career milestones, but for breaking racial barriers.