Jackie Roosevelt Robinson Research Papers

The early 1900s were a time in American History where blacks were not given equal rights based on the color of their skin. On January 31, 1919, Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was born. Robinson was the youngest of five children, living with his mother, Mallie Robinson, in a ramshackle house in Pasadena, California (Robinson, 1994). As his father deserted Robinson when he was just six months old, he worked many jobs throughout his childhood to support his family. Robinson was a portal because throughout his life, he was under constant criticism and scrutiny, but he still managed to break major league baseball’s unofficial color barrier and open the door for African American’s success in various professions across the country through toughness and

Although Robinson’s path to the major leagues was hard, the scrutiny he faced in the majors was very hard for him. At the time, hiring a black player was not against the rules, but no owner would take the risk. It was not until the World War II that some major league teams started to investigate hiring black players. Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, was secretly scouting negro league players when he found Jackie Robinson. Rickey wanted the integration of major league baseball, but he was also known as a notorious miser that cheated his players out of salaries. Rickey’s main reason to bring black players onto the Brooklyn Dodgers was that he saw it as an easy way to win games. Robinson was summoned to Rickey’s office on August 28, 1945 and his hiring was then announced two months later in Montreal. As a black man, spring training for Robinson in Florida was very rough due to the segregation laws and some games were cancelled because of his presence. Even some players created a petition saying that they would not play with Robinson. In 1947, Robinson made the major leagues, causing a slew of racially motivated actions. One team, the St. Louis Cardinals, threatened to go on strike. Many pitchers targeted Robinson and he constantly received hate mail, death threats, and warning that his baby would be kidnapped. In Jackie Robinson’s autobiography, he said,”I never cared about acceptance as much as I cared about respect.” Robinson never let others bring him down, and eventually, he was loved by whites and known as the most exciting player in