Manliness and Civilization: A Cultural History of Gender and Race in the United States, 1880-1917

Bederman opens Manliness and Civilization by describing the heavyweight championship boxing match between Jack Johnson and Jim Jeffries, which took place in Reno, Nevada on July 4, 1910. Jeffries, a white boxer, came out of retirement at the urging of the white American public to reclaim the heavyweight title from Jack Johnson, who was Black. White Americans were incensed that a person of color held such a distinction as the top athlete in such a popular sport. Boxing had come to be seen as an emblematic measure of male prowess and virility, and white, middle-class Americans were certain that Jeffries would be victorious over Johnson. Johnson was unquestionably the winner of the fight. The white American public was outraged. Not only had Johnson cracked the veneer of white supremacy by defeating Jeffries, but Jack Johnson was also particularly disliked because of his marriages to and affiliations with white women. After his victory, charges of human trafficking were brought up against Johnson, who was influenced to flee the country. Though the charges were baseless, and he tried to negotiate a return to the United States to serve his sentence and pay the appropriate fines, Johnson was essentially exiled when authorities prevented him from doing so.