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Article: Play ball! Sixty years ago, jackie robinson's quiet courage forever changed baseball--and the nation.(American History Play)(Chronology)
- Article from:
- Junior Scholastic
- Article date:
- April 16, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Scholastic, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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PROLOGUE
From 1941 to 1945, U.S. troops fought in World War II. Americans were fishting, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, to defend freedom and democracy around the world.
After the war, African-American troops faced bitter reminders that the freedom they had fought for overseas was not theirs at home. The United States was segregated [divided] by race. The "color barrier" touched every aspect of life: housing, education, and jobs--even the Great American Pastime, the game of baseball. But that way of life was about to face a serious challenge. A man named Branch Rickey was planning a "Great Experiment" in race relations.
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