Before the year 1896 it was illegal to be a boxer in the USA.

Question

I am wondering if it was actually illegal to be a boxer in the USA before 1896.

Answer 1

"While initially boxing was viewed as illegal and many fights and fighters had to hide to avoid arrest, the sport of boxing found advocates during the latter 19th century in the “muscular Christianity” movement, a religious group that viewed sport as a way of increasing both physical and moral strength" I trust this article because of the number of dates and facts they include as well as its .org status. Article 1

This article gives a little more history into why boxing was considered illegal in most of the 1800s, "America in the late 19th century had reached a point of anguish over society’s violent and lascivious elements, and boxing was at the forefront of social critics’ agenda." While boxing was illegal in America, Texas was one of the few states that allowed prizefighting. So while fighting for money was outlawed in most of America, there were a few exceptions. Article 2 I don't know much about this news source, however, so am unsure of how credible it is. 

Comments

According to Britannica, which is a trusted, fact-checked source, states that the Supreme Court maintained that boxing was illegal in 1876. Boxing did not become accepted by authorities until closer to WWI when it began to be seen an increasingly popular sport, a symbol of American might, and a training tool for the war.

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I like how you talk about the history of why boxing was illegal then. It helps it make sense to the reader without them having to do all the research. But The San Francisco chronical, (which is a trusted source) backs up your factcheck. The articles you linked also seem to be trust sources.

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The fact that boxing was advocated by the "muscular Christianity" group was very interesting to me and the source looks to be credible. Your explanation of why prizefighting was illegal in the U.S. during the 19th century was also informative and should be easily double-checked to confirm authenticity.

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The first argument you made was really solid, as you researched not only the claim, but also the historical development of the main subject of the claim (boxing). This helps paint a larger picture of the history of the sports movement. However, while you say you trust the source because of the "dates and facts" they included, you make no mention of fact checking these dates and facts. To properly fact check, it may be beneficial to find evidence in regards to any specifics of the article mentioned. Additionally you state you "do not know much" about your second article, so you can not attest to its credibility. Next time, you may want to learn more about the source before using it. For instance, after researching I found that the website surrounds "people, food, travel, history, and culture" in Texas. Thus, it is most likely trustable since this event you mentioned took place in Texas.

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I wonder if it's possible to find the actual law in the U.S. federal and/or state codes which states that boxing was illegal at some point in history, or a Supreme Court ruling that states the same.

I appreciate your investigation into the religious reasons behind boxing stigma, but I wish to note that in your evaluation of the first source you wrote that you trust it because of the "number of dates and facts they include as well as its .org status." In today's Internet, the .org domain is pretty easy to obtain (https://www.domain.com/domains/tlds/org) so it doesn't automatically ensure the legitimacy of a source.