What was the total number of members serving on the USOC in 1936? How
many members voted to boycott the 1936 Olympics to be held in Berlin?
Has the number of USOC members changed since the inception of the
modern games? |
Request for Question Clarification by
scriptor-ga
on
10 Jan 2003 17:16 PST
Dear ssy,
I have contacted the public relations department of the United States
Olympic Committee. As soon as I receive the information I requested, I
will provide you an answer. Please be patient.
Best regards,
Scriptor
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Clarification of Question by
ssy-ga
on
10 Jan 2003 19:59 PST
I am grateful for your help. I have numbers showing public opinion
just about evenly split, and know the AAU boycott vote failed by 2.5
votes, and I seem to remember hearing something about the fact that
the USOC vote to boycott the 1936 Olympics failed by a single vote.
But I could not find confirmation. Of course, I never even thought
about asking the USOC. While they will probably tell you the number of
members of the USOC in 1936, I suspect that they may not be
forthcoming on the details of the vote. It was not their finest hour.
I will wait patiently. Thanks again.
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Request for Question Clarification by
justaskscott-ga
on
11 Jan 2003 10:49 PST
The USOC did not exist in the 1930s. Instead, there was the American
Olympic Committee (AOC). The AOC vote came more than a year before
the final AAU vote; the AAU vote was decisive of American
participation. In light of this, which vote are you interested in:
the AOC vote or the AAU vote? (I have contacted the writer of an
article regarding the AAU vote, to see whether he has any information
about the number of members and the vote totals for each vote. I will
let you know if I receive any useful information.)
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Clarification of Question by
ssy-ga
on
11 Jan 2003 15:03 PST
No wonder I can't find anothing on the USOC! Thanks for that bit of
information. I think there were a total of 154 AAU constituent members
in the 1930s with the vote to boycott failing by 2.5 votes. From the
1/2 vote, I suspect that some members' votes were worth more than
others. Do you have any insight into that situation?
Are you certain that the AOC's vote was earlier than the AAU's? I was
under the impression that the AAU voted and then some time later, the
AOC polled its members. Based on that sequence, I was kind of
speculating that, since I think that some number of AAU members also
served on the American Olympics committee, the ultimate AAU vote
influenced the outcome of the AOC vote. I also wonder if the AAU
people serving on the AOC weren't bound to vote in accordance with the
AAU's decision? I guess it's not the first (nor last!)time that I was
wrong. Even if the AAU's vote was the more influential, I need to know
the number of AOC members in the 1930s and the results of that vote.
(I have to keep[ reminding myself why I need to know about this
situation, because the point I want to support is the importance,
power and responsibility of the individual to act in accordance with
high ideals, and well-thought out, well-taught moral values. The
incredibly slim margin of the defeat of the boycott does the job very
well, especially if you start playing around with "what ifs?".)
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Request for Question Clarification by
justaskscott-ga
on
21 Jan 2003 18:29 PST
I have read the article that I mentioned in my original request for
clarification. The article contains very detailed information on the
AAU vote. It also notes (as do other sources) that the AOC decided to
support U.S. participation in 1934, while the AAU voted to support
participation -- or more precisely, voted against proposals that
opposed participation, the final vote being by 2.5 votes -- in late
1935.
The article further explains that, three weeks before the AAU
convention, the president of the AOC gained assurance that the IOC
would accept an American athlete's eligibility without the AAU's
signature. This allowed U.S. participation in the Olympics; however,
the AAU's approval was needed to raise funds. So the AAU's vote was
still quite significant, and was the subject of vigorous debate among
the AOC president and others at the AAU convention.
The author of the article has informed me that the results of the AOC
vote were not printed in the relevant set of AOC minutes, and that he
does not know those vote totals. (The article states that the AOC
authorized its president to investigate conditions in Germany; he came
back with a favorable report, which convinced the AOC to accept the
invitation of the Berlin Organizing Committee to participate in the
Olympics.)
Given that, would you be interested in an answer that provides and
explains the vote totals for the AAU vote in 1935?
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Request for Question Clarification by
justaskscott-ga
on
31 Jan 2003 20:00 PST
I figured since 10 days had passed, I should try to contact you again.
Do you think that my proposed answer would be acceptable?
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