YMCA

Lula Madeline Chrissy


 * YMCA**

In 1914, there were six global powers. "[|The British Empire], [|the Russian Empire], [|the Japanese Empire], [|the Chinese Republic], the [|American Republic], and the [|Young Men's Christian Association]"

-John Mott

**[|GOALS] OF THE YMCA** 1) To promote a healthy lifestyle 2) To strengthen the modern family 3) Develop leadership qualities in youth 4) Increase international understanding 5) Assist in community development The YMCAS was a very strong imperialistic force. They were not associated with one country and had no boundaries. They went to all different countries in the name of the Lord trying to convert others. They tried to get people to accept Christianity and become “westernized”, wich to them just meant civilized. To the YMCA their own culture and customs were superior to all others. Their goal was to try and convince people of this and to change their lifestyles to be more like themselves. Over the years hundreds of missionaries were sent to foreign countries with this hope.

An example of the YMCA’s imperialism was in Japan between 1890 and 1930. The Y built chapters there with the intention to Christianize the people. Japan was considered to be a “gateway to the rest of Asia.” The missionaries arrived in Japan with ideas of racial and Western superiority. Japanese of the former Samurai class felt as though traditional Japanese religion had lost its morality and core beliefs. They felt like Christianity was an international religion taking Japan into the twentieth century. The Japanese did not concur with the missionaries; they distinguished themselves by race and culture, they overtook the YMCA with their leadership and left evangelism for a more liberal theology. The YMCA continued to press for control until 1930. Eventually the Y recognized its failure and left the country.

On June 6 1844 the first YMCA in London, England opened. The first one on North American soil was in Montreal on November 25, 1851. The first one in America was on December 29, 1851. The Y's in America were based off of the one in London which was founded by [|George Williams]. In 1853 the first African American YMCA opened in Washington DC. In 1855 the first YMCA world conference was held in Paris involving 397 seperate Ys from seven different nations. There were 55 YMCAs in North America at the time of the conference. As the YMCA continued to grow more influential, it expanded to include both genders. In 1874, the first women members joined. In 1889, the YMCA began to send secretaries abroad to China, Japan, and India. By the end of the year, there were 17,000 Chinese enrolled in missions. The Y's triangular logo included the words "spirit", "mind", and "body". It was also known as "muscular Christianity". In 1891, the Student Volunteer Movement, or SVM, was established as a branch of the YMCA. They pledged to achieve the "evangelization of the world in one generation." "Don't stay in this country theorizing, when a hundred thousand heathen a day dying without hope because we are not there teaching the Gospel to them..." urged the SVM's traveling secretary. In 1894, George Williams was knighted by Queen Victoria for his YMCA work. The following year, Y branches began touring France, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Turkey, Egypt, and Ceylon. By the end of the century, the Y was successfully set up in American military bases such as Cuba and the Phillipines.During the same time period, the YMCA focused on supporting an active lifestyle.[|James Naismith] invented basketball in 1891, and William Morgan invented [|volleyball] in 1895. **1900-1920** The YMCA continued to exercise its influence across the world throughout the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1915, the number of Chinese enrolled in missions had risen by 100,000 since 1889. By 1920, the total number of Chinese converts had reached 366,000. The YMCA gave aid to six million POW's in thirty six countries. John Mott was awarded a nobel peace prize in 1946. After the war, the YMCA became a community service and tried to integrate race and gender. Today, there are 2,617 YMCA's across the United States. They are designed to include people of all ages, races, and faiths. The YMCA has developed many financial policies so that no one is turned away because they cannot pay. It works in collaboration with local juvenille courts, churches, hospitals, tutoring programs, and schools elementary through high school.
 * 1840-1850**
 * 1850-1860**
 * 1870-1880**
 * 1880-1890**
 * 1890-1900**
 * [|World War II]**
 * [|The YMCA Today][[image:http://sfy.ymcaatlanta.org/uploadedImages/blocks%20of%20YMCA%20faces%20(Small).jpg width="192" height="309" align="right"]]**

WORKS CONSULTED

"A Brief History of the YMCA Movement." __History of the YMCA__.YMCA. 1 May 2007 http://ymca.net/about_the_ymca/history_of_the_ymca.html.

Kennedy, David M. __The American Pageant__. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002.

Winter, Thomas. "Young Mens Christian Association." Dictionary of American History. Vol. 8. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 584-585.

Wollons, Roberta. "A World of Crisis and Progress: The American YMCA in Japan, 1890-1930." Rev. of The Journal of American History. ProQuest Platinum.

"Young Men's Christian Association." World Book. Vol. 21. Chicago: World Book Inc, 2004. 573.