Katie+VW.+-+Comparison+Essay

Home Comparison Essay Assignment Comparison Essay-Student Posts Works Cited Exemplar Internal Citation Exemplar Civil Society Defined Great Man Continuum

The 1920s and 1980s were times of great change for America and many great or terrible things happened during these periods of time. The 1920s saw great change brought about by great people. Charles Ponzi was a big influence in the 1920s because of all the money he stole and the fact that his crime was the first of it's kind, it changed the way the people of the USA trusted big companies like the one he loitered money through, the huge court case, Buck v. Bell set in motion terrible forced sterilization that lasted into the early 1980s, and Franklin d. Roosevelt, who started the march of the dimes, an organization that eventually cured polio in the 1950s. The 1980s where very much the same. The 'brat pack' dims helped teenagers of the 80s feel normal in a confusing world that is high school, Music Television (MTV) popularized the music we know today, and Phyllis Schlaffy raised an organization of men and women to defeat the equal rights amendment.

Charles Ponzi was an Italian immigrant created a con-artist who created 'the Ponzi scheme'. The Ponzi scheme was "an illegal plan that involved paying investors other investors money in a continued cycle. This was considered to be "the art of the hoax" because he had a continuous stream of money going through his cycle."(Elena M) his downfall was how fast he became a millionaire. He enjoyed showing off his wealth and people took notice. He was arrested and later deported after running his scheme for 8 months.

Ponzi changed the investing world. Many people lost trust in the investment and the many security flaws in the system that allowed Ponzi to weasel money away from the people. Although the impact on the 1920s was huge, the lasting impact was very small. He is an eventful hero, one who rose quickly but who's legacy didn't last long.

Buck v. Bell was a very influential case that took away disabled women's right to child birth. This case changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of women over the course of 60 some years. This was a great event on the scale because of how many it effected and the legacy it carries. Disabled was a very loose term, it could be depression or mental retardation, if a doctor deemed a woman unfit to have children, he could have her sterilized against her will. This gave men much power over women and this suppression helped the equal rights movements rise in support, adding new women to the flames of injustice.

Franklin d. Roosevelt came down with polio at the age of thirty-nine and he never regained full function of his legs. Polio or Infantile Paralysis was devastating to everyone who developed it, " The disease left victims, mostly children, unable to move parts of their bodies, sometimes even paralyzing their lungs so that they needed a machine to help them breathe"(Corbin Dennis). In 1939 he created National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis which today is known as the march of dimes. This foundation in the 1950s finally cured polio. FDR was known for many things through out his career, from his famous quote, "we have nothing to fear except fear itself" to finishing his presidency even after contracting polio but the March of Dimes has left the biggest impact on the world and continues to help people today.

The 'brat pack' films by John Hughes reflected the lives of the teenagers of the 80s. These films revolutionized the youth film genre and the reason his films were so popular because John Hughes took the problems of the teenagers seriously. According to the article John Hughes Still Matters by Susannah Gora, “Hughes was smart enough to treat teen problems seriously, whether they be heavy or more everyday (concerns about popularity and the prom). He infused his films with plenty of drama, which appealed to that most dramatic, demographic: teenagers”

He captured the attention and admiration of teen and this admiration still exists today. Many film produces and screen writers admire and aspire to write like John Hughes. He impacted teens in a way not many other could and with his movies and made them feel like they were no longer alone. He has an enduring legacy and a great impact on the youth of the day. John Hughes is a great man on the continuum because of his impact on the youth of the time, his legacy that is alive today, and because of his unique and revolutionary films. Music Television or MTV revolutionized the way we viewed music today. They popularized music videos, helped many bands rise to influence, and changed the way we view music today. MTV “remained a critical part of the music industry by leveraging music videos to help flesh out the image of acts as diverse as Michael Jackson and Green Day, Guns n’ Roses and 2Pac (Neil Vidyarthi).” MTV's legacy is still strong and alive today.

Phyllis Schlaffy was the woman lead the battle against the Equal Rights Amendment and her movement eventually kill the amendment. Phyllis Schlaffy believed the era would, "take away the marvelous legal rights of a woman to be a full-time wife and mother in the house supported by her husband" she used fear mongering and mud slinging tactics to get conservative men and women like on her side. Schlaffy's deed set back equal rights a great deal but she was definitely a event making 'hero' because her eagle forum still exists today and many of her beliefs are still alive.

The 1920s topics were all influential in their own ways but I believe Franklin d. Roosevelt's contribution had the most impact. Not only did he rise above his own struggle with polio but he made strides to prevent others from feeling the same pain and at the same time handled his job as president. His strides to stop polio helped end it for all future generations and he helped more than u.s citizens, he helped people all around the world with his contributions.

In the 1980s the topics I chose were also great, each in their own sense, but Phyllis Schlaffy's harm is undeniably great, terrible, but great. Her eagle forum rose against popular opinion and managed to change it. It was need a great task that not many could replicate and end that still has influence over the present.

Work cited: M, Elena "Charles Ponzi and the Ponzi Scheme" web. V.W, Katie "Buck v. Bell" web. Dennis, Corbin "Franklin D. Roosevelt and Infantile Paralysis" web. O, Zach "MTV and Guns and Roses" web. J, Becca "MTV, Madonna, Tom Pettym Bruce Springstien" web. V.W, Katie "Phyllis Schlaffy, War against ERA" web. StIeler, Shea "John Hughes and Brat Pack Films" web.

RUBRIC

A quality comparison essay will

•Use the __four__ criteria of Great Man Continuum to analyze the significance of three 1920’s topics and three 1980s topics--generally attempted.

•Analyze of each of the 6 topics with evidence taken from the 1920s and 1980s wikis,

•Develop a thoughtful and thorough conclusions on all 6 topics---some sweeping claims,

•Rank the three topics for each decade and explain why one topic is more influential than the other two--1980s falls short,

•Answer the essay question with a clear, well reasoned argument,

•Explain why the __second__ choice fell short compared to the __first__ choice but is more just than the __third__ choice,--incomplete

•Organize ideas in extended power paragraphs,

•Identify the source and establish its credibility with an appositive phrase,

•Cite evidence with internal citations and in a Works Cited. Some errors in WC and internal citations.