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

History is made with courage, determination, blood, and protest. Often history starts with an idea lead by a great man. Great Men in history are judged by certain criteria that include: significance of accomplishment, endurance of legacy, extent of influence, and impact on daily life. To analyze Great Men throughout our history, one can look back on society in the 1920s and 1980s and the movements being made to change history. The roaring twenties was a time when society started taking a stand for what they believed and art and music were being revolutionized. In the 1920s the Great Man criteria can be analyzed through three events: CBS, FBI, and the Great Flood. In the criteria of a Great Man, William Paley, the creator of CBS, is an Event Making Hero. Paley improved modern entertainment and gave citizens the ability to create their own opinion. Paley made news and entertainment national instead of local keeping people informed and entertained at all times of the day (Jaskot). CBS and Paley also reached out to their audience, for example, during the day, since many women worked at home, CBS aired ads advertising new cleaning and beauty products. For the first time ever, the 1928 presidential election was aired changing how politics were distributed and viewed (Jaskot). Paley improved CBS’s entertainment by founding talents such as Frank Sinatra and Bill Cosby. Paley’s ideas and CBS’s success will improve in years to come. Paley’s ideas revolutionized the way radio is today, by improving entertainment and widening the scope of audience, and others will follow in Paley’s footsteps and continue to make radio successful. In the 1920s, in the criteria of a Great Man, Edgar Hoover is a Great Man because of his work for the FBI. Hoover took the FBI, an unsuccessful agency in the department of justice, and made it extremely successful with new technology. The centralized finger print file and national crime lab were two new technologies Hoover founded that are still used today (Waltz). In the 1920s, many citizens were afraid due to the crime rates, however, when Hoover came into power that all changed. Law enforcement by the FBI became so great that many citizens felt a better sense of security. Hoover also gave citizens a part in their security by starting the Crime Reporting Program allowing the FBI to compile criminal statistics and publish them to the public allowing citizens to be aware of criminals in their area (Waltz). Hoover gave citizens a much-needed sense of security and improved the worst agency of the department of justice to one of the most successful agencies through his determination and new technological ideas. Hoover was a great man because he did something that had never been done before and set a foundation for the FBI so in the future the agency could only become more successful. Under the criteria of the Great Man, the Great Flood of 1927 is considered social determinism. Citizens, of all races, had to join together to fight off the disaster and learn tactics for prevention of natural disasters in the future. At the time, natural disaster recovery wasn’t strong so when the flood struck, citizens had to find new technology, such as levees, to divert water to natural outlets (Murray). It was a group effort, and people despite their differences or races had to join together. This significantly helped reduce racial tensions and built up camaraderie amongst each other. The Great Flood was social determinism because it wasn’t lead by one person it was lead by citizens with the same determination in their hearts. If people didn’t come together, we wouldn’t have the techniques we do today for natural disaster recovery or the camaraderie and friendships between different races. Similar to the 1920s, the 1980s was also a time when many citizens sought for a change among the flourishing society. Like the 1920s, music and art, in the 1980s, made another transformation. In the 1980s, Great Man criteria can be analyzed through Microsoft, Tiananmen Square, and Hip-hop. Under the criteria of a Great Man Microsoft is considered a Great Man. Microsoft is considered a great man because of its technological contributions made to society that are still being made today. The personal computer is what sparked citizens hunger for technology in the 1980s. After that, since technology became more advanced, Microsoft was able to come up with better products to feed the citizen’s hunger. Behind Microsoft’s success are the citizens, with their constant want for something bigger and better. Microsoft wanted to create something that people would go crazy for (Sarno). Microsoft is a Great Man because of people’s undying wants for the next best thing in technology. Microsoft will continue to grow and expand its revenue in the future making the possibilities for what the make next seem unlimited. Tiananmen Square, especially the tank man, is an example of social determinism. The citizens in China were tired of communism rule and were ready to fight back. Communist dictator Mao Zedong controlled every aspect of a Chinese citizens life including marriage, child bearing, religious practices, employment, and place of residence (Perry). Students and protestors stood in Tiananmen Square demonstrating their objections to the government. Media became a weapon that protestors used so they could bring worldwide humility and infamy to the communist government (Perry). One of the most controversial pieces of media from Tiananmen Square was the video of the Tank Man. The Tank Man symbolized defiance against the government and how tired the citizens were of the senseless slaughter. Tiananmen Square is an example of social determinism because of the citizens fighting against the government with media together. The Miracle on Ice, when the US beat the Soviet Union in hockey, and coach Herb Brooks falls under Event Making Hero in the criteria of a Great Man. The US win over the USSR restored hope in America and is remembered as one of the greatest moments in sports. After the Cold War, the US was bitter with the Soviets and lacked a sense of pride. The Soviets even thought of not coming to America to participate in the games even though they were rumored to be the best hockey team in the world and were highly favored to win (Schuman). Coach Herb Brooks of the United States knew the odds were against them but motivated his team to seizing the opportunity in front of them (Schuman). The boys did exactly what coach Brooks told them to, they seized the opportunity and won. The win is considered and Event Making Hero because it restored pride back to Americans after the Cold War. In my opinion the most influential topic in the 1920s out of CBS, FBI, and the Great Flood is the FBI. Edgar Hoover returned a sense of security to citizens and made the FBI a very successful agency. I think the FBI is most influential because crime doesn’t stop with new technology; we’re always going to have to rely on old tactics too. Also, the FBI benefitted the citizens instead of just entertaining them. The Great Flood also benefitted the citizens because it made them join together which soothed racial tensions and helped us move forward together. The Great Flood also benefits citizens because it helped us make new tactics for natural disaster recovery and prevention that can be used in the future. CBS was the least influential and beneficial to society because it only entertained us and didn’t motivate citizens to do much more than tune in to the radio. In the 1980s the most influential topic out of Microsoft, Tiananmen Square, and Miracle on Ice is Tiananmen Square. What is interesting about Tiananmen Square is its combination of Social Determinism and Event Making Hero. Citizens had to come together to protest against their government even if it meant death. Amongst the citizens two heroes came about: the Tank Man and media. The Tank Man stood up for everyone in a defiant act by standing in front of tanks and saying enough to violence. The impact of the Tank Man would have never been felt if media hadn’t caught it on videotape. Media gave citizens the ability to spread their mistreatment around the world and to show how barbaric the communist government was. Media will always be an influence on society and Tiananmen Square protestors took advantage of the new advances in media to a worldwide level. That’s where Microsoft comes in. Microsoft is the second most influential because of its advanced technology being made for citizens. Without Microsoft’s products the Tank Man and pictures of Tiananmen Square would have never been seen at a worldwide level. With Microsoft still churning out amazing new products today one can only imagine what they’ll be able to make in the future. Lastly, the Miracle on Ice was least influential because even though it gave America pride it didn’t benefit society in anyway. The win to the Soviets will always be remembered in sports history but its scope of influence was very small and didn’t influence people more than just feeling proud once more.
 * Part 1: The 1920s**
 * Part 2: The 1980s**
 * Part 3: Comparison**

Becca Jaskot 1920s Wiki Ashley Murray 1920s Wiki Catt Perry 1980s Wiki Drew Sarno 1980s Wiki John Schuman 1980s Wiki Jill Waltz 1920s Wiki

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. consistently well analyzed

•Analyze of each of the 6 topics with evidence taken from the 1920s and 1980s wikis, Analysis is focus and supported by well chosen evidence

•Develop a thoughtful and thorough conclusions on all 6 topics, all topics thoughtfully considered

•Rank the three topics for each decade and explain why one topic is more influential than the other two, yes

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

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

•Organize ideas in extended power paragraphs, consistently done

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

•Cite evidence with internal citations and in a Works Cited. Click links for exemplars. IC mostly correct, WC is incorrectly for,atted