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Events throughout history have influenced us to live the way we do today. During the 1920’s and 1980’s there are several events that have helped shape up our culture and make the world the way it is. The 20’s and 80’s were both a time in which new fashion and music were created, and new things such as televisions played a role. In this essay I will give three examples of events/people that influenced our society and helped make our society what it is today.

The 1920’s was filled with events and people that influenced society greatly. One example of this was Martha Graham who was a leader in modern dance. Martha Graham “empowered women by practicing a type of dance in which women could express themselves”(Reyna). Her style of dancing created a new way for women to express themselves and in it a great workout. Through her dancing technique she was able to show the women of the 20’s that there was more out there than just partner dancing. Her style of dancing has inspired many different choreographers and dancers to express themselves independently and freely through dance.

Another event that influenced the 1920’s was the creation of the musical style known as blues. “The blues helped the African Americans overcome the barrier of white and black through one aspect of culture” (John M.). This style of music gave African Americans the ability to express themselves around white people and be accepted as part of the culture. This genre of music has been used to express the sorrow that people have, and as the African Americans sang about their pains and sorrows, white people were able to understand how these people felt about how they have been treated. The blues also helped create places called Cotton Clubs, which were places in which both whote and black people could go to dance and have a drink.

A third event from the 1920’s that influenced society was the Rosewood Massacre. This event took place in Florida while the KKK still had a great influence in southern society. During this event, the KKK went to a mainly African American village and killed innocent people and then burned down the entire village. This was one of the biggest massacre ever in America. It helped to start many anti-lynching organizations and many black rights movements. This event affected the public greatly because the KKK destroyed a whole entire village with no better reason than that they didn’t like the African Americans, and many innocent lives were lost. After this event southerners that had once supported the KKK wanted nothing to do with them, and were ashamed with themselves and the way they treated innocent people.

The 1980’s was also an important time in America. One figure from this decade that had quite an impact on society was the rise of Michael Jackson, a.k.a. the “King of Pop”. Michael transformed pop music by showing people that a solo act can work. He was mainly known for his inspiring music and “becoming the first African-American singer to gain mass crossover appeal” (Jacob B.).“Pop music has been a largely respected music genre for the past few decades and still continues to influence society today” (Jacob B.). Pop music has since continued to influence clothing style and continues to shape our culture. It has also changed the way businesses advertise their products. By playing popular music during an adv, businesses are able to give their product a popular and positive feel, which help them in the long run.

An influential event during the 1980’s was the creation of a twenty-four hour news station, CNN. The creation of a twenty-four new station provided people with information continuously which helped people understand the government and other societies faster. Ted Turner was the deliverer of this news. Turner “reshaped television by creating the first cable news network” (Lydia E.). The news became so popular with the people because it made it easy for them to know what was going on and they didn’t have to wait all day. Today people still believe that “his influence was great” and that without his creation of the 24/7 news channel then our world would not be as advanced as it is today.

Another event that was influential in the 1980’s was the effect celebrities had on the people, including peoples such as Princess Diana and John Lennon. Princess Diana “brought a touch of openness and modernity to the perceived stuffiness of the British monarchy” (Alex Kern). Diana was “constantly in the public eye, her every move scrutinized” and because of this it made her life hard. She was unable to do anything without being judged and because of this, she made sure that she could do everything she could in her power to help others to show that she was not like everyone else and that she could make a difference. John Lennon was loved for his music with the Beatles and his solo work. His music influenced society in the way they thought about the world, the way they acted and the way they dressed. When he was shot, people filled Central Park to mourn his death. These two celebrities influenced society by showing people that anyone can do great things and help change the world.

Of the 1920’s topics I believe that the Rosewood Massacre had the biggest impact. I believe this because it was one of the worst massacres that has taken place in America. Because of what happened in the massacre, African American rights groups were formed, and this help bring them closer to equality with white people. The second most influential topic from the 1920’s was the blues. I believe this because the blues created a new way for African Americans to express themselves while being accepted into society and adding to the American culture, but it was not as influential as the Rosewood Massacre. The least influential topic out of the three I chose for the 1920’s is Martha Graham. This is the least influential out of the three because her new dancing style changed the art of dancing, but not the society as a whole.

Out of the 1980’s topics I chose, the one that had the greatest impact was Michael Jackson. I believe this because his style of music opened up a door that showed people that they could create pop music as a solo artist. Today many pop artists are solo because of what Michael Jackson created and succeeded in. The second most influential topic I chose is Ted Turner and CNN news. The creation of a 24/7 news broadcast channel has changed the way we live today because we no longer have to wait all day to know and understand what is going on in the world. The least influential topic I chose was Princess Diana, John Lennon, and the Cult of Celebrity. These two people showed society that anyone could make a difference in the world. This was the least influential out of the three because what they did was great, but what Michael Jackson and CNN news did had a longer lasting effect.

The 1920’s and 1980’s both were periods where people and events greatly impacted society. Of all the topics I chose, I believe that the most influential was the Rosewood Massacre in the 1920’s. I believe that this was the most influential because it inspired people to create groups to help African American earn rights that did not previously have but they deserved. Throughout the 1920’s and 1980’s there were many people and events that had a great impact on our society, even to today. 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. general discussion, little analysis of individual criteria

•Analyze of each of the 6 topics with evidence taken from the 1920s and 1980s wikis, Supporting evidence NOT offered for each topic

•Develop a thoughtful and thorough conclusions on all 6 topics, sweeping conclusions made with little analysis

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

•Answer the essay question with a clear, well reasoned argument, question addressed, arguments not well developed

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

•Organize ideas in extended power paragraphs, inconsistently done--explaining sentence often omitted

•Identify the source and establish its credibility with an appositive phrase, not done for 1980s topics

•Cite evidence with internal citations and in a Works Cited. Click links for exemplars. Minor IC errors, NO WC