BLOCK1 US HISTORY IVERSON

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RADHIKA
U S

CHANDRASEKHARAN
F I N A L
H I S T O R Y

US HISTORY / WAYZATA HIGH SCHOOL

 H E CULTURE & SOCIETY
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Common Sense 01

US HISTORY / WAYZATA HIGH SCHOOL

BLOCK1 US HISTORY IVERSON

SoujournerTruth 02

O
Uncle Tom's Cabin 03

L
Mark Twain 04

Yellow Journalism 05

Harlem Renaissance 06

The Soace Race 07

I have a Dream 08

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 CULTURE & SOCIETY
DEFENITION AND IMPORTANCE

US HISTORY / WAYZATA HIGH SCHOOL

CULTURE & SOCIETY

I believe this theme to be the most

important in US history. As you will see
throughout the slideshow, creative forms
The theme of Culture and Society analyzes
such as books, speeches, conventions, and
how literature, art, music, and other creative
more have an unforgettable impact on the
expressions shape the behaviors, beliefs,
beliefs and actions of society. Media can
traditions, and trends of the time.
influence society to believe in the idea it's
selling, leading to action taking place in
favor of that idea.

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 COMMON SENSE

US HISTORY / WAYZATA HIGH SCHOOL

1775-1776
COMMON SENSE

Shortly after the Olive Branch Petition, an anonymous 50-page

pamphlet began to circulate and change public opinion. Thomas Paine,
the writer of the pamphlet, attacked King Geroge III, Paine declared
was time for the colonists to proclaim an independent republic. This
would allow America to trade freely with other nations and it. Paine
also argued that this would give America the chance to create a better
society, one with equal social and economic opportunity for all. This
connects to the theme of Culture and Society because this pamphlet
helped overcome many colonists' doubts about being separated from
Britain. Without it, public opinion would have been focused on
compromising. This pamphlet played a big role in turning the colonists
against Britain.

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SOUJOURNER TRUTH
Defenition
Soujourner Truth was an African American
abolitionist and women's rights activist. She
was born into slavery but escaped in 1826
She is famous for being the first African
American woman to win her freedom, in
court, against a white man. After the case,
Truth became an outspoken advocate for
abolition, temperance, and civil and women's
rights
SOUJOURNER TRUTH
1828
Connection to Theme
Soujourner Truth is connected to the theme
of Culture and Society because she was an
example of a huge cultural shift in society. It
may have not seemed as obvious at the time,
but Truth paved the way for civil rights in
the future. She was the first to win such a
historical case, It led to the cultural shaping
of the US by showing that it could be done
and changing society's expectation of her.
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US HISTORY / WAYZATA HIGH SCHOOL
Compared to Common Sense
Soujourner Truth and Common Sense seem
to have more differences than in common at
first glance. Truth was a person who won a
revolutionary case. Whereas, Common Sense
was a piece of literature that influenced the
colonists' opinion at a crucial moment, but
both challenged society's expectations and
changed people's opinions. Truth about what
African American women could achieve and
Common sense about the British .
 UNCLE TOM'S CABIN
UNCLE TOM'S CABIN
Definition
Uncle Tom's Cabin is a novel written by
Harriet Beecher Stowe(shown above). The
book was a huge success in the north and
portrayed the hardships slaves had to go
through in everyday life.
1852
Connects to Theme
The novel had a profound effect on attitudes
towards African Americans and slavery in
the United States. This book is said to have
helped lay the groundwork for the civil war.
The book was championed by abolitionists
and heavily contributed to the public
sentiment, in the North, against slavery.
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US HISTORY / WAYZATA HIGH SCHOOL
Comparisons
Soujourner Truth (shown above) and Beecher's Uncle
Tom's Cabin both went down in history; truth inspired
people with her story and advocated for what she
believed in, Beecher brought to light the tortures slaves
had to go through. Uncle Tom's Cabin has a lot in
common with Common sense by Thomas Paine as both
are pieces of literature that heavily influenced public
sentiment against a common evil: King George III and
slavery
 Definition
Mark Twain was famous for being the father of American literature. He was a
renowned writer, humorist, and entrupenuer. While Twain was humorous he was
also very kind and helped those in need, and as seen from his quotes and writing,
he was very thoughtful as well.

US HISTORY / WAYZATA HIGH SCHOOL

Connection to Theme
MARK TWAIN

Mark Twain connects to the theme of Culture and Society, because Twain’s work
MARK influenced many. He was known as the greatest humourist the United States ever
produced and he lived up to his title. Twain’s books brought up conversation about
TWAIN sensitive topics and changed the way people viewed the world around them.

1835-1910
Comparison
Twain was comparable to the many other authors listed above, in fact, he was very
close friends with Harriet Beecher Stove. Much like stove and Paine, Mark Twain
changed society's views about certain topics and used humor to make difficult
topics more discussable.

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 YELLOW JOURNALISM
1860-1910

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YELLOW JOURNALISM

During this time period, yellow journalism was brought to fame. Yellow
journalism is the term that refers to journalism and newspaper that present
eye-catching, exaggerated news in place of legitimate, well-researched news.
In order to catch the eye of the audience, journalists who utilize yellow
journalism would exaggerate, and use titles that were scandalizing and/or
sensationalizing, and it wouldn't matter whether or not that was true. This
comes under Culture and Society because it describes how social aspects led
to the cultural shaping of the US. Even today, many news headlines often
mislead the audience, in order to grab people's attention. This also compares
to the previous terms because it affects how society views the media and news
plays a huge role in how society views certain events. Journalism and media
can lead people to protest and taking action, similar to Common Sense by
Thomas Paine which led the colonists to break away from Britain

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 HARLEM

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RENAISSANCE
HARLEM RENAISSANCE

1920-1930

The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual revival of African American art and
literature centered in the region of Harlem in NYC. During this time period, a
lot of African Americans were migrating to Northern cities seeking economic
and creative opportunities, Withing this community creative expression became
an outlet for writers, artists, and photographers, and they were particularly
concentrated in Harlem. One famous artist during this time period was Louis
Armstrong. This Renaissance heavily influenced society, and some of those
effects are visible even today, It brought about the creation of blues and jazz.
This renaissance molded the US popular culture of the time. The renaissance is
different from some of the other terms listed here. While the renaissance didn't
change the view of society, it gave an entire community opportunities to express
themselves and let their voices and struggles be heard.

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 THE SPACE RACE
1955-1975

The space race was a competition between the Soviet Union and the United States to achieve firsts in spaceflight
capability. It started from the nuclear arms race between the countries shortly after WWII. The Soviet Union was
the first to send a satellite into orbit, but the US won by putting a man on the moon. This was a time of great
nationalism and patriotism. The race of technology and science led to a cultural shaping of the United States, and

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allowed for the development of NASA which has provided society with numerous new technologies used not only
for space but also for hospitals and other places.
THE SPACE RACE

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I HAVE A DREAM
Defenition
Martin Luther King Jr, an American civil rights
activist, gave the famous I have a dream speech on
August 28, 1963. It was an iconic speech about
King's wishes for civil and economic equality.
One famous line from the speech stated he
wished he could see his children play with
whomever they wanted to, regardless of race.
I HAVE A DREAM
1963
Connection to Theme
This connects to the theme because the OI
have a dream speech, completely changed
American society. It talked of ending racism
and everyone being equal and free, the same
ideas America was founded for. This speech
led the way for civil rights.
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US HISTORY / WAYZATA HIGH SCHOOL
Comparison
The I have a Dream speech remains an iconic
one, brought up with all civil rights issues.
Similarily to the other terms, it played a big
role in affecting public opinion. It heavily
influenced the passing of the 1964 Civil
Rights Axt. Similarily to Common Sense by
Thomas Paine, the speech brought people
together for a common goal: equality for all.

CAPITAL HILL
CAPITAL HILL RIOTS
RIOTS
2021
Occurring this year the Capital Hill Riot
was the first of its kind in US History.
Protestors who disagreed with the
results of the 2020 election stormed the
capitol hill building in order to stop
Congress from recognizing the result.
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Connection to Theme
This fits under the theme of Culture and Society because this is something that's going
to leave an impression on society. It's the first time one of the most important
US HISTORY / WAYZATA HIGH SCHOOL
buildings in America, containing a part of the government has been ransacked. It's also
the first time there has been such widespread mistrust and denial of the election
results. This sets a stamdard for future elections as well. Not to mention the media has
played a huge role in the spread of information that led to this.
Comparison
This compares to other terms because this was only possible due to
the media we have today and the information that it spread. Much
like Common sense was circulated in colonial America changing
public sentiment to be anti-British, the media spread the news that
allowed people to doubt the legitimacy of the election.
 CONCLUSION
The theme of Culture and Society revolves around creative forms such as art, literature, music, theater,

US HISTORY / WAYZATA HIGH SCHOOL

film and how they circulate and leave an impact on society. The media of the current age has made
spreading information and ideas much faster and has given us more forms of creative expression. In the
CONCLUSION

early 1800 Common Sense by Thomas Paine was circulated changing colonists stances on the tensions
with Britain. Soon after Uncle Tom’s Cabin became popular in the Northern part of America and
uncovered the gruesome parts of slavery and laid the groundwork for the Civil War. The I had a Dream
speech is commonly seen even today for the pursuit of equality and civil rights. But today’s media has
made everything more easily accessible from further away. I can converse with friends across the world
about a movie released that month. Translators even allow communicating with people who don’t even
speak the same language as us. I think the most significant changes will occur in this era. Everything has
become digital, from schools to entertainment. It allows us to connect with each other on a global scale.
Something happening across the world can reach us in mere seconds. The digital age has the biggest
impact on the Culture and Society of the United States.

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