GRUPUL SCOLAR INDUSTRIAL SEBIS ______________________________________________

Sebis, B-dul VICTORIEI, Nr. 7, Judetul ARAD

ATESTAT LIMBA ENGLEZA

American people who changed the World

Coordinating teacher: Demetrescu Dana

Student:

Ungureanu Stefania

Sebis Mai, 2011

Contents
Argument....3 Chapter I: Thomas Jefferson....4 1.1. Education and the beginning of the political ideas...4 1.2. Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence..4 1.3. Jefferson- President in 1800..5 1.4. Thomas Jefferson outside the political life ...6 1.5. 1826-The last year.6 Chapter II: John F. Kennedy7 2.1. Early life and education.7 2.2. The beginning of JFKs political career7 2.3. JFK-President in 1961...7 2.4. Civil rights 8 2.5. Space program ..9 2.6. Death, funeral and legacy10 2.7. JFKs family. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis .10 Chapter III: Barack Obama12 3.1. Early life and education...12 3.2. Legislative career: 1997-2008.13 3.3. Presidential campaign.13 3.4. Barack Obama- President in 2009...13 3.5. The death of Osama bin Laden ......14 Chapter IV: Martin Luther King Jr..15 4.1. The roots of his ideas......15 4.2. Montgomery Bus Boycott...16 4.3. Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)...16 4.4. Civil Rights Movement...16 4.5. Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.17 4.6. Kings Assassination...18 4.7. Legacy.....19 Chapter V: Elvis Presley.21 5.1. A difficult beginning.......21 5.2. First live appearance.......21 5.3. Elvis debut album......22 5.4. Appearances on TV.....22 5.5. Movies and songs....23 5.6. Military service and life after the army...23 5.7. Comeback....24 5.8. Divorce, health problems and death....25 2

5.9. Legacy.....26 Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................27 Bibliography.................................................................................................................................28

Argument
My paper is about five famous people who changed the world so dramatically that they ended up in the history books. They all come from different places, times, and backgrounds, yet they managed to leave a mark after they were gone. I chose the subject American people who changed the World because I have always been interested in finding out more about the personalities who really did something with their life and who made a difference during their lifetime. The paper is divided into five chapters, the first three are focused on the life of three American Presidents, the fourth is about Martin Luther King Jr. and the last describes the life of The King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley.

Chapter I: Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 July 4, 1826) was the third President of the United States (18011809) and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776).

Education and the beginning of the political ideas

The third of ten children, Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 into a planter family. His mother was Jane Randolph, daughter of Isham Randolph of Dungeness and his father was Peter Jefferson, a planter and surveyor in Albemarle County. As a young child Thomas Jefferson was an enthusiastic student, often spending up to 15 hours a day studying. His interests ranged from Philosophy and Architecture to the Natural Sciences. In 1757, when he was 14 years old, his father died. Jefferson inherited his fathers land and dozens of slaves. Anyway, at the age of 16 he entered the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg where he first met the law professor George Wythe, who became his influential mentor. Two years later he graduated with the highest honors. After leaving college he became a lawyer and later served in the Virginian state Burges. One of his earliest political writings of significance was A Summary View of the Rights of British America. This expressed a thoughtful summary of a way America could make a settlement with Britain. It played an important role in shaping opinions in the lead up to the War of Independence.

1.2. Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence

When you say Thomas Jefferson you are thinking about The Declaration of Independence so next I will discuss about his contribution to the writing of the Declaration. Jefferson served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress beginning in June 1775. When Congress began considering a resolution of independence in June 1776, Jefferson was appointed to a five-man committee to prepare a declaration to accompany the resolution. The committee selected Jefferson to write the first draft probably because of his reputation as a writer. The assignment was considered routine; no one at the time thought that it was a major responsibility. Jefferson completed a draft in consultation with other committee members, drawing on his own proposed draft of the Virginia Constitution, George Mason's draft of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, and other sources. Jefferson showed his draft to the committee, which made some final revisions, and then presented it to Congress on June 28, 1776. After voting in favor of the resolution of independence on July 2, Congress turned its attention to the declaration. Over several days of debate, Congress made a few changes in wording and deleted nearly a fourth of the text, most notably a passage critical of the slave trade, changes that Jefferson resented. On July 4, 1776, the wording of the Declaration of Independence was ratified and it represents the symbolizing statement of the aims of the American Revolution. The importance of the declaration of Independence was summed up in The Gettysburg address of Abraham Lincoln in 1863. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Those to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. [http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/freedom/doi/text.html]

Jefferson - President in 1800

From 1785 to 1789 Jefferson served as minister to France and after as first Secretary of State under George Washington. At the end of his term 1783 he retired temporarily to Monticello, where he spent time amongst his gardens and with his family. In 1796 he stood for

President but lost narrowly to John Adams, however under the terms of the constitution, this was sufficient to become Vice President. In the run up to the next election of 1800 Jefferson fought a bitter campaign. However Jefferson was narrowly elected and this allowed him to promote open and representative government. On being elected, he offered a hand of friendship to his former political enemies. The Presidency of Jefferson was eventful, but importantly he was able to preside over a period of relative stability and generally kept America out of conflict. I love peace, and am anxious that we should give the world still another useful lesson, by showing to them other modes of punishing injuries than by war, which is as much a punishment to the punisher as to the sufferer. [http://www.biographyonline.net/thomas_jefferson/index.html]

1.4. Thomas Jefferson outside the political life

Regarding his personal life, in 1772, at age 29 Jefferson married the 23-year-old widow Martha Wayles Skelton. They had six children but only two of them survived to adulthood. Moreover, his wife died 10 years later and Thomas Jefferson remained single for the rest of his life. Jefferson was over 6 feet 2 and this was very tall for his age. He didn't relish public speaking preferring to express his opinions through his writings. Never bored he always found different avenues of interest to explore. Thomas Jefferson left a profound mark on America, through his influential shaping of the American constitution and political practices. Jefferson represented an icon for many people as Sri Chinmoy wrote about him: "The essential qualities of Thomas Jefferson were clarity, luminosity and vastness. Clarity, luminosity and vastness - these the Declaration of Independence embodies. Jefferson was the most divinely talented man of his time." [http://www.biographyonline.net/thomas_jefferson/index.html]

1.5. 1826 The last year

Jefferson's health began to deteriorate by July 1825, and by June 1826 he was confined to bed. Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson had problems of his own and, though born into a wealthy slave-owning family he died deeply in debt. After his death, his possessions, including his slaves, were sold, as was Monticello in 1831. Thomas Jefferson is buried in the family cemetery at Monticello. On his epitaph, which was written by him, we can read: 6

"HERE WAS BURIED THOMAS JEFFERSON AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE OF THE STATUTE OF VIRGINIA FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA."

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_jefferson] Jefferson, together with George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, was chosen by sculptor Gutzon Borglum and approved by President Calvin Coolidge to be depicted in stone at the Mount Rushmore Memorial. Thomas Jefferson is constantly rated by historical scholars as one of the greatest U.S. presidents.

Chapter II: John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29, 1917 November 22, 1963) was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963, which shocked America and the entire world.

2.1. Early life and education

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on Tuesday, May 29, 1917 as the second son of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., and Rose Fitzgerald. In September 1936, Kennedy enrolled at Harvard College and he began to develop a passion for sailing and travelling. He sailed to France and then he toured Europe and the Middle East. He then went to Czechoslovakia and Germany before returning to London on September 1, 1939, the day Germany invaded Poland. He graduated cum laude from Harvard with a degree in international affairs in 1940, and his thesis was published that year as a book entitled Why England Slept, and became a bestseller. In 1941 Kennedy joined the U.S. Navy. Kennedy was an ensign serving in the office of the Secretary of the Navy when the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred. For rescuing a fellow crewman Kennedy received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. When later asked by a reporter how he became a war hero, Kennedy joked: "It was involuntary. They sank my boat."

2.2. The beginning of JFKs political career

In 1946, Kennedy won a seat in Boston for the US House of Representatives and in 1952 got himself elected for the US Senate. One year later, JFK married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier. In 1956 he published 'Profiles in Courage', a book about US Senators who stood up for their personal beliefs and one year later he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for biography for his book. Kennedy is the only President who has received such a prize.

2.3. JFK-President in 1961

In 1960, Kennedy initiated his campaign for President in the Democratic primary election. Kennedy's main opponent at the Los Angeles convention was Senator Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas. In July 13 the Democratic convention nominated Kennedy as its candidate where he gave his well-known "New Frontier" speech, saying: "For the problems are not all solved and the battles are not all wonand we stand today on the edge of a New Frontier ... But the New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask of them." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_f_kennedy] A major issue about Kennedy was his Roman Catholicism but he told that his Catholicism would not affect his decision-making: "I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party candidate for President who also happens to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my Church on public matters and the Church does not speak for me." [http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/john_f_kennedy_2.html] On November 8, Kennedy defeated Nixon in one of the closest presidential elections of the 20th century: Kennedy led Nixon by just two-tenths of one percent (49.7% to 49.5%). JFK was the youngest man elected president, succeeding Eisenhower who was then the oldest. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th President at noon on January 20, 1961. In his inaugural address he spoke of the need for all Americans to be active citizens saying: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." During his brief presidency, John F Kennedy oversaw an escalation of US involvement in Vietnam, which included sending 16,000 military advisers to the country. Later, Kennedy's secretary of defense Robert McNamara said Kennedy was considering pulling out of Vietnam in 1963 and believes that if Kennedy had survived, American involvement would have ended. Tapes showed that Lyndon Johnson later criticised Kennedy's opinion that America should withdraw.

As one of his first presidential acts, Kennedy asked Congress to create the Peace Corps. Through this program, Americans volunteer to help underdeveloped nations in areas such as education, farming, health care, and construction. The authorization grew to 5,000 members by March 1963 and 10,000 the following year. Since 1961, over 200,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps, serving in 139 countries.

2.4. Civil rights

Kennedy verbally supported racial integration and civil rights and during the 1960 campaign he telephoned Coretta Scott King, wife of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., who had been jailed while demonstrating for equal access of African Americans. Kennedy secured the early release of King, which drew additional black support to his candidacy. In 1963, President Kennedy intervened when Alabama Governor George Wallace blocked the doorway to the University of Alabama to stop two African American students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from attending. That evening Kennedy gave his famous civil rights address on national television and radio, launching his initiative for civil rights legislation to provide equal access to public schools and other facilities, and greater protection of voting rights. His proposals became part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Over a hundred thousand, predominantly African Americans gathered in Washington for the civil rights March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. To ensure a peaceful demonstration, the organizers and the president personally edited speeches which were inflammatory. Kennedy watched King's speech on TV and was very impressed. The March was considered a triumph of managed protest, and not one arrest relating to the demonstration occurred. Afterwards, the March leaders accepted an invitation to the White House to meet with Kennedy. He felt the March was a victory for him.

2.5. Space program

As a senator, Kennedy had been opposed to the manned space program. The Apollo program was conceived early in 1960, during the Eisenhower administration, as a follow-up to America's Mercury program. While NASA went ahead with planning for Apollo, funding for the program was far from certain. Early in his presidency, Kennedy was considering plans to dismantle the Apollo program due to its cost but postponed any decision out of deference to his vice president whom he strongly supported NASA.

Finally, Kennedy suggested international cooperation in space. Sergei Khrushchev said Kennedy approached his father, Nikita, twice about a "joint venture" in space explorationin June 1961 and autumn 1963. On the first occasion, the Soviet Union was ahead of America in many aspects of space technology. On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to fly in space, reinforcing American fears about being left behind in a technological competition with the Soviet Union. Kennedy was eager for the U.S. to take the lead in the Space Race for strategic reasons. In September 1963, during a speech before the United Nations, Kennedy again proposed a joint lunar program to the Soviet Union. The proposal was not enthusiastically received by Khrushchev. On July 20, 1969, almost six years after his death, Apollo's goal was realized when Americans landed on the Moon.

2.6. Death, funeral and legacy

Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963, while on a political trip to Texas to smooth over factions in the Democratic Party between liberals and conservatives. He was shot once and was killed with a shot to the head. He was pronounced dead at 1:00 pm. Only 46, President Kennedy died younger than any U.S. president to date. Lee Harvey Oswald, an employee of the Texas School Book Depository from which the shots were suspected to have been fired, was arrested on charges for the murder of a local police officer and was subsequently charged with the assassination of Kennedy. He denied shooting anyone and he was killed by Jack Ruby on November 24, before he could be indicted or tried. President Johnson created the Warren Commissionchaired by Chief Justice Earl Warrento investigate the assassination, which concluded that Oswald was the lone assassin. The results of this investigation are disputed by many. The assassination had an effect on many people, not only in the U.S. but around the world. Many vividly remember where they were when first learning of the news that Kennedy was assassinated. Ultimately, the death of President Kennedy marked a turning point and decline in the faith of the American people in the political establishment. Many of Kennedy's speeches (especially his inaugural address) are considered iconic; and despite his relatively short term in office and lack of major legislative changes coming to fruition during his term, Americans regularly vote him as one of the best presidents, in the same league as Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

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He was posthumously awarded the Pacem in Terris Award (Peace on Earth). President Kennedy is the only president to have predeceased both his mother and father. He is also the only president to have predeceased a grandparent. His grandmother, Mary Josephine Hannon Fitzgerald, died in 1964, just over eight months after his assassination.

2.7. JFKs Family. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis

John Kennedy met his future wife, Jacqueline Bouvier, when he was a congressman. They were married a year after he was elected senator, on September 12, 1953. Kennedy and his wife were younger in comparison to the presidents and first ladies that preceded them and both were popular in ways more common to pop singers and movie stars than politicians, influencing fashion trends and becoming the subjects of numerous photos spreads in popular magazines. Jacqueline brought new art and furniture to the White House, and directed its restoration. They invited a range of artists, writers and intellectuals to rounds of White House dinners, raising the profile of the arts in America. After the president's death, Jackie refused to remove her blood-stained clothing, and regretted having washed the blood off her face and hands. She continued to wear the bloodstained pink suit as she stood next to Johnson when he took the oath of office as President. She told Lady Bird Johnson, "I want them to see what they have done to Jack." In June 1968 when her brother-in-law Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated, she came to fear for her life and that of her children, saying "If they're killing Kennedys, then my children are targets...I want to get out of this country." On October 20, 1968 she married Aristotle Onassis, a wealthy, Greek shipping magnate, who was able to provide the privacy and security she needed for herself and her children The Kennedy family is one of the most established political families in the United States, having produced a President, three senators, and multiple other Representatives. John Kennedy's father, Joseph P. Kennedy, was a prominent American businessman and political figure, serving in multiple roles, including Ambassador to the United Kingdom. One of the fundamental aspects of the Kennedy family is a tragic strain which has run through the family, as a result of the violent and untimely deaths of many of its members. John's eldest brother, Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., died in World War II, at the age of 29. It was Joe Jr. who was originally to carry the family's hopes for the Presidency. Then both John himself and his brother Robert died as a result of assassinations. Edward had brushes with death, the first in a plane crash and the second as a result of a car accident. Edward died at age 77, on August 25,

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2009, from the effects of a malignant brain tumor. John F. Kennedy, Jr. was born in 1960, just a few weeks after his father was elected. John died in 1999, when the small plane he was piloting crashed killing him, his wife and his sister-in-law. Kennedy's wife, Jacqueline and their two deceased minor children were buried with him later. His brother, Senator Robert Kennedy, was buried nearby in June 1968. In August 2009, his brother, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, was also buried near his two brothers. Kennedy came in third (behind Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mother Teresa) in Gallup's List of Widely Admired People of the twentieth century.

Chapter III: Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States and also the first black President of the US. Many saw his election as a turning point in America's long turbulent troubles regarding race. From a society that defended slavery of Africans, to a black man leading the country it was more than just a symbolic victory. It was proof America has changed. Barack Obama is a visible role model for all his fellow Americans from ethnic minorities.

3.1. Early life and education

Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii being the first President to have been born in Hawaii. His mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was born in Wichita, Kansas and his father, Barack Obama, Sr., was from Kenya. The couple married on February 2, 1961 but they separated and eventually divorced in 1964. After her divorce, Obamas mother remarried and the family moved to the Menteng neighborhood of Jakarta. Of his early childhood, Obama recalled, "That my father looked nothing like the people around methat he was black as pitch, my mother white as milkbarely registered in my mind. Reflecting later on his formative years in Honolulu, Obama wrote: "The opportunity that Hawaii offeredto experience a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respectbecame an integral part of my world view, and a basis for the values that I hold most dear." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obama] Following high school, Obama moved to Los Angeles in 1979 to attend Occidental College. In late 1988, Obama entered Harvard Law School and he was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review which gained national media attention and led to a publishing contract

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and advance for a book about race relations, which evolved into a personal memoir. The manuscript was published in mid-1995 as Dreams from My Father. After graduating with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) magna cum laude from Harvard in 1991, he returned to Chicago. In 1991, Obama accepted a two-year position as Visiting Law and Government Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School to work on his first book. He then served as a professor at the University of Chicago Law School for twelve years teaching constitutional law. In 1993 he joined a 13-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights where he was an associate for three years.

3.2. Legislative career: 19972008

Obama served three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. Several events brought him to national attention during the campaign, including his victory in the March 2004 Democratic primary and his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. He won election to the U.S. Senate in November 2004.

3.3. Presidential campaign

On February 10, 2007, Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States in front of the Old State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois, where Abraham Lincoln delivered his historic "House Divided" speech in 1858. Obama emphasized the issues of rapidly ending the Iraq War, increasing energy independence, and providing universal health care. His campaign projected themes of "hope" and "change" His presidential campaign began in February 2007, and after a close campaign in the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries against Hillary Rodham Clinton, he won his party's nomination. He defeated Republican nominee John McCain and, on November 4, Obama won the presidency with 365 electoral votes to 173 received by McCain. Obama won 52.9% of the popular vote to McCain's 45.7%. He became the first African American to be elected president. Obama delivered his victory speech before hundreds of thousands of supporters in Chicago's Grant Park.

3.4. Barack Obama-President in 2009

The inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President took place on January 20, 2009. In foreign policy, Obama gradually withdrew combat troops from Iraq, increased troop levels in Afghanistan, increased military cooperation with Israel, including a record number of U.S. troops participating in military exercises in the country and increased military aid. 13

In October 2009, Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Baracks election was also important for offering a change from the disruptive years of George Bush. In March 2011, as forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi advanced on rebels across Libya, on Obama's orders, the U.S. military took a lead role to destroy the Libyan government's air defense capabilities in order to protect civilians. He also signed an arms control treaty with Russia. His speeches galvanized a nation with a positive message of hope combined with powerful criticism of the failings of the Bush years. Although Barack Obama gained solid support amongst black Americans, his appeal was universal and he was able to attract support from even southern blue collar constituencies.

3.5. The death of Osama bin Laden

Barack Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden on May 1st, 2011: Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound, in Abbottbad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body. [Obama, President Barack (May 2, 2011). "Obama's Remarks on bin Laden's Killing". The New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2011.] CIA determined what they believed to be the location of Osama bin Laden in a large compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Obama rejected a plan to bomb the compound, and authorized a "surgical raid" to be conducted by United States Navy SEALs. The operation took place on May 1, 2011, resulting in the death of bin Laden. His body was identified through DNA testing and was buried at sea several hours later. There were spontaneous celebrations around the country as crowds gathered outside the White House, and at New York City's Ground Zero and Times Square. However, the statement that bin Laden died was not universally accepted despite DNA testing confirming his identity. The swift burial of bin Laden's body at sea, speed of the DNA results, and decision by Obama to not release pictures of the dead body formed the basis of conspiracy theories that bin Laden had not died in the raid.

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Chapter IV: Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 April 4, 1968) was one of America's most influential civil rights activists. His passionate, but non violent protests, helped to raise awareness of racial inequalities in America, leading to significant political change. Martin Luther King was also an eloquent orator who captured the imagination and hearts of people, both black and white.

4.1. The roots of his ideas

Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta on 15 January 1929 being the middle child of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. King attended Booker T. Washington High School and a precocious student as he was, he skipped both the ninth and the twelfth grade and entered Morehouse College at age fifteen without formally graduating from high school. At the age of 24, King married Coretta Scott, on June 18, 1953 and they had four children. King became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama when he was twenty-five years old. King then began doctoral studies in systematic theology at Boston University and received his Doctor of Philosophy on June 5, 1955, with a dissertation on "A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman". During his time at University Martin Luther King became aware of the injustice faced by black Americans. Among Kings influences there are many known names. The first one is Howard Thurman, Civil rights leader, theologian, and educator. The most important figure who influenced King is undoubtedly Mahatma Gandhi. After visiting Gandhi's birthplace in India in 1959 King reflected in a radio address "Since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity. In a real sense, Mahatma Gandhi

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embodied in his life certain universal principles that are inherent in the moral structure of the universe, and these principles are as inescapable as the law of gravitation. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.]

4.2. Montgomery Bus Boycott

A turning point in the life of Martin Luther King was the Montgomery Bus Boycott which he helped to promote. His boycott also became a turning point in the civil rights struggle attracting national press for the cause. The beginning of the boycott lays in the story of Claudette Colvin, a fifteen-year-old school girl, who, in March 1955, refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in compliance with the Jim Crow laws. Also, Rosa Parks, a civil rights activist, refused to given up her seat - she was sitting in a white only area. This broke the strict segregation of coloured and white people on the Montgomery buses. The bus company refused to back down and so Martin Luther King helped to organise a strike where coloured people refused to use any of the city buses. The boycott lasted for several months and the situation became so tense that King's house was bombed. King was arrested during this campaign, which ended with a United States District Court ruling in Browder v. Gayle that ended racial segregation on all Montgomery public buses.

4.3. Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

After the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, King and other ministers founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957. The group was created to harness the moral authority and organizing power of black churches to conduct non-violent protests in the service of civil rights reform. King led the SCLC until his death. The group proved to be a nucleus for the growing Civil Rights Movement. On September 20, 1958, while signing copies of his book Stride Toward Freedom, King was stabbed in the chest with a letter opener by Izola Curry, a deranged black woman, and narrowly escaped death.

4.4. Civil Rights Movement

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King believed that organized, nonviolent protest against the system of southern segregation known as Jim Crow laws would lead to extensive media coverage of the struggle for black equality and voting rights and convinced the majority of Americans that the Civil Rights Movement was the most important issue in American politics in the early 1960s. King organized and led marches for blacks' right to vote, desegregation, labour rights and other basic civil rights. A successful movement was the Birmingham Campaign. It was a strategic effort by the SCLC to promote civil rights for African Americans. Based on actions in Birmingham, Alabama, its goal was to end the city's segregated civil and discriminatory economic policies. The campaign lasted for more than two months in the spring of 1963. By the end of the campaign, King's reputation improved immensely and public places became more open to blacks. However the most important part of the movement was March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom where King said his most renowned speech: I have a dream. King, representing SCLC, was among the leaders of the so-called "Big Six" civil rights organizations who were instrumental in the organization of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which took place on August 28, 1963. King, who received death threats throughout his involvement in the civil rights movement, was hit by a brick during one march but continued to lead marches in the face of personal danger.

4.5. Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King was an inspirational and influential speaker and he had the capacity to move and uplift his audiences. In particular he could offer a vision of hope. He captured the injustice of the time but also felt that this injustice was like a passing cloud. King frequently made references to God, the Bible and his Christian Faith. His speeches were largely free of revenge and focusing on the need to move forward. Martin Luther King Jr. was named as Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963, the same year he said his most renowned speech. King is most famous for his "I Have a Dream" speech, given in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The march did, however, make specific demands: an end to racial segregation in public schools; meaningful civil rights legislation, including a law prohibiting racial discrimination in employment; protection of civil rights workers from police brutality; a $2 minimum wage for all workers.

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Despite tensions, the march was a resounding success. More than a quarter million people of diverse ethnicities attended the event, sprawling from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial onto the National Mall and around the reflecting pool. At the time, it was the largest gathering of protesters in Washington's history. King's "I Have a Dream" speech electrified the crowd. It is regarded, along with Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Franklin D. Roosevelt's Infamy Speech, as one of the finest speeches in the history of American oratory. The March, and especially King's speech, helped put civil rights at the very top the liberal political agenda in the United States and facilitated passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. [King H, Richard, Civil Rights and the Idea of Freedom, New York: Oxford University Press, 1992, Chap. 4 "Martin Luther King and the Meanings of Freedom" and Chap. 5 "Martin Luther King: Authorship and Ideas"]

4.6. Kings assassination

On March 29, 1968, King went to Memphis, Tennessee, in support of the black sanitary public works employees. On April 3, King addressed a rally and delivered his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" address at Mason Temple, the world headquarters of the Church of God in Christ. King's flight to Memphis had been delayed by a bomb threat against his plane. In the close of the last speech of his career, in reference to the bomb threat, King said the following: And then I got to Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers? Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a

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people, will get to the Promised Land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. [http://www.mlkonline.net/promised.html] King was booked in room 306 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. According to Jesse Jackson, who was present, King's last words on the balcony prior to his assassination were spoken to musician Ben Branch, who was scheduled to perform that night at an event King was attending: "Ben, make sure you play "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty." Then, at 6:01 p.m., April 4, 1968, a shot rang out as King stood on the motel's second floor balcony. The bullet entered through his right cheek, smashing his jaw, then travelled down his spinal cord before lodging in his shoulder. After emergency chest surgery, King was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's Hospital at 7:05 p.m. According to biographer Taylor Branch, King's autopsy revealed that though only thirty-nine years old, he had the heart of a sixty-yearold man, perhaps a result of the stress of thirteen years in the civil rights movement. The assassination led to a nationwide wave of riots in Washington DC, Chicago, Baltimore and other cities. President Lyndon B. Johnson declared April 7 a national day of mourning for the civil rights leader. Vice-President Hubert Humphrey attended King's funeral on behalf of the President, as there were fears that Johnson's presence might incite protests and perhaps violence. Two months after King's death, escaped convict James Earl Ray was captured at London Heathrow Airport while trying to leave the United Kingdom on a false Canadian passport. Ray was quickly extradited to Tennessee and charged with King's murder. He confessed to the assassination. Ray was sentenced to a 99-year prison term. He claimed a man he met in Montreal, Quebec, with the alias "Raoul" was involved and that the assassination was the result of a conspiracy. There are many allegations of conspiracy. Those suspecting a conspiracy in the assassination point out the two separate ballistics tests recovered by police had neither conclusively proved Ray had been the killer nor that it had even been the murder weapon. Moreover, witnesses surrounding King at the moment of his death say the shot came from another location not from the rooming house window.

4.7. Legacy
King's main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States, which has enabled more Americans to reach their potential. He is frequently referenced as a human rights 19

icon today. On the international scene, King's legacy included influences on the Black Consciousness Movement and Civil Rights Movement in South Africa. King's wife, Coretta Scott King, followed her husband's footsteps and was active in matters of social justice and civil rights until her death in 2006. The same year that Martin Luther King was assassinated, she established the King Center in Atlanta, Georgia, dedicated to preserving his legacy and the work of nonviolent conflict resolution and tolerance worldwide. There is a national day which celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. on the third Monday of January each year, near the time of King's birthday. In 1971, King was posthumously awarded the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for his Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam In 1963 King was named Time Person of the Year and in 2000 King was elected third in the Greatest American contest conducted by the Discovery Channel and AOL. More than 730 cities in the United States have streets named after King. In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Martin Luther King, Jr. on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans. King spoke earlier about what people should remember him for if they are around for his funeral. He said rather than his awards and where he went to school, people should talk about how he fought peacefully for justice: I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to give his life serving others. I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day that I tried to be right and to walk with them. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. And I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity. Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major. Say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. [http://www.mlkonline.net/speeches-the-drum-major-instinct.html]

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Chapter V: Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 August 16, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly referred to by his first name, and as the "The King of Rock 'n' Roll" or "The King"

5.1. A difficult beginning

Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, to 18-year-old Vernon Elvis and 22-year-old Gladys Love Presley. He had an identical twin brother who died at birth. As an only child, Presley became close to both parents and formed an unusually tight bond with his mother. The family often relied on help from neighbors and government food assistance. In September 1941, Presley entered first grade at East Tupelo Consolidated, where his instructors regarded him as "average". Entering a new school, Milam, for sixth grade in September 1946, Presley was regarded as a loner but he started to like singing more. He would play and sing during lunchtime, and was often teased as a "trashy" kid who played hillbilly music. In November 1948, the family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. Enrolled at Humes High School, Presley received only a C in music in eighth grade. When his music teacher told him he had no aptitude for singing, he brought in his guitar the next day and sang a recent hit, "Keep Them Cold Icy Fingers Off Me", in an effort to prove otherwise. He was generally too shy to perform openly, and was occasionally bullied by classmates who viewed him as a "mama's boy". In 1950, he began practicing guitar regularly under the tutelage of a neighbor. Presley, who never received formal music training or learned to read music, studied and played by ear. By the time he graduated high school in June 1953, Presley had already singled out music as his future.

5.2. First live appearance

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Elvis appeared publicly for the first time on July 17 at the Bon Air club. At the end of the month, he and his band appeared at the Overton Park Shell and Elvis attitude and moves fascinated the crowds. From August through October, they played frequently at the Eagle's Nest club and returned to Sun Studio for more recording sessions. Presley quickly grew more confident on stage. Presley made what would be his only appearance on Nashville's Grand Ole Opry on October 2; after a polite audience response, Opry manager Jim Denny told Phillips that his singer was "not bad" but did not suit the program. Two weeks later, Presley was booked on Louisiana Hayride but he had another attack of nerves during the first set, which drew a muted reaction. Soon after the show, the Hayride engaged Presley for a year's worth of Saturday-night appearances and his trio began playing in new locales including Houston, Texas, and Texarkana, Arkansas. By early 1955, Presley's regular Hayride appearances, constant touring, and well-received record releases had made him a substantial regional star, from Tennessee to West Texas. After three major labels made offers of up to $25,000, Parker and Phillips struck a deal with RCA Victor on November 21 to acquire Presley's Sun contract for an unprecedented $40,000. Presley, at 20, was still a minor, so his father signed the contract.

5.3. Elvis debut album

RCA Victor released Presley's self-titled debut album on March 23. Joined by five previously unreleased Sun recordings, its seven recently recorded tracks were of a broad variety. There were two country songs and a bouncy pop tune. The others would centrally define the evolving sound of rock and roll and three R&B numbers that had been part of Presley's stage repertoire for some time mostly covers. It became the first rock and roll album to top the Billboard chart, a position it held for 10 weeks.

5.4. Appearances on TV
He recorded songs in the rock and roll genre, with tracks like "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock" later embodying the style. Presley had a versatile voice and had unusually wide success encompassing other genres, including gospel, blues, ballads and pop. To date, he has been inducted into four music halls of fame. Presley was booked for a July 1 appearance on NBC's Steve Allen Show in New York. Allens show with Presley had, for the first time, beaten CBS's Ed Sullivan Show in the ratings. Sullivan, despite his June pronouncement, booked the singer for three appearances for an 22

unprecedented $50,000. Presley's performance of his forthcoming single, the ballad "Love Me Tender", prompted a record-shattering million advance orders. More than any other single event, it was this first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show that made Presley a national celebrity of barely precedented proportions. Presley brought rock'n'roll into the mainstream of popular culture", writes historian Marty Jezer. "As Presley set the artistic pace, other artists followed. ... Presley, more than anyone else, gave the young a belief in themselves as a distinct and somehow unified generationthe first in America ever to feel the power of an integrated youth culture." Elvis, Presley's second album, was released in October and quickly rose to number one.

5.5. Movies and songs

Now, I will insist on Elviss movies because he made majority of his thirty-one movies mainly poorly reviewed, but financially successful, musicals. His first motion picture, Love Me Tender, was released on November 21. Four musical numbers were added to what was originally a straight acting role. The movie was panned by the critics but did very well at the box office. Each of the three Presley singles released in the first half of 1957 went to number one: "Too Much", "All Shook Up", and "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear". Already an international star, he was attracting fans even where his music was not officially released. Loving Youthe soundtrack to his second film, released in Julywas Presley's third straight number one album. Elvis' Christmas Album eventually became the best selling Christmas album of all time. A couple of weeks into the New Year, "Don't", another Leiber and Stoller tune, became Presley's tenth number one seller.

5.6. Military service and life after army

On March 24, Presley was inducted into the U.S. Army as a private at Fort Chaffee, near Fort Smith, Arkansas and he had become convinced his career was finished. His mother got ill and he was granted emergency leave to visit her, but two days later she died. Presley was devastated. After training at Fort Hood, Presley joined the 3rd Armored Division in Friedberg, Germany where he was introduced to amphetamines and also to karate, which he studied seriously, later including it in his live performances. While in Friedberg, Presley met 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu. They would eventually marry after a seven-and-a-half-year courtship.

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Presley returned to the United States on March 2, 1960, and was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant. He released his best-selling singles, the ballads "It's Now or Never" and "Are You Lonesome Tonight? Along with the rest of Elvis Is Back! G.I. Blues, the soundtrack to Presley's first film since his return, was a number one album. During a luncheon preceding the event, RCA presented him with a plaque certifying worldwide sales of over 75 million records. He performed on March 25, in Hawaii to raise money for a Pearl Harbor memorial and this concert was Presley's last public performance for seven years. During a five-year span1964 through 1968Presley had only one top ten hit: "Crying in the Chapel" (1965), a gospel number recorded back in 1960. Shortly before Christmas 1966, more than seven years since they first met, Presley proposed to Priscilla Beaulieu. They were married on May 1, 1967, in a brief ceremony in their suite at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas.

5.7. Comeback
Presley's only child, Lisa Marie, was born on February 1, 1968, during a period when he had grown deeply unhappy with his career. Of the eight Presley singles released between January 1967 and May 1968, only two charted in the top 40, and none higher than number 28. His forthcoming soundtrack album, Speedway, would die at number 82 on the Billboard chart. Recorded in late June, the Christmas special, called simply Elvis, aired on December 3, 1968. Later known as the '68 Comeback Special, the show featured lavishly staged studio productions as well as songs performed with a band in front of a small audiencePresley's first live performances since 1961. By January 1969, the single "If I Can Dream", written for the special, reached number 12. Further hit singles were culled from the American Sound sessions: "Suspicious Minds", "Don't Cry Daddy", and "Kentucky Rain". Presley held a concert in Las Vegas and the audience of 2,200, including many celebrities, gave him a standing ovation before he sang a note and another after his performance. A third followed his encore, "Can't Help Falling in Love". At a press conference after the show a journalist referred to him as "The King. The next day, Parker's negotiations with the hotel resulted in a five-year contract for Presley to play each February and August, at an annual salary of $1 million.

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Presley was by now performing in a jumpsuit, which would become a trademark of his live act. During this engagement, he was threatened with murder unless $50,000 was paid. Presley had been the target of many threats since the 1950s. His gospel album He Touched Me, released that month, would earn him his second Grammy Award, for Best Inspirational Performance.

5.8. Divorce, health problems and death

Presley and his wife, meanwhile, had become increasingly distant, barely cohabiting. The Presleys separated on February 23, 1972. Presley and his wife filed for divorce on August 18. In January 1973, Presley performed two benefit concerts for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund in connection with a groundbreaking TV special, Aloha from Hawaii. The first show served as a practice run and backup should technical problems affect the live broadcast two days later. Aired as scheduled on January 14, Aloha from Hawaii was the first global concert satellite broadcast, reaching approximately 1.5 billion viewers live and on tape delay. The accompanying double album, released in February, went to number one and eventually sold over 5 million copies in the United States. It proved to be Presley's last U.S. number one pop album during his lifetime. After his divorce he was becoming increasingly unwell. Twice during that year, he overdosed on barbiturates, spending three days in a coma in his hotel suite after the first incident. Despite his failing health, in 1974 he undertook another intensive touring schedule. Presley's condition declined precipitously in September. After a December 1973 session that produced 18 songs, enough for almost two albums, he did not enter the studio in 1974. Parker sold RCA on another concert record, Elvis: As Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis. "Way Down", Presley's last single issued during his lifetime, came out on June 6. His final concert was held in Indianapolis at the Market Square Arena, on June 26. The book Elvis: What Happened?, co-written by the three bodyguards fired the previous year, was published on August 1. It was the first expos to detail Presley's years of drug misuse. He was devastated by the book and tried unsuccessfully to halt its release by offering money to the publishers. By this point, he suffered from multiple ailmentsglaucoma, high blood pressure, liver damage, and an enlarged colon, each aggravated, and possibly caused, by drug abuse. Presley was scheduled to fly out of Memphis on the evening of August 16, 1977, to begin another tour. That afternoon, Alden discovered him unresponsive on his bathroom floor.

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Attempts to revive him failed, and death was officially pronounced at 3:30 pm at Baptist Memorial Hospital. Thousands of people gathered outside Graceland to view the open casket. Presley's funeral was held at Graceland, on Thursday, August 18.

5.9. Legacy
Presley has been inducted into four music halls of fame: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1986), the Country Music Hall of Fame (1998), the Gospel Music Hall of Fame (2001), and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame (2007). In 1984, he received the W. C. Handy Award from the Blues Foundation and the Academy of Country Music's first Golden Hat Award. In 1987, he received the American Music Awards' Award of Merit. In 2005, another three reissued singles, "Jailhouse Rock", "One Night"/"I Got Stung", and "It's Now or Never", went to number one in Great Britain. A total of 17 Presley singles were reissued during the yearall made the British top five. For the fifth straight year, Forbes named Presley the top-earning deceased celebrity, with a gross income of $45 millions 2009, he was ranked fourth. The following year, Viva Elvis: The Album was released, setting his voice to newly recorded instrumental tracks. President Jimmy Carter issued a statement that credited Presley with having "permanently changed the face of American popular culture": "His music and his personality, fusing the styles of white country and black rhythm and blues, permanently changed the face of American popular culture. His following was immense, and he was a symbol to people the world over of the vitality, rebelliousness, and good humor of his country." Presley's rise to national attention in 1956 transformed the field of popular music and had a huge effect on the broader scope of popular culture. As the catalyst for the cultural revolution that was rock and roll, he was central not only to defining it as a musical genre but in making it a touchstone of youth culture and rebellious attitude. Presley's name, image, and voice are instantly recognizable around the globe. In polls and surveys, he is recognized as one of the most important popular music artists and influential Americans. Greil Marcus wrote in his book Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music. Revised ed. E.P. Dutton; 1982 pp. 141-142 the next lines about Elvis, concluding that Presleys music changed the face of the world:

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Elvis Presley is a supreme figure in American life, one whose presence, no matter how banal or predictable, brooks no real comparisons. ... The cultural range of his music has expanded to the point where it includes not only the hits of the day, but also patriotic recitals, pure country gospel, and really dirty blues. ... Elvis has emerged as a great artist, a great rocker, a great purveyor of schlock, a great heart throb, a great bore, a great symbol of potency, a great ham, a great nice person, and, yes, a great American.

Conclusion

To conclude, in my paper I discussed about three emblematic American presidents Thomas Jefferson, John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama. Their mandates were in different periods; the first of them was a President in 1800, the second in 1961 and the latter is the current President of USA. I chose these particular three presidents because I find what they did for the world very significant. Jeffersons Declaration of Independence represents, from my point of view, the most important American document which attests that every person has the right to life, freedom and the pursuit of happiness. The second President, Kennedy was a unique President: the first Catholic President, the only President to have won a Pulitzer Prize, the second youngest President and the first President who has been born in the 20 th century. Moreover, everyone will remember his tragic death as a scar in Americas history. The last President I discussed is Barack Obama who is the first African American President of USA. By electing him, America changed dramatically and ended the racial discrimination. Obama will always remain as the first black President from the White House. More than that, I also presented the life of Martin Luther King Jr. who was one of America's most influential civil rights activists. His name stands for equality among every man, no matter what their colour is and for peace. King is my favourite personality because he never gave up his dream and managed to end the discrimination between blacks and whites. Of course, he paid a terrible price: he was assassinated but he became an icon. In the last chapter, I discussed about Elvis Presley. If someone hears his name it is impossible not to know who he was. His music changed the world forever and he turned into an icon most known as The King of Rock and Roll. He also had a tragic death but his name wont be forgotten. His tunes are listened by countless people and I can say I am one of them.

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Bibliography

Greil, Marcus. Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music, Revised ed. E.P. Dutton; 1982 pp. 141-142 King H, Richard. Civil Rights and the Idea of Freedom, New York: Oxford University Press, 1992, Chap. 4 "Martin Luther King and the Meanings of Freedom" and Chap. 5 "Martin Luther King: Authorship and Ideas"

http://www.mlkonline.net/speeches-the-drum-major-instinct.html http://www.mlkonline.net/promised.html] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obama http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_f_kennedy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_jefferson http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/freedom/doi/text.html http://www.biographyonline.net/thomas_jefferson/index.html http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/john_f_kennedy_2.html http://www.biographyonline.net/speeches/i-have-a-dream.html http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkivebeentothemountaintop.htm http://www.dailygood.org/pdf/ij.php?tid=193

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