How Did Jesse Owens Impact The American Dream

“Although I wasn’t invited to shake hands with Hitler, I wasn’t invited to the White House to shake hands with the President either.” - Jesse Owens. Jesse Owens was an African American athlete that won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics at Berlin during the Nazi regime. The 1936 Olympics was quite controversial because of the Nazi’s and their policies for minority groups like the Jews. It was so controversial that the United states nearly pulled out of the international spectacle. Germany wanted to use the Olympics to showcase their country. But Jesse Owens took much of the attention away due to his athletic display. Even with his legendary performance in Berlin, it didn’t change much of his status in the US as a black man. In the

Owens not only had to deal with how to get hired, but now had to deal with moving up north and also getting enrolled in school. When his family moved to the north, many other negro families were too, this time was known as the Great Migration (“Jesse Owens”). Owens' life had just taken a drastic turn, but Jesse would not let that get to him. His new neighborhood was very racially diverse and his side of town was also very unstable economically. Owens did not let any of this affect him and he pushed on and began his education. He was finally enrolled in school where he learned to read and write (“Jesse Owens”). He greatly enjoyed learning and wanted to learn all he could. He did not start off as the smartest in his class, but slowly worked his way there. School is also where he got the name Jesse. He was originally born James Cleveland Owens and he went by his initials J.C. and a teacher mispronounced his name as Jesse and it stuck with him (“Jesse Owens”). Shows how he is slowly becoming a different person since he is now beginning to get an education and focusing on other things besides just helping his family. School was not easy for an African American though. He did struggle and got angry a lot because he knew he could be learning a lot more, but his teachers were not giving him as much information as he wanted. He persevered through elementary school and went on to junior high and then high

World War II had just ended. Women that were working because their husbands were out fighting in the war came back home when the war ended. The 1940’s ended and it was time for a new decade. The 1950’s were looked as a state of mind or a way of living instead of another time in American history. The 1950’s were the most influential decade in American history because the civil rights act began, fashion was completely new and trendy there were more much advancement in entertainment and medicine, and suburban life was much more functional than any other decade in America.

During the 1930s women is not treated equal with men and they are very different with each other. The amount of women actually getting jobs are less likely to men getting jobs. Fashion is also very different, women are in plain dresses while men are in blue denim jackets. Women during the Great Depression are actually depressed because they can not get jobs and their wages are half as as much as men. Men gets good jobs and amazing wages but at least both still got their fashion.

The Nineteen Twenties were an alluring, yet laborious, time for The United States as the country faced the Roaring Twenties, Great Depression and New Deal. Before the Great Depression, the United States have been a time of prosperity and originality. Products were affordable and Americans were living comfortably. Once Nineteen Twenty Nine arrived, the stock market had crashed, unemployment was at a new high, and millions of citizens were losing great deals of money. Fortunately, the New Deal, created by Franklin D. Roosevelt, was a solution to the poverty and distress of the nation. Relief, Recovery, and Reforms, the three aspects of the New Deal, gave Americans a resolution to the hardships of the Great Depression. The roaring Twenties,

The nineteen-twenties and nineteen-thirties were times of great change in the United States. The country reached its highest mark, as well as its lowest. This era reflects human nature while undergoing changes. Times of trouble define who we are. When facing a battle, there are two options. Give up, or fight. The twenties and thirties proved that those who fight are the ones that succeed.

The 1920’s was a decade of discovery for America. As mentioned in “who was roaring in the twenties? —Origins of the great depression,” by Robert S. McElvaine America suffered with the great depression due to several factors but it managed to stay prosperous at the end. In “America society and culture in the 1920’s,” by David A. Shannon there was much more to the great depression. It was a time of prosperity an economic change. Women and men were discovering who they were and their value to society in “The Revolution in Morals,” by Gilman M. Ostrander. Even if Racism still existed as mentioned in “ The Tribal Twenties,” by John Higham, the 1920’s still was time of change that affects people today.

The 1940's brought innovative opportunities along with hardships to American society. After the Depression it looked as though there was no hope for the

The 1920s and 1930s were interesting years for education. The 1920s sparked a new time in the United States history. World War I had just ended and prohibition had begun. In addition, there were social changes coming about, such as the roaring twenties. It is interesting that the roaring twenties took place because at the same time, the 18th amendment had been passed, officially outlawing the sale, transport, and consumption of alcohol. Women also gained the right to vote with the passing of the 19th amendment. When the 1930s hit, the great depression impacted millions of Americans. Up until the beginning of WWII, unemployment rates were high in the country, and there were not relief programs until FDR took office.

There were many social aspects in the 1930’s. Racism and women's rights were a huge part of this. There were laws made dso blacks could not do things, there were trials held by whites towards blacks, and the KKK. During the 1930’s women were only involved while men were at war. Then all of that started to change women started to take initiative.

The 1936 Olympic games took place in Berlin, Germany, when Jesse Owens was twenty-two. At that time, Adolf Hitler was the ruler of Germany. Hitler believed that the German or “Aryan” race was superior to all others and he intended to prove it in the Olympics. He did not approve of the Americans having black or Jewish athletes. The Olympics began on August 1, 1936.(Raatma 23) The first event that Jesse Owens competed in was the 100 yard dash on August 3. He finished first in ten point three-seconds, winning his first gold medal, which tied an Olympic world record

In the 1930s, women in American society were not given the opportunity to thrive as much as they were capable of doing. Women were put in difficult situations that undermined their capability to doing certain tasks and were contained to being put in a home where they were expected to clean,cook and take care of their family. The women that did work, however, experienced poor working conditions where they had to work long hours in an unsafe working environment with very low pay. During this time, women were also experimenting with their sexuality. Women did not feel the desire to be with a man and chose to be single at this time and used it to find spiritual, emotional and occasionally even sexual fulfillment with other women. Women were still

Jesse Owens is influential because, he is the best example of the “American Dream.” Jesse Owens was “The son of a sharecropper and the grandson of slaves. Citation1” So Owens started at the very bottom. It shows that no matter how low you may be there is always a way up with the American Dream. As “A frail child, Owens was often sick from his battles with chronic

Few athletes have transcended their sports to become a symbol of an era as did Jesse Owens. Enduring a childhood marked by grinding poverty in Alabama, Owens became a star athlete in high school after his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. His achievements earned Owens several lucrative offers to attend college as a track-and-field athlete, and he enrolled at Ohio State University in 1933. On May 25, 1935, Owens made national headlines for setting five world records and tying another record at the Big Ten Intercollegiate Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Although many historians consider Owens's performance that day the greatest achievement by any track-and-field athlete

The Olympics, an event where the most physically fit push themselves to the extreme to win against other nations. In 1936, Adolph Hitler and the Nazis held the Olympics in Berlin, Germany. American athletes had a hard time deciding if they should travel to Berlin and take part in the Nazi Olympics. The Berlin Olympics was a personal issue for the American team, which included Jesse Owens. He wasn't sure that he should join the team because of the views that were expressed by the Nazis. Despite this, he had a lot to show the world.