Rationale

Before the year of 2005, the United States was in a desperate state of fear, panic, and hope for change. The six events that I chose for my historical textbook conveyed a similar continuing message, as some of the events were frightening while some were inspirational. In addition, these six events affected people all over the country, not just in one area where the event took place, and all six of these events’ stories were nationally known. Lance Armstrong’s amazing story shed light on cancer patients while touching the lives of millions of other people who were amazed of how hard the cyclist fought for his life. It instilled an appreciation for life and health into many people’s hearts, and this is something that everyone can relate to. //Discovery//’s safe landing also implanted feelings of joy, hope, and faith for not only scientists, but other people looking for something miraculous to believe in. The nation was terrified with //Columbia//’s destruction, and pessimism was pervading the country regarding space exploration, but //Discovery// made it possible to once again be optimistic. Then, Hurricane Katrina was one of the most talked about catastrophic events in the history of the United States. Its momentous impact on the people living in New Orleans also affected the lives of millions across the country who were heartbroken and wanting to contribute to its reconstruction. A sense of unity could be seen all over the country, and everyone’s wanting to help out one city was emotive.

Michael Phelps had another remarkable tale, and because of his great success at such a young age, he appealed to the younger crowd more than the older crowd. Nevertheless, his rousing drive made it possible for people to believe that good things come out of hard work and perseverance, which is what the country needed in the year of 2008. Also in the year of 2008, the first African-American president was elected. One of the most life-changing events that will go down in history and be taught to kids a hundred years from now, many Americans believed that this change would bring about wonderful things to come. Last, I chose to mention the H1N1 virus because it was a major conflict that Barack Obama had to face, in addition to it being one the most shocking, terrifying viruses to infect the country since the 1960’s. All six of these events affected the country as a whole and forced the people of the United States to come together in high hopes of bettering the country and improving the lives of those who were struggling.  There were several events that I gave thought about including but did not feel the obligation to incorporate. I did not include the Virginia Tech massacre of 2007 because—not to say that it was not as significant—but it did not go as well with the theme I was aiming to depict. Though it was astonishment to many, it did not seem to unite the country as much as the events that I chose. I also left out Nancy Pelosi    becoming the first female speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives because it was not as nationally known as the other events, and I had to make some cuts, for I could not include every event of importance. Last, I did not separate the stock market crash to give it its own subtopic because, although it was extremely important to people all over the country, it was mentioned in the “Election of 2008” section. The bad economy state, including this global financial crisis, was one of the factors leading to Obama’s election due to his effective economical ideas. I had reasoning for choosing the six events that I did, as well as leaving out events that I did not feel fit as well with the rest of the events.

The images that I selected captured the main concepts of the events that I chose, in addition to facilitating the reader in being able to grasp a visual idea of the occurrence. I chose newspapers, interviews, and polls as primary sources because all of these sources provide insight from different inviduals of the specific time period. Newspapers, interviews, and polls are incorprate truth and realness into the descriptions of the events, making them more genuine and straightforward. The supporting detail used to describe and elaborate on the events was concise and brief to merely portray the main ideas of each event while adding some insight and feeling as well.