Sophia MokhtarianMr. HerbstAP World History, Period 317 April 2014Unit 6: OlympicsSince 776 BC, the Olympics have been a way for people of different cultures to meet and compete in friendly competition. In 1892 the first modern Olympics were held in Athens, although over a thousand years had passed since the last match, they still brought together an assortment of different religions and ethnic groups. Many factors that shape the Olympic Games reflect the changes that have taken place in our world since the last game in 393 AD in Greece, such changes include women's suffrage, the global economy, world wars and the demonstration of competence. From 1892 to 2002 women have proven to be very powerful whether it's something small like getting the right to divorce or something big like the right to vote and equal professional opportunities, women have shown they are willing to do anything to gain equal rights and have prospered as a result (Documents No. 2, No. 8). An anonymous photographer (Document #2) captures an image of one of the 2% of female athletes at the 1908 Olympic Games held in Great Britain, Sybil Newall. The photographer shows that one factor that stopped the Olympics was the granting of new rights for women and new opportunities for them to rise socially and participate in the modern Olympic Games. The photographer demonstrates this because during this period in Western Europe women gained the ability to represent their country or nation on a new level, similar to what happened with women's suffrage. Hassiba Boulmerka (Doc No. 8), an Algerian competitor in the 1992 Olympics held in Spain, believes her victories give her confidence and represents women who aspire to become athletes and need to be in the middle of the paper to achieve that. .....n countries. This influenced the games by shaping how people viewed the games and the peace they would bring. An information guide provided to members of the press uses a similar ideal (Doc No. 6): The Soviet Union had a bad reputation because it was communist and was despised. The Olympic organizing committee wanted the Soviet Union to appear as if it were peaceful and democratic as propaganda. Ali Kabir (Document No. 10), a sports writer for the Internet edition of Pakistan's English-language newspaper, addresses the feeling a newly created nation might have in proving to the world that it is as competent as the nation that gained its independence from. A good additional document would be a poster for the Olympics. This would be helpful because it would promote the Olympics which seeks to create unity and peace among all nations.