Up Front and Coming Home: Bill Mauldin’s America in War and Peace, 1943–1947

“The real war,” said Walt Whitman about the Civil War, “will never get in the books.” During World War II, the most authentic view Americans on the home front got of the “real war” came through weekly cartoons by Bill Mauldin and daily dispatches by Ernie Pyle.

Over the course of five days the students will analyze primary sources in the form of political cartoons, a journalistic dispatch, excerpts from Bill Mauldin’s books, women’s magazine articles, and print advertisements. These documents reflect the tension between optimism and pessimism, confidence and cynicism, realism and idealism evident in the coverage of the war. Students will closely analyze the primary sources in order to not only understand their literal meaning but also infer the more subtle messages. They will use textual and visual evidence to draw conclusions and present arguments as directed in each lesson.

Full Unit: Up Front and Coming Home

Lesson One: Up Front

Lesson Two: Coming Home

Up Front and Coming Home: Bill Mauldin’s America in War and Peace, 1943–1947 was created as educational resources to support the Drawn to Combat: Bill Mauldin & the Art of War exhibition at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library. Drawn to Combat: Bill Mauldin and the Art of War features nearly 150 of the Pulitzer Prize–winning cartoonist’s framed original drawings and published cartoons as well as personal material from Bill Mauldin’s exceptional career.

These lesson plans were developed with support from the Pritzker Military Foundation, in recognition of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library. For additional educational resources on Bill Mauldin and/or other military topics, please contact the Pritzker Military Museum & Library at education@pritzkermilitary.org.