Lesson Plan World War II Posters and Propaganda Art, Government and Civics Click here to download this four-lesson unit.
Lesson Plan National Security, Isolationism, and the Coming of World War II Government and Civics 11, 12, 13+ Unit Overview The two decades following the end of "The Great War" witnessed significant changes in American economic, social, and cultural life. The affluence and optimism of the 1920s were tempered by memories of the war and an...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Franklin Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor Policy, 1936 World History On August 14, 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke at length on the state of international affairs in an address delivered at Chautauqua, New York. Roosevelt’s speech focused on maintaining peace in the face of increasing...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Preventing labor discrimination during World War II, 1942 Economics, Government and Civics In early 1942, as men of working age enlisted in the military and war production accelerated, US industries experienced a labor shortage. President Roosevelt established the War Manpower Commission "to assure the most effective...
Spotlight on: Primary Source A World War II poster: "Starve the Squander Bug," 1943 Art, Government and Civics, World History 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Before he became world-renowned as Dr. Seuss for his children’s books and illustrations, Theodor Geisel worked for the US government during World War II designing posters such as this one, encouraging patriotism and investment. The...
Spotlight on: Primary Source A soldier on the battle for the Philippines, 1945 Geography Witnessing the brutality of war and atrocities against civilians could overwhelm the most fair-minded of men. Sidney Diamond, an officer in the 82nd Chemical Battalion, wrote loving, humorous, and hopeful letters to his fiancée almost...
Essay Anti-Communism in the 1950s Wendy Wall In 1950, fewer than 50,000 Americans out of a total US population of 150 million were members of the Communist Party. Yet in the late 1940s and early 1950s, American fears of internal communist subversion reached a nearly hysterical...
Video: Inside The Vault Inside the Vault: Pearl Harbor World History 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Originally broadcast on December 3, 2020, this session of Inside the Vault: Highlights from the Gilder Lehrman Collection explores Gilder Lehrman Collection materials relating to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7,...
Video Grand Expectations: The United States, 1945–1974 Art, Economics, Government and Civics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, World History