Impact of World War II on American Homeland: Analyzing Letters

This lesson is designed to lead students through an exploration of three areas of change caused primarily by the American involvement in World War II. Once students understand the attack on Pearl Harbor, they can begin this study. The lesson is divided into three parts that can be assigned to three separate groups. If this doesn’t actively engage enough students, smaller groups can be formed and several can work independently on the same topic. The topics are introduced through personal letters written by a black man named Milt, a Japanese-American teenager named Amie Rae and a white housewife named Elizabeth. All three letters suggest changes and areas of research. The students are encouraged to pick every detail out of the letter, find the information behind those details and then dramatically read and report to the class. The accompanying documents from the early 1940s can help students explain the information in the letters. Their evaluations should be in the form of an essay.

Standards
Social Studies
Grade 10

History, Benchmark F
The United States in the 20th Century
11. Analyze the impact of U.S. participation in World War II with emphasis on:

a. Events on the home front to support the war effort, including industrial mobilization, women and minorities in the workforce.

b. The internment of Japanese-Americans.

Procedures

1. Divide the class into three major groups.

2. Give each group a letter to read and dissect, and the documents that accompany it. Explain that students are to prepare a dramatic reading of their letter for the class with individual “experts” who will be able to fill in the details of each aspect of the letter.

3. Allow work time and support. Constantly remind students that they are searching for facts about what happened in America during the era when that letter was written. Groups should be encouraged to research these topics:

• Milt’s letter: Dorie Miller; Tuskegee Airmen; segregated battalions; what became of the Works Progress Administration, Civilian Conservation Corps and other New Deal programs; openings in employment and how they closed after the war; the Redstone Arsenal; Joe Lewis; how Howard “Stretch” Johnson was active in helping blacks get their due money and voting abilities after service; how the nation worried about letting war information slip

• Amie Rae’s letter: the different internment camps and their structure and environment; Executive Orders 9066 and 9102; the reaction of the Japanese American Citizens League; how America handled its other “enemy” races living in the nation; the 442nd Combat Team; how the camps actually advanced the lives of Japanese wives; how properties were destroyed; how reintroduction was handled; the official apology

• Elizabeth’s letter: changes in fashion due to material shortages; how the radio, music and movies were used for propaganda; women taking jobs in factories and production lines; rationing and shortages; victory gardens; war bonds; the working women pictured on posters and how today’s woman would find them insulting; what happened to these workers when the men came home from war; Rosie the Riveter; changes in the government’s standards about allowing blacks, women and children into the labor force

4. Have classes present the information and letters for each other. Encourage note-taking for the essay.

5. Assign evaluation essay.

Materials

• Historical documents

• Research resources including the textbook, supplementary materials and the Internet.

• Essay booklets for evaluation writing

Resources

Milt’s Letter:

Tuskegee Airmen http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/prewwii/ta.htm

Tuskegee Airmen of WWII http://history.acusd.edu/gen/WW2Timeline/Tuskegee.html

Successes and Failures of the “New Deal” Programs http://www.bergen.org/AAST/Projects/depression/successes.html

The Great Depression and the New Deal http://www.bergen.org/AAST/Projects/depression/

Women at War: Redstone's WWII Female “Production Soldiers” http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/women/welcome.html

Amie Ray’s Letter

Japanese-American Internment Camps in WWII — picture galleries http://www.lib.utah.edu/spc/photo/9066/9066.htm

Children of the Camps http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/

Japanese Relocation Centers http://www.infoplease.com/spot/internment1.html

Internment Camps in America http://www.teacheroz.com/Japanese_Internment.htm

World War Two: Japanese Internment Camps in the USA http://www.teacheroz.com/Japanese_Internment.htm

Elizabeth’s Letter

Women at War: Redstone's WWII Female "Production Soldiers" http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/women/welcome.html

American Cultural History 1940-1949 http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decade40.html

Evaluation

Writing Rubric