Lesson Plan World War I, African American Soldiers, and America’s War for Democracy 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Click to download this lesson plan.
Spotlight on: Primary Source "Food Will Win the War," 1917 Economics, World History When most people think of wartime food rationing, they often think of World War II. However, civilians were encouraged to do their part for the war effort during World War I as well. This colorful poster by artist Charles E. Chambers...
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...
Lesson Plan Americans All: Foreign-born Soldiers and World War I 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Click to download this three-lesson unit.
Lesson Plan American Women and World War I 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Click to download this three-lesson unit :
Lesson Plan The Soldier's Experience: Letters from Four American Wars 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Click to download this four-lesson unit.
Spotlight on: Primary Source Diary of World War I nurse Ella Osborn, 1918–1919 World History 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 At the outbreak of World War I, Ella Jane Osborn was a surgical nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. In January 1918, she volunteered to serve with the American Expeditionary Forces as a member of the Red Cross’s nursing...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Rules for discharging disabled veterans, 1919 Government and Civics When World War I ended in 1918 more than 4.6 million men returned to the United States from war. The American people and the US government were unprepared to reintegrate and care for the men who returned with physical injuries and...
Spotlight on: Primary Source American Indians' service in World War I, 1920 Science, Technology, Engineering and Math 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 More than 11,000 American Indians served with the American forces during World War I. Nearly 5,000 Native men enlisted and approximately 6,500 were drafted—despite the fact that almost half of American Indians were not citizens and...
Lesson Plan War, Immigration Policies, and Dissent: Landmark Moments in Latina/o History 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Click here to download this three-lesson unit.
Spotlight on: Primary Source World War I poems: “In Flanders Fields” and “The Answer,” 1918 Literature, World History Ella Osborn’s 1918 diary provides insight into the experiences of an American nurse serving in France at the end of World War I. In addition to her notes about the men under her care and events in France, Osborn jotted down two...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Theodore Roosevelt on the sinking of the Lusitania, 1915 On May 7, 1915, the British passenger ship Lusitania , sailing from New York to Liverpool, was torpedoed by a German U-boat. The Lusitania sank, killing 1,195 people on board, including 123 Americans. The incident created sharp...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Recruiting posters for African American soldiers, 1918 Government and Civics These two World War I recruiting posters aim to encourage African Americans to enlist. In the first poster, “Colored Man Is No Slacker,” a black soldier takes his leave against a background of African American patriotism, self...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Treaty of Versailles and President Wilson, 1919 and 1921 Government and Civics, World History The Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I, was drafted at the Paris Peace Conference in the spring of 1919 and shaped by the Big Four powers—Great Britain, France, Italy, and the United States. This souvenir copy of the Paris...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Creating the Air Force, 1924 In this July 1924 letter to aviation pioneer and publisher Lester D. Gardner, Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell prophesied the coming tide of Japanese militarism. Concerned about Japan’s growing military power in the skies,...
Lesson Plan The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine Government and Civics, Literature, World History 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Unit Objective This unit is part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core State Standards–based teaching resources. These units were written to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical...