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 The origins of FDR’s New Deal, 1932 Economics, Government and Civics When the nation fell into the Great Depression following the stock market crash of 1929, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was serving as New York’s governor and was responsible for shaping the state’s response to the crisis. The origins of...
Lesson Plan The Preamble to the US Constitution, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the Declaration of Independence Government and Civics K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Unit Objective This unit is part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core State Standards–based teaching resources. These units were developed to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical...
Spotlight on: Primary Source "Reelect Roosevelt—Friend of Labor," 1936 Economics, Government and Civics This Democratic Party campaign poster from 1936 outlines some of the agencies and regulations Franklin Roosevelt put in place to try to solve the most urgent problems of the Great Depression. While it reminds laborers of how they have...
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 Civilian defense on the home front, 1942 Art, Government and Civics In the early days of World War II, air raids and other attacks on populated areas in Europe generated fears that similar attacks could happen in the United States. On May 20, 1941, more than six months before the United States entered...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Campaigning against Franklin Roosevelt’s third term, 1940 Government and Civics Franklin Roosevelt’s run in 1940 for a third consecutive term as president was unprecedented. George Washington established a two-term tradition when he declined to run for a third term in 1796, and until 1940, no other president...
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...