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United States Entry into World War II_LP5


John Martin


United States Entry Into WWII_Martin


Students will evaluate local newspaper articles concerning the community’s preparedness efforts after the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941.  This lesson will allow them to see what changes took place in their city in the aftermath of the sneak attack on our military bases and the beginning of World War II.


Copies of the following articles:

1.“Selective Service to Affect Sports,” LaGrange Daily News.  Wednesday, December 24, 1941, Page 5.  (Used by permission from LaGrange Daily News.)     

2.“Draft Boards Get Reports,” LaGrange Daily News.  Friday, December 19, 1941, Page 2. (Used by permission from LaGrange Daily News.)          

3.“Troup County Told To Send Many Men As Possible Soon,”LaGrange Daily News. Friday, December 19, 1941, Page 2.   (Used by permission from LaGrange Daily News.)        

4.“LaGrange Young Men Being Urged To Join Marines,” LaGrange Daily News.  Friday, December 19, 1941, Page 2.   (Used by permission from LaGrange Daily News.)        

5.Public Service Announcement.  LaGrange Daily News. Friday, December 19, 1941, Page 1.  (Used by permission from LaGrange Daily News.)        

6.“LaGrange Youth Writes Parents He is OK, ”LaGrange Daily News.  Monday, December 22, 1941, Page 1.    (Used by permission from LaGrange Daily News.)      

7. “What To Do In an Air Raid,” LaGrange Daily News. Monday, December 15, 1941, Page 6.  (Used by permission from LaGrange Daily News.)     

8. “Setting The Pattern For Victory” editorial, LaGrange Daily News.  Monday, December 15, 1941, Page 4.     (Used by permission from LaGrange Daily News.)     

9. “All Available One-A Men Will Be Called Soon,” LaGrange Daily News. Wednesday, December 10, 1941, Pages 1 and 8.    (Used by permission from LaGrange Daily News.)      

10. “Mr. and Mrs. LaGrange and Young People Ages 15 to 25, ” LaGrange Daily News, January 3, 1942, Page 2.   (Used by permission from LaGrange Daily News.)       

11. “Now that America is at War,” LaGrange Daily News.  Saturday, December 20, 1941, Page 4.   (Used by permission from LaGrange Daily News.)         

12. “City Guarding Against Threat Sabotage Here,” LaGrange Daily News. Tuesday, December 9, 1941, Page 1. (Used by permission from LaGrange Daily News.)     


Sixty minutes


5


How did early involvement in World War II affect the citizens of LaGrange?


Ask students to respond to the following:

How did Americans respond to the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001?

How did it change their daily lives?

 

 

 


(Day before this lesson, tell students to informally interview their parents, grandparents, neighbors, etc. who might either know first-hand or have heard from family members about Pearl Harbor and its effect on the citizens of LaGrange.)

Ask students to prepare to share any information that they gathered on the local perception and effect of Pearl Harbor on their daily lives. 

(By reading local articles students should be able to learn more about what the citizens of LaGrange, Ga did in preparedness for war in the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack.)


  1. Have students form groups of two or three.  Distribute the primary source articles from the LaGrange Daily News.  The teacher may choose to group some of the shorter articles to balance out assignments.
  2. Complete the Read, Write, Share Activity.  This activity allows for each student to explore print media articles, to record their reflections of important facts, and then to share those with the class after reading and writing about their findings.
  3. Ask students to bring in any albums, letters, or interviews with grandparents or great-grandparents who participated in World War II.  (Ask students to consider location, jobs, fears, achievements, etc. when conducting interviews.)


At the end of class record the ten most interesting or most important facts that you learned about how LaGrange changed after the Pearl Harbor attack.


Other:

Suggestions for Further Reading 

Armstrong, David, “Pearl Harbor!  An Eyewitness Account,” American History Illustrated, August, 1974, Volume IX, Number 5, Gettysburg, PA, National History Society, Pages 4-11, 41-48.

 

Beach, Edward L., “The Biggest Theater,” Battles and Leaders 1995, Forbes, Inc., Pages 44-53.

 

Gunston, Bill, The Illustrated Directory of Fighting Aircraft of World War II, London, Salamander Books Limited, 2001.

 

Kennedy, David, Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945, New York, Oxford University Press, 1999.

 

Lukcas, John, “The Transatlantic Duel: Hitler vs. Roosevelt,” Battles and Leaders 1995, Forbes, Inc., Pages 38-43.

 

Pearson/Prentice Hall, Honoring The American Past: The Stories of America’s World War II Veterans, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Pearson Education.

 

Sommer, Anthony, “Billy Mitchell: Aviation’s Prophet,” American History Illustrated, December, 1974, Volume IX, Number 8, Gettysburg, PA, National History Society, Pages 32-43.

 

Tanaka, Shelley, Attack On Pearl Harbor, New York, Hyperion Books For Children, 2001.

 

Time-Life Books, An Illustrated History of World War II, Alexandria , Virginia, Time-Life Books, 2001.

 

Wheeler, Keith, The Road to Tokyo, Alexandria, Virginia, Time-Life Books, 1979.

 

                                                        WEB RESOURCES

Students can sharpen their research skills by formulating questions about World War II, which they then answer by seeking and compiling statistical data. Teachers can, for example, direct students to gather information from the following World Wide Web sites, which are a sampling of the many that include statistical data on World War II. 

HYPERWAR: HYPERTEXT HISTORY OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR. This site includes data about all aspects of World War II, including military campaigns, personnel, and command structures of the armed forces, in all theaters of operations in World War II. www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/index.html

THE HISTORY PLACE: STATISTICS OF WORLD WAR II. This section of The History Place Web site provides a variety of data about military forces and operations of World War II, such as total deaths for the war in Europe and the Pacific. It also includes information on African Americans and other minorities in the armed forces. www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/statistics.htm 

NATIONAL D-DAY MUSEUM. This site provides statistical data and related information about the D-Day invasion of Europe by Allied forces on June 6, 1944. www.ddaymuseum.org

HISTORY CHANNEL ON WORLD WAR II. This Web site, which is associated with the History Channel cable television network, provides data on all aspects of World War II. www.historychannel.com/wwii/ 

WORLD WAR II CASUALTIES. This page, part of the Navy Historical Center Web site maintained by the Department of the Navy, provides comprehensive statistical information on U.S. Navy and Marine Corps casualties in World War II. www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq11 1.html

ARMY WOMEN'S MUSEUM WAAC/WAC WORLD WAR II STATISTICS. This site features various statistics on both the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) and the Women's Army Corps (WAC), which replaced the WAAC in 1943. www.awm.lee.army.mil 

WORLD WAR II: INFORMATION AND STATISTICS ON THE GERMAN ARMED FORCES. Statistics and other information about the German armed forces and comparative data about the armed forces, war costs, and military losses of all countries in the war are available here. www.violentpeace.com/


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