AN EXAMINATION OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION DURING WORLD WAR I AND APPLICATION TO THE CURRENT STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN OF THE US GOV.pdf
A Notorious Photograph From a US Massacre in the Philippines Reveals an Ugly Truth
Babel Proclamation, May 1918 | State Historical Society of Iowa
Teachers who think it is funny to tell students about Frankfurters being replaced by "Hot Dogs" and Sauerkraut being replaced by "Liberty Cabbage" should look at this law from Iowa to see the reality of xenophobia in the United States in 1918. The Governor of Iowa proclaimed the only English should be spoken in public
Letter from Ida B. Wells to President Wilson
Would your students believe that the President of the United States wrote an order to black officers and soldiers to stay away from public places where their presence was resented? If you believe that - do you teach it? This letter from Ida B Wells might be the vehicle to do that
The White Man’s Burden – The Kipling Society
The Kipliing Society should be considered an authority on the writer's work - and even they refer to his poem as "one of the most often quoted and most regularly misunderstood poems in the canon" - Yet teachers keep using it and students keep getting confused - it is taught because it has been taught - no other reason
Free speech wasn't so free 103 years ago, when 'seditious' and 'unpatriotic' speech was criminalized in the US
It would be tough to find a more concise description of the Espionage and Sedition passed and enforced during World War I with connections across time. This teachers can use this to set context for a World War lesson on repression and dissent during the War
Hand book of the American Defense Society 1918
This 36 page handbook exposes an important element of the US homefront in World War I ignored by the taught narrative canon. Adding this to the homefront documents is vital for a valid understanding of the past. Put this along the tired old propaganda posters
U.S. Senate: "Free Speech in Wartime"
This description of Senator Robert La Follett's famous October 1917 speech defending the right of free speech in wartime includes a description of a fight in the Senate chamber in the spring of 1917. The fight involved a revolver, a spitoon and a steel file. Its impossible that a teacher can read this and tech through World War I the same again
Neighborhood Narcs: The Story of the American Protective League | The Saturday Evening Post
No textbook would have a section on World War I like like this - which is precisely why teachers should use it. This is an easy way to set students up for a lesson on the intolerance that swept the American public during World War I. First students read the essay, identify a thesis and itemize the evidence. Then, they go off and fact check the evidence.
Report of Minnesota Commission of Public Safety : Minnesota Commission of Public Safety : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Puerto Rico: A U.S. Territory in Crisis | Council on Foreign Relations
Student reading to end the Imperialsm unit - what do American have to know about the past to make sense of their present?
The First 9 Minutes of 1917 (in One Unbroken Shot) | Own now on Digital, 3/24 on Blu-ray & DVD - YouTube
Text 7 Reading, Topic: Empire, The Gilded and the Gritty: America, 1870-1912, Primary Resources in U.S. History and Literature, Toolbox Library, National Humanities Center
Teachers who insist on using the White Man's Burden should place it in the context of other voices at the time - this is a curated collection, each reduced to a readable 1 page a piece
1918 Pandemic (H1N1 virus) | Pandemic Influenza (Flu) | CDC
675,000 Americans died, in today's US, that's 1.75 million. Every student of US history should know this happened.
World War I and Disability | Emerging America
The lesson invites students to think about what life was like as a disabled veteran of WWI and to connect to background knowledge as well as personal experiences. The teacher will provide historical information and guide the class in a read-aloud from the perspective of a soldier wounded and recuperating in Italy from Ernest Hemingway’s “In Another Country.”
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN – TEACH WITH MOVIES
This provides teachers with some background information and tips specific to using the first 29 minutes of the film to show the landing on Omaha beach. Be sure to follow the links at the bottom of the page for more support and perspectives on the film
Awake! America. Object lessons and warnings : Hornaday, William T. (William Temple),1918
This book is an example of racism and anti-German sentiment in the United States in 1918. Could be used by teachers for DBQs, quotes or just a "Do Now" where students try to find good quotes themselves. Give students five minutes and this book, just to skim around and share quotes with the rest of the class as an introduction to a lesson
The Influenza Epidemic of 1918
Primary document collection from the National Archives
Yellow Journalism: The "Fake News" of the 19th Century – The Public Domain Review
The Genesis of the 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic
Why German spies blew up this US island - VOX History Videos
The Black Tom explosion is explained in this 8 minute video which also places the event in context and provides background on the war itself. It would be interesting to see if students should fact check the video - maybe the authors took a little too much information from only USA sources, which could have been shaped to develop more anti-German spirit - maybe not. What do they think? What could they find?
Official bulletin / Committee on Public Information. :
All 1,300+ pages of the official publication of the Committee on Public Information can be found here. Students can search for relatives names, which may appear here. Searching terms can bring other interesting and unexpected findings about the war. Search "Mitchell Palmer" or "Alien Property" to find records of the seizure of businesses, inventory and assets of people deemed to be alien.
US Entry Into WW1 - YouTube
12 minute video that gives context to a lesson a primary document lesson about America's entry into the way
German WWI veteran describes killing a French corporal during a bayonet charge and articulates his view on war as a whole : CombatFootage
This 5 minute video a German veteran recounting his bayoneting of a French Corporal in World War I is riveting. It would fit well with Wilfred Own poetry or "All Quiet" excerpts, exploring what it was like for soldiers to kill each other up close. This should also be included with explanations of the new technology of warfare. It's an effective tool to communicate the personal impact of the war without being graphic
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Why Teddy Roosevelt Tried to Bully His Way Onto the WWI Battlefield
Most students encounter Teddy Roosevelt's military bravado in the Spanish American War because the taught narrative canon stresses it. "Rough Riders" and "This country needs a war" can be found on many worksheets and standardized tests. This article describes his efforts to raise, organize and lead a force into battle at the start of American involvement in World War I. For teachers, this is a lite read that broadens understanding of TR, for students, it can show how many political leaders beyond the president are involved in foreign policy. They'll notice the way in which TR communicates with and uses Congress to pass legislation for him.
Tribal Headhunters on Coney Island? Author Revisits Disturbing American Tale
Oxplore | Should you believe the history books?
Great way to start the school year and getting students to think about how history is made.
Improving Speech Openings | HistoryRewriter
Progressive/Imperialist "Ignite Talk" presentation lesson idea - a good one too
WWI Home Front: Manipulating Minds: The War Propaganda Machine
MIT Visualizing Cultures - Civilization and Barbarism, Cartoon Commentary and the White Man's Burden
"Western expansionism and the narrative of bringing “civilization” to the “barbarians” was a popular subject in political cartoons in the late-19th century. Fueled by trade and economic incentives, the civilizing mission was carried out in brief, bloody wars that were, the graphics show, deeply controversial. The sources for this unit are political cartoons (1898 to 1902) from illustrated magazines published in New York City—including Judge, Puck, Harper’s Weekly, and Life—and French and German cartoons."