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
12: Imperialism/World War I
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.
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?
The Influenza Epidemic of 1918
Primary document collection from the National Archives
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
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.”
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.
The First 9 Minutes of 1917 (in One Unbroken Shot) | Own now on Digital, 3/24 on Blu-ray & DVD - YouTube
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
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
How Teddy Roosevelt Became a Cowboy
Theodore Roosevelt
Companion site for American Experience documentary. Includes timeline and extra information of people and events in film
Theodore Roosevelt - American President
Summary information and links to more resources from the Miller Center of Public Affairs from the University of Virginia
Theodore Roosevelt Papers
The Theodore Roosevelt Papers from the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress constitute one of the Library's largest Presidential collections, numbering approximately 250,000 items. The collection includes diaries, letter books, general and special correspondence, speeches, executive orders, press releases, scrap books, and other papers dating from 1759 through 1919.
Improving Speech Openings | HistoryRewriter
Progressive/Imperialist "Ignite Talk" presentation lesson idea - a good one too
Who is the Historian in Your Classroom? | TED-Ed
7 minute video from Historymatters integrated with MC questions and lesson prompts. This video explains historical thinking to teachers & students and launches the types of discussion that start the school year - though need to be returned to over and over to ensure the improved practice of thinking skills remains the centerpiece of instruction, not simply transmission of content
Oxplore | Should you believe the history books?
Great way to start the school year and getting students to think about how history is made.
De Lôme Letter (1898)
This letter, written by the Spanish Ambassador to the United States, Enrique Dupuy de Lôme, criticized American President William McKinley by calling him weak and concerned only with gaining the favor of the crowd. Publication of the letter helped generate public support for a war with Spain over the issue of independence for the Spanish colony of Cuba.
William McKinley - American President
Summary information and links to more resources from the Miller Center of Public Affairs from the University of Virginia
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT: Dollar Diplomacy
William McKinley: The Acquisition of the Philippines
Official explanation by President McKinley
"Shameful Treachery": Hearst's Journal Blames Spain
"A Perfect Hailstorm of Bullets": A Black Sergeant Remembers the Battle of San Juan Hill in 1899
U.S. Imperialism and Expansion at the Turn of the 19th Century
Entire Unit (including lesson plans) organized in UbD format for 11th grade US History class. The content covers newly acquired U.S. territories, the Spanish-American War, changing U.S. foreign policy through Theodore Roosevelt and John Jay, as well as the historical debate of the time period: the growth of antiimperialists. The unit uses secondary and primary sources, cooperative learning methods, and an emphasis on vocabulary
Lesson 1: The Question of an American Empire | EDSITEment
This lesson will introduce the students to the challenges of American foreign policy in the late 19th century and specifically to the political debate over whether the United States should acquire further territory and/or become a European-style empire. With the help of primary source documents students will debate this issue to help them come to their own assessment of the idea of an American Empire.
Lesson 2: "To Elect Good Men": Woodrow Wilson and Latin America | EDSITEment
In this lesson, students will analyze Wilson's attempts to carry out this "missionary diplomacy" in Haiti and Mexico as well as the responses of selected Haitians and Mexicans.
Lesson 2: The Spanish-American War | EDSITEment
This lesson plan, through the use of primary sources and a WebQuest Interactive, will focus on the causes of the war and the political debate in the United States over the advisability of intervening militarily in the affairs of countries.
Lesson 3: The Matter of the Philippines | EDSITEment
In this lesson, students examines the controversy surrounding the Philippines as they read documents and participate in a role playing exercise that places them as advisors to the President.
"Or Does It Explode?"
from Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States"
War is the health of the state
from Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States"