Points out the importance of the Tarawa landing in the Gilbert Islands during World War II, and recommends teaching about the event. Provides detailed analysis of the November 21-24, 1943, amphibious assault by U.S. Marines. Examines the rationale for the location, timing, and type of attack. Identifies key personnel. Includes intelligence map of…

Presents a lesson plan using original documents of the wartime correspondence between President Franklin Roosevelt and baseball commissioner Kenesaw Landis. Explores the status of baseball during World War II to determine the importance of sports in U.S. culture. Includes background information and copies of the correspondence. (DK)

Discusses a process used for teaching about the Japanese relocation camps of World War II. Suggests methods for helping students to understand the events being studied: (1) link the event to students' lives; (2) provide background for understanding; (3) analyze the event; and (4) apply the concept-transfer. Includes a letter as a primary source…

Discusses racism, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and belated redress by the U.S. government. Traces the experiences of one typical family. Comments that bias against Asian Americans was common before the war. Concludes that recognition of this history of racism is necessary to combat present resentment of Asian…

Reprints portions of a sailor's diary, kept for two-and-a-half years during World War II. The 21-year-old quartermaster writes about his life on the USS Grimes; hearing of the war's official end; his ship's peaceful landing in Tokyo Bay; and his experiences in Nagasaki in September 1945. (CH)

These materials consist of sample lesson plans for teaching about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, in both U.S. and world history classes. The lesson plans challenge students to examine how current attitudes toward the Japanese may be rooted in World War II and Pearl Harbor. Selected bibliographies on Pearl Harbor, World…

This lesson describes and discusses the submerged remains of the battleship USS Arizona which rests on the silt of Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), just as it had settled on December 7, 1941, the day Japan attacked the U.S. fleet and began the Pacific battles of World War II. The lesson is based on the National Register of Historic Places registration file,…

Presents suggestions for teaching activities and student projects using Franklin Roosevelt's war address following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Recommends vocabulary emphasis, class discussion, and classroom listening to a recording of the speech. Suggests comparing the speech to Patrick Henry's famous speech and interviewing individuals…

Discusses the impact that public history activities of the U.S. armed forces has had on military historiography since World War II. Contends that military history was preempted by official histories commissioned by government agencies or the military. Argues that this led to the legitimization of military history at the college level. (CFR)

Presents a classroom lesson on the only land battle between U.S. and Japanese forces during World War II. Utilizes information from the National Register of Historic Places. Includes photographs, maps, and student readings. (CFR)

This document is a study guide to "The Face of War," an exhibition of documents and photographs from the vast World War II holdings of the National Archives. This brochure contains reproductions of selected documents from the exhibit as well as discussion questions. The guide can be used by individuals, families, or school groups while…

This document presents lesson plans and related materials for teaching about the role of women in the U.S. military from World War I to Desert Storm (the Gulf War). The lesson includes a table showing the number of women who took part in Desert Storm broken down by branch of service. Another chart shows the number of women who served in the…

In 1991, the 50th anniversary of the United States' entrance into World War II was observed. This is an opportune time to reevaluate and renew the teaching of this cataclysmic event. Most people have been affected by the political, economic, and social consequences of the War. But perhaps the most important reason to rededicate ourselves to…

Discusses changing interpretations of U.S. foreign policy by historians. Reviews the revisionist and postrevisionist views of U.S. foreign policy since World War II. Suggests that the post-Cold War world requires a different approach to foreign policy and that contemporary historians are beginning to reflect this view. (CFR)

Presents a classroom lesson that utilizes primary sources about Auschwitz, the World War II Nazi concentration camp. Two letters confronting the issue of whether or not U.S. planes should bomb the camps are included. Recommends seven teaching strategies for the lesson and identifies additional resources. (CFR)