On the Home Front

• List specific actions taken on the home front by non-combatants during World War II
• Discuss ways in which children have been and can be involved in a home front war effort
• Explain the connections between home front efforts and efforts on the battlefield
• Describe how posters were used to encourage home front efforts during World War II

Guiding Question:

Preparing to Teach this Lesson

Suggested Activities

Lesson 1: Bettering Ourselves and Our Communities?
Lesson 2: Many Ways to Help
Lesson 3: Lessons of Liberty: Sacrifice and Citizenship
Lesson 4: The Art of Persuasion: Posters on the Home Front
Extending the Lesson

Lesson 1 Bettering Ourselves and Our Communities?

Background for the Teacher: During World War II and in the present fight against terrorism, promoting values (in addition to promoting certain behaviors) was considered to be an important part of the war effort. President George W. Bush has stated that, "Through this tragedy, we are renewing and reclaiming our strong American values." First Lady Laura Bush has asked children "to become better people by thinking about others."

Throughout this unit, help your students think about the values promoted by government and other institutions as past of a national war effort. Then students can reflect on the values they believe are important and the behaviors which represent those values.

Activities:

1. Share with your students the following poster from the Smithsonian Institution: "This Is America ... Keep It Free," a link from the EDSITEment resource Center for the Liberal Arts.
   
   Begin by asking the students to describe the poster. Then, tell them it was distributed during World War II in an attempt to bolster the war effort. What message is it supposed to convey? How might that help the war effort? What did the poster maker believe was important? Do you think s/he would feel the same way today?



2. Share with your students the selected portion of the third paragraph (or the entire letter, if desired) of this letter to elementary-school-age Americans, available through a link from the EDSITEment resource The American President. The letter was written by First Lady Laura Bush shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Within the tragedy, Mrs. Bush saw an opportunity for young people "to become better people."
   
   

   September 12, 2001
   
   Dear Children:
   
   Many Americans were injured or lost their lives in the recent national tragedy. All their friends and loved ones are feeling very sad, and you may be feeling sad, frightened, or confused, too.
   
   I want to reassure you that many people — including your family, your teachers, and your school counselor — love and care about you and are looking out for your safety. You can talk with them and ask them questions. You can also write down your thoughts or draw a picture that shows how you are feeling and share that with the adults in your life.
   
   When sad or frightening things happen, all of us have an opportunity to become better people by thinking about others. We can show them we care about them by saying so and by doing nice things for them. Helping others will make you feel better, too.
   
   I want you to know how much I care about all of you. Be kind to each other, take care of each other, and show your love for each other.
   
   With best wishes,
   Laura Bush

   On September 12, 2001, Mrs. Bush encouraged young Americans (in the face of the terrorist attacks) "to become better people by thinking about others ... by doing nice things." What kinds of "nice things"? Compile a list of student suggestions. Why did Mrs. Bush believe such behaviors were important at that time?



3. In an announcement entitled "Homeland Security — Every American Can Help" and released November 8, 2001, President George W. Bush declared, "I call on all Americans to serve by bettering our communities and, thereby, defy and defeat the terrorists." What kinds of things do the students believe President Bush was asking all Americans to do? In which of those tasks could a young person get involved? Add them to the student list. (Note: The text of the Homeland Security announcement is available through the White House website, a link from the EDSITEment resource The American President.)

• Letter Writing and the War Effort: Share with the class the poster "Be with Him at Every Mail Call" from the National Archives and Records Administration, available through a link from the EDSITEment resource Digital Classroom (locate the poster using the NAIL Digital Copies Search and the keywords "every mail call"). During World War II, writing to a member of the armed forces was considered important to the war effort. Do students think letter-writing could be part of the war effort today?
  
  Students can write to members of today's armed forces. The Veteran's Administration website, available through a link from the EDSITEment resource Internet Public Library, provides links to a Web-based program for the public to send messages to service members. The program can be reached through the Navy LIFELines Services Network or through ArmyLINK. The site was designed for those who want to send a message of support or holiday greeting to troops overseas. The "Any Servicemember" program allows users to select from one or all branches of the military.



• Students with a special interest in the World War II home front should explore in detail the site What Did You Do In the War, Grandma?, a link from the EDSITEment resource Internet Public Library.



• Have students look at the poster "The More Women at Work, the Sooner We Win," available through the EDSITEment resource American Memory Project (Library of Congress). One of the changes taking place in our society during World War II involved women performing "men's jobs" for the first time. By 1945, women composed 36% of the workforce. The National Archives and Records Administration's "Powers of Persuasion" exhibit features a page about women. Access many graphics and other information about American women workers in the Library of Congress' exhibit, "Rosie Pictures: Select Images Relating to American Women Workers During World War II," also available through American Memory Project.



• Race relations are discussed in the National Archives and Records Administration's "Powers of Persuasion" exhibit. Government-sanctioned poster campaigns portrayed "an idealized view of race relations in America"; one example is "United We Win," from the "Powers of Persuasion" exhibit.



• Poster such as "WARNING! Our Homes Are in Danger Now!," also from the "Powers of Persuasion" exhibit, reflected and contributed to prejudice against American citizens of Japanese and German descent. One home front action during World War II was the internment of Japanese-Americans. A book such as Baseball Saved Us, by Ken Mochizuki (Illustrated by Don Lee) can help you introduce the topic to your students.



• The EDSITEment lesson "Where I Come From" helps students practice and extend their skills in gathering and using information from primary sources while learning more about their family history.



• The National Archives and Records Administration website has an extensive collection of graphics and images from World War II, including many photographs which can supplement student research and reporting.



• The Prentice Hall textbook The American Nation (Teachers Edition, 2002), cites a Nazi leader who "once scoffed that 'Americans can't build planes, only electric iceboxes and razor blades'... In 1942 alone, American workers produced more than 60,000 planes...." That statistic illustrates the enormity of the collective American effort during WWII. The following examples show America's staggering production effort supplying the war effort from the home front:
  
  

  	U.S. tank production:	1940	309
  		1943	29,500
  	German tank production:	1939-1945	24,050
  	U.S. aircraft production:	1939	5,865 ($280 million)
  		1943	96,379 ($17 billion)

  
  Students can complete research to unearth statistics such as these that reflect the tremendous effort being made by citizens on the home front during World War II.



• The introduction to this unit began with a quote from one of FDR's Fireside Chats. FDR is often said to be one of the first presidents who used the mass media effectively. Today, effective use of radio, TV, and other media is an essential part of being a successful leader. And presidents still make radio addresses to the public once a week.
  
  According to MSNBC, a link from the EDSITEment resource Internet Public Library:
  
  

  The first president to use the radio to regularly address the American people, FDR created the Fireside Chat, a periodic radio program in which he personally rallied the country by defining its challenges. The Fireside Chats were the vital center of Roosevelt's sphere of public influence. Containing some of the best examples of his unique speaking style, they demonstrate FDR's ability to connect intimately with a generation of Americans during their most trying times.

  Students can hear audio clips from Fireside Chats at MSNBC's website.
  
  On Oct. 25, 2001, President George W. Bush announced — at Thurgood Marshall Extended Elementary School in Washington, D.C. — the launching of an education partnership with Muslim nations. Following is an excerpt of those remarks (a complete transcript plus audio and video are available through the White House website):
  
  

  ... I'm here to announce a new initiative, called Friendship Through Education. And we're going to ask schools all across the country to join with schools in other countries to spread the message that we care for each other, that we want to understand each other better.
  
  I think the best way ... to handle the attacks of September the 11th is to fight fear with friendship; is to fight fear with hope; is to remind people all around the world we have much more in common than people might think; that we share basic values — the importance of family, and the importance of faith, and the importance of friendship.
  
  And, do you know something? Boys and girls all across America can do that job pretty darn well. And so I'm asking schools all across the country to join up.
  
  ... The students here and students all across our country witnessed a terrible tragedy. It is a terrible moment in our country, and it's got to have affected a lot of our students in a way where they ask the question, why would this have happened to America? Why would somebody do this to our country? And I want to assure the boys and girls, these attacks didn't come from a nation or a religion. These attacks are from some people who just are so evil it's hard for me to describe why. It's hard for us to comprehend why somebody would think the way they think, and devalue life they way they devalue, and to harm innocent people the way they harmed innocent people. It's just hard for all of us adults to explain.
  
  But what we can do is we can find common ground with others who wonder about America. We can prove them wrong by acting in a way that's good. We can show the world what a great, compassionate and decent nation America is. I can do that through diplomacy. I can do that through our actions, through the alliances we form. But children all across America can do it, as well — can do it through letters and e-mails and pictures and drawings, and reaching out to boys and girls.

  Interested students can find out more about the Friendship Through Education Initiative at its official website, available through a link from the EDSITEment resource The American President. Many opportunities for student action are available on the site's Interact page.