America First? 

A WebQuest for 11th Grade United States History

Designed by

Mark House
house_nchs@hotmail.com

Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits

Introduction

It is November 7, 1941, the war has been raging in Europe for two years.  The people of the United States continue to maintain their isolationist views, but the recent attacks on United States shipping has convinced many that the United States must become involved in the war.  Franklin D. Roosevelt is ready to lead American into World War II, but he needs the support of the people.  Isolationists, such as Charles "Lucky Lindy" Lindbergh, have formed the America First Committee to keep America out of the war.

You are a member of a three person, top notch, political consulting team that Franklin D. Roosevelt has brought in to direct the campaign to convince the American people that the United States needs to go to war.  Roosevelt has asked you to collect information and create a propaganda piece for his approval.

The President needs you to create a presentation for next week.  Your presentation consists of three connected components.

• Gather and present your background research.
  • You need to research what the America First Committee has done.
  • Why the American people are hesitant.
  • What other propaganda pieces have done that you feel have been effective, either for or against the war effort.
• Create your own propaganda piece to encourage Americans that joining World War II is what the United States should do.
• Write a brief explanation on why you decided to create the propaganda piece that you did.

1. First you will be assigned to a group of three.  This is the same group that you will work with for the entire project. 
2. In order to successfully complete this project you must first gather background information.  To complete this task you have been given a standardized form with a few key questions.  

    

   • Background Information Sheet - Use this sheet to organize your background information
   • Use the following web pages to gather your information:

     • Lindbergh - America First Committee

     • PBS - Lindbergh Address to First Committee

     • PBS - Arthur Schlesinger on the America First Committee

     • FDR Library

     • History Matters

3. Once you have gathered background information then your group needs to evaluate what propaganda currently exists.  In order to do a thorough job your group must complete an analysis of each piece examined.  Your group is responsible for completing three Propaganda Analysis Sheets.
   • Propaganda Analysis Sheet - Use this sheet to review propaganda
   • Use the following web pages to find examples of propaganda.

     • Dr. Seuss Cartoons

     • World War II Propaganda Posters

4. Now it is time to create a propaganda piece of your own.  Since most of the pieces that you have examined have been visual it might be better to stay with that model unless you receive special permission from your teacher to use a different medium.  In this section it is important to make sure the entire team supports the creation of the project.

5. Once your team has finished the propaganda piece it is time to write a brief explanation as to why your group chose that particular design and topic.  Be sure to include the following in your paper:

   • Who was the piece intended for?  

   • Why that audience?

   • Why did you use the symbols and characters that you did?

6. Finally you must present this project to the President.  Your presentation must focus on how much you understand the current situation (your background material), why your piece should be used, and why you created the piece that you did.  All members are expected to participate actively in the presentation.

This project is truly a group effort.  As a result all grades distributed will be for the entire group.  The groups themselves will be responsible for dividing the points amongst themselves, with appeals to be heard by the teacher.  Each group will be graded on the following categories:

1. Performance in Cooperative Group
2. Quality of Analysis Documents
3. Original, Final Propaganda Piece
4. Presentation of Propaganda Piece
5. Explanation of Propaganda Piece

Note to AACPS teachers: This lesson covers U.S.2.2.2 - DOL4

1B - Examine isolationism as United States foreign policy after World War I and explain how it delayed United States involvement in World War II.

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
Performance in Cooperative Group	Unable to work with others in a group setting.  Lacked any apparent attempt to work in group setting.	Consistently pulled group off task.  Sporadically argued with other group members.	Contributed to group, but needs to work on honing group interaction skills.	Team player. Helped drive the project to completion while incorporating all the group members
Analysis Documents	Little to no analysis of documents evident.	Document analysis barely covered the material.	Insightful document analysis.	Deep and engaging document analysis.
Original Final Propaganda Piece	Sloppy and irrelevant to the initial assignment.	Barely fits the criteria for propaganda.	Clearly crafted propaganda piece that meets all expectations.	A strongly convincing propaganda piece.
Presentation of Propaganda Piece	FDR fell asleep listening to the poor presentation.	FDR wants you to take the piece back and work on it some more.	This is definitely a contender for FDR.	FDR has to use this piece!
Explanation for choice of Propaganda Piece	Explanation does not fit with the piece.	Reader is still confused as to exactly why this piece was chosen over other possibilities.	Explanation fits the piece and gives sound reasons for the groups choice.	Explanation demonstrates the obvious need for this piece and how the authors reached their conclusion.
Final Scores: Top Notch Advisor - 20-18                            Good Advisor - 17-16                   Weak Advisor - 15-14                   Ignored Advisor - 13 - 0
-Comment Section-

Conclusion

Leading a country down the road to war is a serious issue.  Leaders not only poll their citizens, but often encourage them to pursue a certain direction.

*Is it fair for leaders to use propaganda to influence the way their own citizens think about an issue as serious as entering a war?

Ostrich Cartoon - Dr. Seuss 

Rubric Graphic - Google Images

A special thank you to the following for their support 

Kim Champagne, Lisa Kissinger, Alison Bateman-House, Joyce Piette, and Ryan Jackson