OBJECTIVE - You will learn how World War II affected different groups of people in America.

GUIDING QUESTION - How did World War II affect people in the United States? 

DISCUSSION

As the war continued, German, Italian, and Japanese Americans and nationals were viewed with suspicion.  In fact, after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor many were rounded up especially Japanese Americans and were shipped off to internment camps.  This was known as executive order 9066.  They would remain here “for their own good” for nearly four years.  Some Japanese Americans challenged the order saying that it was unconstitutional.  In 1944, Fred Korematsu challenged the ruling and his case went to the Supreme Court.  The Supreme Court ruled against him.

Since the war was taking away young men to fight both in Europe and Asia, women and minorities were given opportunities that were closed to them.  Many went to work to help the war effort.  Women who worked in the factories were called “Rosie the Riveter.”  If it wasn’t for their hard work and sacrifice many of our boys who were fighting overseas wouldn’t have had the equipment to fight the war.

Minorities such as African-Americans played a prominent part as well.  If their country, the United States, was fighting a war against fascism and tyranny, and African-Americans were told to do their part, then why were they being treated like second class citizens?  African-American leaders decided to take action and began to ask for fairness and respect.  They cooperated with President Roosevelt during the war, but it was made clear that the time had come for African-Americans to be treated as equals rather than second class citizens’ (11.7.5).

In this lesson, you will read six different articles focused on the above groups.  For each article, you will need to complete a note sheet, using the “Cornell” note taking method (see below).  This means you will have six separate note taking sheets on one continuous Word document.

• In your notes, you should have at least 6 main ideas with at least 2 details per main idea.  At the end of each article, you should write a 1-2 paragraph summary, which includes a summary of the article, your reaction to the article, and what you learned from the article. 

Links for this Lesson:

• Cornell Note Taking Sheet
• Six Articles to Read

Assignment 6.04 - Daily Life in America