The Great Depression and World War II

Age 12-14: Concept 2 - Semester 2: Unit 3

Summary of Skills

• Analyze causes and effects of events and social issues such as immigration, Social Darwinism, eugenics, race relations, nativism, the Red Scare, Prohibition, and the changing role of women; and analyze the impact of significant individuals such as Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan, Henry Ford, Glenn Curtiss, Marcus Garvey, and Charles A. Lindbergh. (Social Studies)
• Analyze major issues of World War II, including the Holocaust; the internment of German, Italian, and Japanese Americans and Executive Order 9066; and the development of conventional and atomic weapons. (Social Studies)
• Analyze major military events of World War II, including the Battle of Midway, the U.S. military advancement through the Pacific Islands, the Bataan Death March, the invasion of Normandy, fighting the war on multiple fronts, and the liberation of concentration camps. (Social Studies)
• Analyze the different explanations for the Great Depression and how the New Deal fundamentally changed the role of the federal government. (Social Studies)
• Analyze the effects of and the controversies arising from New Deal economic policies and the expanded role of the federal government in society and the economy since the 1930s (e.g., Works Progress Administration, Social Security, National Labor Relations Board, farm programs, regional development policies, and energy development projects such as the Tennessee Valley Authority, California Central Valley Project, and Bonneville Dam). (Social Studies)
• Analyze the function of the U.S. Office of War Information. (Social Studies)
• Analyze the impact of significant individuals such as Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan, Henry Ford, Glenn Curtiss, Marcus Garvey, and Charles A. Lindbergh. (Social Studies)
• Describe major developments in aviation, weaponry, communication, and medicine and the wars impact on the location of American industry and use of resources. (Social Studies)
• Describe major developments in aviation, weaponry, communications. (Social Studies)
• Describe the Harlem Renaissance and new trends in literature, music, and art, with special attention to the work of writers (e.g., Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes). (Social Studies)
• Discuss the constitutional issues and impact of events on the U.S. home front, including the internment of Japanese Americans (e.g., Fred Korematsu v. United States of America) and the restrictions on German and Italian resident aliens; the response of the administration to Hitlers atrocities against Jews and other groups; the roles of women in military production; and the roles and growing political demands of African Americans. (Social Studies)
• Discuss the decision to drop atomic bombs and the consequences of the decision (Hiroshima and Nagasaki). (Social Studies)
• Discuss the human toll of the Depression, natural disasters, and unwise agricultural practices and their effects on the depopulation of rural regions and on political movements of the left and right, with particular attention to the Dust Bowl refugees and their social and economic impacts in California. (Social Studies)
• Discuss the human toll of the Depression, natural disasters, and unwise agricultural practices and their effects on the depopulation of rural regions and on political movements of the left and right, with particular attention to the Dust Bowl refugees. (Social Studies)
• Discuss the rise of mass production techniques, the growth of cities, the impact of new technologies (e.g., the automobile, electricity), and the resulting prosperity and effect on the American landscape. (Social Studies)
• Evaluate the domestic and international leadership of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman during World War II, including the U.S. relationship with its allies and domestic industry's rapid mobilization for the war effort. (Social Studies)
• Evaluate the military contributions of leaders during World War II, including Omar Bradley, Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, Chester A. Nimitz, George Marshall, and George Patton. (Social Studies)
• Examine the origins of American involvement in the war, with an emphasis on the events that precipitated the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Social Studies)
• Examine the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution and the Volstead Act (Prohibition). (Social Studies)
• Explain the home front and how American patriotism inspired exceptional actions by citizens and military personnel, including high levels of military enlistment; volunteerism; the purchase of war bonds; Victory Gardens; the bravery and contributions of the Tuskegee Airmen, the Flying Tigers, and the Navajo Code Talkers; and opportunities and obstacles for women and ethnic minorities. (Social Studies)
• Explain U.S. and Allied wartime strategy, including the major battles of Midway, Normandy, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and the Battle of the Bulge. (Social Studies)
• Identify reasons for U.S. involvement in World War II, including Italian, German, and Japanese dictatorships and their aggression, especially the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Social Studies)
• Identify the roles and sacrifices of individual American soldiers, as well as the unique contributions of the special fighting forces (e.g., the Tuskegee Airmen, the 442nd Regimental Combat team, the Navajo Code Talkers). (Social Studies)
• Trace the growth and effects of radio and movies and their role in the worldwide diffusion of popular culture. (Social Studies)
• Understand significant events, social issues, and individuals of the 1920s. (Social Studies)
• Understand significant events, social issues, and individuals of the 1920s. Analyze causes and effects of events and social issues such as immigration, Social Darwinism, eugenics, race relations, nativism, the Red Scare, Prohibition, and the changing role of women. (Social Studies)
• Understand the domestic and international impact of U.S. participation in World War II. (Social Studies)
• Understand the explanations of the principal causes of the Great Depression and the steps taken by the Federal Reserve, Congress, and Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt to combat the economic crisis. (Social Studies)