The Road to Pearl Harbor
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Explore the rise of animosity between the U.S. and Japan through primary source documents and related classroom activities.
Four separate lessons make up this unit on “The Road to Pearl Harbor.” Like most lesson plans from EDSITEment—a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities—this unit is full of rich primary source material and a wide variety of related classroom activities. The unit is guided by four questions, designed to help students understand the long run-up to military conflict between the U.S. and Japan. Reflecting those questions, the unit is divided into four lessons: exploring the growth of U.S./Japanese hostility during World War I and after, looking at American foreign policy during the Sino-Japanese Conflict in the 1930s, examining the Japanese “Southern Advance” of 1940 and 1941, and finally, highlighting the failures of diplomacy that ultimately led to war. The unit does an excellent job of representing historical contingency—revealing how the bombing of Pearl Harbor was actually the product of decades of history. Further, it will help students understand the multiple causes of Japanese aggression—from Japanese imperial ambition to U.S. foreign policies. Each lesson comes with a brief but complete historical background essay embedded with hyperlinks to primary sources, clear and concise suggestions for student activities, worksheets, and ideas for formal and informal assessment. And the interactive timeline tool is an excellent resource that pairs nicely with other aspects of the lessons. There are some things to watch out for, though. Many of the primary sources are long and will need to be carefully selected or vigorously edited, depending on your students’ reading level and persistence. The assessments are only roughly outlined, meaning that teachers will need to fill in the details and establish their own grading criteria. Additionally, while lessons range in length from 1–2 class periods to 3–4 class periods, they collectively require fairly extensive class time—roughly two weeks; consequently, they will most likely need to be used selectively. However, this unit is still an excellent resource. By picking and choosing from among the activities, carefully selecting documents, and further developing one or two assessments, teachers can adapt the lesson to their particular needs.
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Yes
Significant historical background is provided for each of the four individual lessons that constitute the larger lesson plan.
Yes
Students read primary documents and there are multiple opportunities for writing.
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Yes
Students are asked to read source information carefully enough to be able to put it to use in assignments.
Yes
Yes
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Directions are brief and clear. Teachers must design necessary supports.
What Really Happened? Comparing Stories of the First Thanksgiving
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Students read several versions of the story of the first Thanksgiving. They analyze the source and perspective of each version, and discuss the reasons that the story of the first Thanksgiving might generate so much controversy.
This lesson does a good job of positioning students to understand and evaluate the perspectives of secondary sources on the First Thanksgiving. Students begin by establishing a common understanding of the "mainstream narrative" of the First Thanksgiving, either from their own experience, books on Thanksgiving written for young children, or a website like this one from National Geographic Kids. (Other, similar sites are also linked near the bottom of the lesson).
In groups, students then read accounts of the first Thanksgiving from one of four points of view: mainstream accounts, Native American educators and public school leaders, conservative and Tea Party activists, and Native Americans critical of the holiday. Multiple articles are provided for each category so teachers may choose the articles most appropriate for their students. After analyzing each category of sources in small groups, students come together as a class to discuss the various perspectives of the accounts they read. This is an ideal opportunity for teachers to highlight the importance of paying attention to source information and reading historical accounts with a critical eye.
Some modifications may be necessary depending on your students' ages, abilities, and background knowledge. Students may need additional background information on the sources depending on their familiarity with the different point-of-view groups. You may also need to modify some of the texts depending on students' reading levels. Also, see the rubric below for more background information and historically accurate information about the first Thanksgiving.
The lesson concludes with a series of discussion questions that do a good job of helping students to think more carefully about the social and political impact of accepted historical narratives. For example, "What's at stake in interpreting the story [of the First Thanksgiving]?" These questions help students start digging into why we remember the past in particular ways and compare stories about the past generated by collective memory with evidence-based accounts of the past.
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Yes. One of the highlights of this lesson is that it requires students to compare accounts and judge the quality of evidence used in those accounts.
Yes. The lesson requires only minimal writing, but does include some discussion questions that could be used as writing prompts.
Yes.
Yes. Teachers will want to provide some background information on the various sources of the story, as understanding the perspective of each source is crucial to this lesson.
Yes. Teachers may want to adapt some of the text for younger students or for English Language Learners.
Yes. The Thanksgiving Interpretations Handout will help students organize and analyze source information for the accounts they read.
No, but the discussion questions could be used as writing prompts and an assessment. This approach would provide a way for teachers to assess how well students have grasped the varying perspectives and supporting reasons discussed in the lesson.
Yes.
Yes.
Divided Allegiance
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How can a person born in the U.S. to one U.S. citizen parent and one non-U.S. citizen parent (divided allegiance) be defined as a 'natural born citizen?'
Shouldn't a 'natural born citizen' be defined as being born with allegiance to the U.S. only?
Throughout the history of the United States, there has been a consistent evolution of who a citizen is and how a citizen is defined, as the United States Constitution has been both decided upon and modified on various occasions to expand the definition of who is a citizen and guarantee equal rights for all individuals. In the late 18th century, a citizen was defined as a white, male landowner, and African Americans could legally be held as slaves. The 1857 Dred Scott v Sandford Supreme Court case affirmed this definition. The Oyez Project (2005–2011) puts forth that in this case the Court found that "no person descended from an American slave had ever been a citizen." Six years subsequent to this decision, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared "that all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are, and henceforward shall be free."
This change was reflected in the Constitution of the United States in the 14th Amendment (1868), which states "All persons born or naturalized in the United States . . . are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside," as well as the 15th Amendment (1870), which puts forth that "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." However, the next half century still saw roughly half of the country's population without full citizenship rights, as it was not until 1920 that the 19th Amendment was passed that granted women suffrage. To answer the particular question posed above, simply put, the 14th Amendment guarantees that a person born in the United States is thereby a citizen, even if both parents are illegal immigrants. However, this is not without controversy, and it has become a political issue, as citizens born to illegal immigrants have derisively been referred to as "anchor babies." For more on this issue, try searching the New York Times using the phrase "anchor babies." However, American children of foreign parents can be dual citizens depending in part on the rules of the other country. This status is conferred when "an individual is a citizen of two countries at the same time." The website newcitizen.us describes potential benefits to being a dual citizen; among them are "the privilege of voting in both countries, owning property in both countries, and having government health care in both countries." However, the U.S. Department of State puts forth that the U.S. government "does not encourage" dual citizenship "because of the problems it may cause," particularly that "claims of other countries on dual national U.S. citizens may conflict with U.S. law, and dual nationality may limit U.S. Government efforts to assist citizens abroad." To answer the initial question in regards to allegiance, allegiance may be more the way a person feels rather than actual law. On this topic the U.S. Department of State notes that "where a dual national is located [where the citizen resides] generally has a stronger claim to that person's allegiance."
Newcitizen.us. "Dual citizenship." 2011 (accessed on April 8, 2011).
U.S. Supreme Court Media. "Dred Scott v. Sandford," 60 U.S. 393 (1857). The Oyez Project (accessed on March 31, 2011).
U.S. Department of State. "US Department of State Services Dual Nationality" (accessed on April 8, 2011).
U.S. Immigration Support. "US Dual Citizenship." 2010 (accessed on April 8, 2011).
Laura Jernegan: Girl on a Whaleship
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In 1868, Laura Jernegan, six-year-old daughter of a whaling captain, put to sea with her parents and younger brother. This website, created by the Martha's Vineyard Museum, explores her family's four-year whaling expedition, focusing on Laura's own diary.
Two narratives ground the exhibit: "The Story of Whaling" and "Laura's Story." Each narrative is divided up into three sections—"Before the Voyage," "The Voyage" and "After the Voyage"—and consists of 14—15 individual "chapters," each a short essay of approximately 300—1600 words. "The Story of Whaling" describes the rise and fall of the whaling industry and the nature of a whaling voyage, including preparation and hiring crew.
"Laura's Story" narrates the voyage of the Roman, the ship on which Laura and her family set sail. The voyage included a stay in Hawaii, mutiny, and the Roman's sinking in the Arctic (everyone survived). "Laura's Story" also looks at the lives of Laura and her family before and after the voyage, as young children and as adults. Each essay include links to images, descriptions, and other sections of the website that clarify and enrich the text.
For Laura's own description of her time at sea, "Explore Laura's Journal" lets visitors browse her 43-page journal. Written in a child's bold handwriting, the journal is short and easy to read, and can be viewed in the original scans, as a text transcript, or with a magic lens feature that translates the writing into print as the mouse runs over a page.
Further background information supports the two narratives and Laura's journal, including:
- "About Whales," a mini-exhibit answering basic questions about six whale species;
- an interactive timeline reaching from 1774 to 1955, including both general world history events and whaling events;
- "Explore the Ship," a diagram of a whaling ship that visitors can click for information on crew positions and parts of the ship; and
- a "Map of Whaling."
This interactive world map lets visitors display features from six sets of information, turning each set on or off and overlaying them. The sets include the four routes of the Roman's journey, three typical whaling routes, posts and sites important to whaling, 1878 whaling grounds for four species, major ocean currents, and whale migration patterns for three species.
Finally, visitors can view zoomable photographs of 175 different whaling-related objects in "Artifacts," read the descriptions of 15 crew positions in "Meet the Crew," and browse 16 pieces of logbook art, 36 photos, and 53 whaling-related images in the "Picture Gallery." An A-to-Z glossary offers definitions for 180 historical and whaling terms. Visitors can also explore the biographies of five people, including all of the members of the Jernegan family and, in "More About," can read 10 more 1,000-3,000-word essays on subjects like race and whaling, women and whaling, and 19th-century children's literature.
In the "For Teachers" section, educators can download two units on whaling: a four-lesson unit for grades 1–3, or a six-lesson unit for 4–5. "For Further Study" features a bibliography of 75 books for children and adults and eight annotated links.
A thorough website centered around a very unique primary source—use it to invite young children into history through the voice of a peer!