Smithsonian's History Explorer Resources Related To "Building Ships for Victory, 1917-1945"

On the Water: Stories from Maritime America Homepage

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 09:42:27 GMT

Students will understand the importance of maritime activity throughout the United States' history. Objects from the Museum's collections, audio and video clips, oral histories and narrative accounts provide a unique look into the maritime history of the United States. An interactive collections search, learning resources, and an extensive list of web links are included to extend the experience further. This online exhibition focuses on boats, ships and the lives of the men and women who lived, worked, traveled and died on them.

World War II

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:24:47 GMT

Students will learn how Americans joined the Allies to defeat Axis militarism and nationalist expansion. Sixteen million Americans donned uniforms in this section of the online exhibition The Price of Freedom: Americans at War. The millions more who stayed home comprised a vast civilian army, mobilized by the government to support the war effort. The world-wide conflict that led to the emergence of the United States as an economic and military superpower is divided into sections that allow students to focus either on a specific aspect of the war, or the conflict as a whole. The sections included are titled: Axis Aggression, America Enters the War, Mobilizing for War, "You're in the Army Now", Battle of the Atlantic, The Mediterranean Theater, Storming Fortress Europe, The Pacific Theater; So Others Might Fight; Morale Boosters and Victory and Peace. A non-flash version of the site is available: World War II.

Produce For Victory: Posters on the American Home Front (1941-45)

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 12:03:38 GMT

Students will learn how posters connected the home front with the military front through the use of art intended to advertise the nation's war aims and represent the American ideals of the time. This online resource discusses the images created for and the messages conveyed by famous World War II propaganda posters, as well as the debate over their design. World War II posters helped to mobilize a nation. Inexpensive, accessible, and ever-present, the poster was an ideal agent for making war aims the personal mission of every citizen.

United We Stand Homepage

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 18:16:23 GMT

In this online exhibition, students will analyze authentic magazine covers from July 1942, along with a timeline and brief video news clips in order to understand the importance of the home front during the Second World War. The resource includes a searchable collection of magazine covers from the era and is part of an online exhibition, titled: July 1942: United We Stand. The site explores a campaign during World War II by the nation's magazines to promote national unity, rally support for the war, and celebrate Independence Day.

Japanese Americans and the U.S. Constitution: Service

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 14:34:30 GMT

Students will learn about the 25,000 Japanese Americans who served in U.S. military units during World War II. This section of A More Perfect Union, an online exhibition, uses artifacts from the Museum's collections, primary source documents, photographs and oral histories to tell the stories of the military service and sacrifice of these brave men as well as the irony that they were fighting to preserve the world's freedom while their families were imprisoned. Their combat record aided the post-war acceptance of Japanese Americans in American society and helped many people to recognize the injustice of wartime internment. Oral history transcripts are available in the subsections Soldier's Life, Military Intelligence and Translation, and Ironies of Service.