Smithsonian's History Explorer Resources Related To Book "Molly Learns a Lesson"

Mobilizing Children on the World War II Homefront

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 15:07:17 GMT

Take a close look at propaganda cartoons and other primary sources to analyze how young Americans were mobilized for the War. This lesson plan (which includes background information and full-color primary sources) was produced to accompany the exhibition The Price of Freedom: Americans at War, by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

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.

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.