7-12 Lesson Plans (World War I Period)

The 1920's

During the 1920s the United States found itself in a position that it never had occupied before, a creditor nation with a formidable military.  It was also in the position to help dictate terms at the Versailles Peace Conference if it wanted to do so.  Instead, the nation turned away from Europe and focused on itself.  In the course of ten years the U.S. transformed itself on industrial, political, economic and cultural levels.

The Spanish Civil War

The United States has always been known for the freedom of opinion and speech that its citizens have.  In times of war those freedoms have been impinged upon, but never fully snuffed out.  In the mid-1930s the United States was officially neutral and non-involved in European politics, yet many were growing concerned with militarism and fascism in Europe and Asia. 

Theodore Roosevelt

The students will determine whether or not President Theodore Roosevelt deserves the title of trust buster through a group activity which seeks to have the students distinguish between TR the trust buster or TR the business regulator.

Word War I and the Railroad

This lesson seeks to provide students with a contrast and understanding of why was it necessary to nationalize the American railroads during World War I.  It focuses on the differences between government regulation of the railroads during wartime versus the alternative—allowing private industry to maintain control of the railroads—during the First World War.  An analysis of the costs and benefits is also discussed in the context of President Wilson’s wartime actions.

The Red Scare

The Risk of Freedom

American Isolationism

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