Unit 7: Global Conflicts (1930s-60s)

#701 Past in the present: Jewish refugees of the 1930s and Syrian refugees today

Preparation:
  • Read David Victor, “Comparing Jewish Refugees of the 1930s with Syrians Today,” in The New York Times (19 November 2015). (PDF)
  • View clip from Ken Burns, Defying the Nazis: The Sharps War (10 minutes 41 seconds). See video 1, embedded below.
  • View clip of high school student asking then-U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, “Did World War II and the Holocaust change how the United States and the world think about refugees?” (3 minutes 5 seconds). See video 2, embedded below.
  • View clip from then-candidate Donald Trump defending his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States in November 2015. (12 minutes 56 seconds). See video 3, embedded below.
Materials needed for class:
  • Please bring a charged laptop.
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Video 1. Defying the Nazis
Video 2. Discussion with Samantha Power
Video 3. Trump defends ban on Muslims

#702 World War II: ​U.S. entry into World War II and Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms"

Read:
  • Read Foner 674-78 “Good Neighbors, The Road to War, Isolationism, War in Europe, Toward Intervention, and Pearl Harbor).
  • Read President Franklin Roosevelt, “Annual Message to Congress,” 6 January 1941 in the Course Reader, 111-18.
Consider:
  • Why did most Americans support isolationism in the 1930s?
  • What factors after 1939 led to U.S. involvement in World War II?
  • What were the “Four Freedoms” articulated by President Roosevelt in his Annual Message to Congress in January 1941? How might different groups within the United States have understood or experienced the Four Freedoms in different ways?
Materials needed for class:
  • Course Reader.
  • Charged laptop.

#703 World War II: Japanese internment in the United States

Read:
  • Read "Japanese-American Internment" in Foner, 692-94.
  • Read the following documents from the Course Reader, 119-26:
    • Transcript of Executive Order 99066 (1942)
    • Key Excerpts from Korematsu v. United States: Majority Opinion (1944)
    • Key Excerpts from Korematsu v. United States: Dissenting Opinion (1944)
Consider:
  • What reasons does President Roosevelt provide for interning Japanese-Americans during World War II? How is this decision similar to and different from the treatment by Nazis of Jews and other groups in Europe at the time?
  • Identify the strongest arguments presented in both the majority and Justice Black's dissenting opinion in Korematsu v. United States.
Materials needed for class:
  • Course Reader.
  • A charged laptop.
Picture
In this April 6, 1942 file photo, a boy sits on a pile of baggage as he waits for his parents, as a military policeman watches in San Francisco. More than 650 citizens of Japanese ancestry were evacuated from their homes and sent to Santa Anita racetrack, an assembly center for war relocation of alien and American-born Japanese civilians. Source: Associated Press.
Please note that during the weeks of 4/10 and 4/17, we will be working on week 1 and week 2 of the research project.

#704 World War II: Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Read:
  • Read Foner, 700-03 (The End of the War, “The Most Terrible Weapon,” The Dawn of the Atomic Age, and The Nature of the War).
  • ​Read “Atomic Bombs: Multiple Perspectives” (Google Doc)
Consider:
  • Were atomic strikes necessary primarily to avert an invasion of Japan in November 1945?
  • Were there alternatives to the use of the weapons? If there were, what were they and how plausible are they in retrospect? Why were alternatives not pursued?
  • How did the U.S. government select targets? Why did they choose urban targets?
  • How important a factor was the atomic bombings in Japan’s decision to surrender?
  • Was the bombing of Nagasaki necessary? To the extent that the atomic bombing was critically important to the Japanese decision to surrender would it have been enough to destroy one city?
  • Was the dropping of the atomic bombs morally justifiable?
Materials needed for class:
  • Please bring either a charged laptop or a printed version of the "Atomic Bombs: Multiple Perspectives" handout to class.

#705 Global Cold War: Competing narratives on the origins of the Cold War

Read:
  • View "USA vs USSR Fight! The Cold War: Crash Course World History #39" 12 minutes. Embedded to right.
  • Cold War documents (PDF).
Consider:
  • Who was primarily responsible for the Cold War: the United States or the Soviet Union? What are the strongest arguments for each side?
Materials needed for class:
  • Please bring a charged laptop to class.

#706 Global Cold War: Korea and Vietnam

Homework tasks:
  • View "The Cold War in Asia: Crash Course US History #38." 14 minutes. Embedded to right.
  • Use additional time to continue writing and supplemental research for your paper.
​Materials needed for class:
  • ​Please bring a charged laptop to class.

#707 Global Cold War: Global Cold War: Anti-Vietnam War Movement

View: 
  • "Twentieth Century with Mike Wallace: Vietnam Protest Movement," CBS News  and A&E (24 minutes). Note that although the program is about 20 years old, it is an excellent visual overview of the major events and issues involved in the "war at home."
​Materials needed for class:
  • Please bring a charged laptop to class.
  • Optional: If you have a favorite protest song (from either the Vietnam War era or some other time period), you are welcome to bring it to class.