Accomplish as many of the applicable SOL as time allows.

Social Sciences: 6.3, 6.10, 6.11; 9.9, 9.10; 10.11, 10.13, 10.14, 10.15; 11.8, 11.9, 11.15, 11.17.

   Classroom activities developed by a teacher committee (funded through a grant from Jesse Ball du Pont Fund) involve students in a study of World War II using the collection of primary sources in the archives of the General Douglas MacArthur Memorial. The focus is on the decision of the U.S. to enter World War II.

Length of Program: 4+ Hours to accomplish all aspects of the lesson.

Cost: Field Trips to the MacArthur Memorial can be taken without charge.

1. If intending to take your class on a field trip to the MacArthur Memorial, please contact Linda McCubbins, MacArthur Memorial Education Coordinator, to arrange the date and time of the visit.
2. Confirmation of the visit will be sent to the lead teacher, with pre-visit information and a parking map.

   The rise of imperialist and totalitarian dictatorships in Germany, Italy, and Japan after World War I were among the causes of World War II. The following series of aggressions led to an official declaration of war:

• 1936 Germany invaded the Rhineland
• 1937 Japan launched a full scale war against Japan
• 1939 Germany invaded Poland and Great Britain and France declared war.

Although the war in Europe officially began in September 1939, the American people were divided over what course the United States should take. Isolationist sentiment was still strong among Americans, and Congress passed four Neutrality Acts during the 1930s. Because Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and others, were aware of the threat that fascism and nazism posed to democracy, Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act in 1941. The act allowed the President to transfer war materiel to Britain and other countries without a cash payment as required by the Neutrality Act of 1939. However, when Japan attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the question of whether or not the United States should enter the war was resolved. The United States entered both the war in the Pacific and the one in Europe. On December 19, 1941, Congress authorized the extension of military conscription to men between the ages of twenty and forty-four.

   Using documents and photos, students will examine and evaluate the causes of U.S. involvement in World War II. Suggested activities, copies of photographs, newspapers, maps, and other documents are available in the MacArthur Memorialís education department. To obtain copies of the documents and activities, call Linda McCubbins at 441-2965. If desired, original copies of the photographs may be obtained at cost from the MacArthur Memorial Archives.

   Assessment activities should be developed around the objectives outlined in the SOL covered in this field trip activity and appropriate to the various grade levels participating.

http://www.lib.ox.ac.uk/internet/news/faq/soc.history.war.world-war-ii.html

www.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/ase/

http://history.cc.ukans.edu/history/index.html

http://www.msstate.edu:80/Archives/History/USA/WWII/ww2.html

World War II Slides telnet://marvel.loc.gov

World War II Timeline http://ac.acusd.edu/History/WW2Timeline/start.html

Linda McCubbins
Education Coordinator
General Douglas MacArthur Memorial
MacArthur Square
Norfolk, Virginia 23510

PHONE: (757) 441-2965
E-MAIL: macmem@norfolk.infi.net