Unit 6–
Great Ups and Downs
The Great War, the Jazz Age and
The Great Depression
SS5H4 The student will describe U.S. involvement in World War I and post-World War I America.
What were the main causes of World War I?
1) Militarism which is using the military to take over or intimidate
2) Nationalism which is belief that your country deserves more success
3) Alliances which is when nations defend and support one another
Who was the President of the United States during the Great War? Woodrow Wilson
The passenger ship sunk by the Germans was the Lusitania. The name of the new type of warfare along the Western Front of Belgium and France was called trench warfare.
World War I was different in many respects from previous wars:
Many nations involved, aerial warfare, tanks, hand grenades, mustard gas, trench warfare
Countries during the war fell under one of three classifications:
1) Allied Powers 2) Central Powers 3) Neutral Countries
The treaty to end The War to End All Wars was called The Treaty of Versailles
As a result Germany lost colonies, gave land to France and paid money to the Allies.
The US Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles. Isolationists did not want to be drawn into another European war.
Louis Armstrong was one of the first musicians to make jazz popular. He was also known as “Satchmo”.
The Great Bambino, who was also the first celebrity athlete, was Babe Ruth. He said that he was paid more than the president because he had a better year than the president!
Henry Ford used the assembly line to revolutionize automobile production. You could get your car in any color you like, as long as it was black.
The Harlem Renaissance’s greatest poetic voice was Langston Hughes.
Charles Lindbergh was the first to make the solo Trans-Atlantic flight. He got his own dance!
The author F. Scott Fitzgerald coined the term “The Jazz Age” and was its’ greatest champion.
Another name for “The Jazz Age” is Roaring Twenties.
SS5H5 The student will explain how the Great Depression and New Deal affected the lives of millions of Americans.
One major cause of the Great Depression occurred on October 29th 1929: The Stock Market Crash of 1929. Banks began to fail because people caused runs on the bank to get their money. Businesses began to close because banks had no money to lend and people were not buying goods. In the Mid-West (the Great Plains) farmers were forced to relocate or abandon their farms because of the Dust Bowl. The farmers who left their home to find a new life in California were derisively called Okies.
People who lived on the outskirts of town in shanties called these camps Hoovervilles.
In 1932 Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was elected President of the United States. During his inauguration he stated that the only thing there is to fear is fear itself. In the first 100 days he introduced legislation designed to give relief, recovery and reform to the economy. The programs were called New Deal they were also known as Alphabet Soup because of their 2 or 3 letter abbreviations.
Among the most notable were:
CCC or the Civilian Conservation Corps which gave jobs to 18 to 25 year olds and allowed them to send money home.
TVA or the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built a hydroelectric plant to supply electricity to rural parts of the southeast.
WPA or the Works Progress Administration which paid artists and authors to write books and paint public murals.
FDIC or the Federal Department Insurance Corp. which insured deposits in the bank so as to restore confidence in the banks.
And now for a way to forget your cares…….
Edward Kennedy Ellington also known as Duke Ellington was an influential musician, composer and bandleader. He was inspired by art and the sounds of the train. It was said that he painted with sound His most famous song, “Take the ‘A’ Train” was probably inspired by his love of the rails.
Written in Atlanta, set in Atlanta, and with several Atlanta museums dedicated to both the movie and the author, Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind is possibly the most famous book about the Civil War. Along with “The Wizard of Oz” it is among the most famous movies of the year 1939.
The grandson of a slave, the son of a sharecropper, Jesse Owens electrified the 1936 Olympics, held in Berlin. He earned 4 gold medals and made the United States proud of his athleticism and class.
Materials and Websites Used During This Unit:
The Causes and Effects of World War I graphic organizer
The Notable Cultural Figures of the 20’s graphic organizer
Great Gatsby book cover poster
Authentic sheet music from 1923
The Great Depression note taking sheet
The New Deal notes taking sheet
Creating a Duke Ellington CD cover activity
Then and Now – the contrast of prices over the course of 80 years
Depressing Statistics – the graphing of unemployment statistics over 10 years
Okies vs. Californians – a contrast of migrants workers to native Californians
www.jesseowens.com
www.nisk.k12.ny.us/fdr (FDR political cartoon bank)
www.freeotrshows.com/ - a collection of original radio broadcasts from the 30’s and 40’s
The music of Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and 30’s folk music
Recordings of FDR’s first inauguration and the first fireside chat
An overview of Jesse Owens’s accomplishments at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
Parent Signature ______