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United States Enters World War I - Lesson Plan

by Paige Drews, Susquehana University.

Purpose/Central Focus:

To compare and contrast two perspectives about U.S. entry into World War I through the writings of Theodore Roosevelt and Jane Addams. 

Standards:

  1. NJSLS Social Studies: 6.1.12.A.7.a: Analyze the reasons for the policy of neutrality regarding World War I and explain why the United States eventually entered the war.
  2. NJSLS English Language Arts: R8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
  3. NJSLS English Language Arts: R1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences and relevant connections from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

Student Objectives:

  1. Using primary source documents, students will identify key components of both authors’ viewpoints.
  2. Students will compare and contrast Roosevelt and Addam’s perspectives on the United States’ neutrality and eventual entry into World War I.
  3. Extension: Students will evaluate which perspective they believe would be best for the United States.

Key Vocabulary:

  1. Conscription
  2. Militarism
  3. Pacifism
  4. Women’s Peace Party
  5. Hague Conference
  6. Conscientious objector
  7. Progressivism
  8. Unrestricted submarine warfare
  9. “Plattsburgh Idea”
  10. Non-interventionists
  11. Liberal internationalists
  12. Atlanticists

Prior Academic Knowledge:

Students will have to know about the start of World War One in Europe and the motivations that drove European nations to declare war. 

Key Questions:

  1. Why did the United States maintain its stance of neutrality?
  2. What were the main causes of the United States’ entrance into World War I?
  3. What are some of the key ideas that Roosevelt listed for entering the United States into World War I?
  4. What are some of the key ideas that Jane Addams and the Women’s Peace Party had for keeping the United States out of World War I?
  5. What actions did Theodore Roosevelt take to prepare the United States for war?
  6. What actions did Addams take to try and keep the peace within and outside of the United States?

Misconceptions:

  1. All Americans supported U.S. entry into World War I.
    • That’s not quite the whole picture.  Yes, many Americans did support involvement in the War, but there was a sizable amount of the population (mostly women and socialists) who opposed the war.
  2. Jane Addams’s key contribution to history was Hull House.
    • While Hull House was one of Addams’s most famous contributions, another area she had a significant historical impact on was the pacifist movement.  Not only did she write many articles and speeches about the necessity of peace, she was the president of the Woman’s Peace Party and participated in the International Congress of Women. 

 Instructional Materials:

  1. Laptop, iPad, etc. for accessing online materials
  2. Smartboard or projector for showing documents and video on-screen for entire class (optional)
  3. Physical copies of documents for students who prefer them
  4. Media Resources:
    1. U.S. Entry Into World War I
    2. I Didn't Raise My Boy to be a Soldier
  5. Theodore Roosevelt Materials:
    1. National Park Service, The Bull Moose in Winter: Theodore Roosevelt and World War I
    2. Theodore Roosevelt Speech, Colonel Roosevelt's speech before the American Medical Association, June 7, 1917.
  6. Jane Addams Materials:
    1. The Women's Peace Party and Pacifism during World War I
    2. Speech at the Cort Theater, March 5, 1915 (excerpts)
    3. Jane Addams to Woodrow Wilson, October 29, 1915
  7. Other:
    1. National Constitution Center, World War I starts, America watches and worries, July 28, 2014.
  8. Extension: Project Assignment

 Day 1: U.S. Neutrality Overview. 

  • Do Now: While World War I raged in Europe, the United States made a choice to stay neutral and did not engage in warfare with either side. How and why did it do this? Did all the people support this position?
  • Explain that today starts a two-day lesson that explores the views and actions of two of these sides: the Atlanticists, who advocated military preparedness/involvement and the Pacifists, a subset of the Non-Interventionists who preferred to settle international matters with peaceful methods.  We’ll use the writings of Theodore Roosevelt, a staunch Atlanticist and compare them with the writings of “America’s favorite woman,” pacifist Jane Addams.
  • To review the American perspectives on neutrality during World War I watch the video U.S. Entry into WWI and have students answer the attached questions. Be sure to emphasize the perspectives and Wilson’s actions.
  • Students will read this article, World War I starts, America watches and worries. After reading, they should free-write an initial reaction to the American neutrality: would they support this position and seek peaceful methods between the warring countries? Would they reject neutrality and push to prepare the United States for war? Or would they try both methods? Why?
  • Close: Have students share their free response answers with a partner or with the class.

Day 2: Comparing and Contrasting Jane Addams and Theodore Roosevelt

  • Opening: Take a classwide poll. Ask the students to imagine themselves as American citizens living during the United States’ period of neutrality.   News about the fighting in Europe has been in the papers and you are starting to think about how the United States relates to it all. How many students would want the United States to strengthen its military and get involved? How many would try to contact European nations in hope of starting peace negotiations? How many will steer clear of the war entirely? Tally up how many students support each perspective. Have a few students share reasons why they made their choice. 
    • Suggestion: Create the poll on a Google Form or a website like PollEverywhere or Mentimeter
  • Divide the class in half, potentially using multiple groups. Half the students will study the perspective of Theodore Roosevelt and the other half will study Jane Addams. 
  • After students complete the background information and document analysis, bring the class together for a group discussion. Using a Venn Diagram displayed on the board, have the class share what they learned about their assigned perspective. The Venn diagram will provide a visual contrast and comparison of the two perspectives.
  • Close: Do another class poll regarding American entry into the war: what’s the majority now compared to the first poll? Has anyone switched sides? Ask a few students to share their thoughts, especially if someone changed sides.
  • Homework: Have students listen to "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be A Soldier", paying close attention to the lyrics.  They should then take notes about how the lyrics reflect a message of pacifism. 

Extension: World War I Project

  • In this project, students are given a choice in how they want to explore the perspectives of Jane Addams and Theodore Roosevelt. Students may choose to work individually or in pairs. Students will choose between an essay, musical piece, skit performance, or visual art project.

Assessments:

  1. Using primary source documents, students will identify key components of both authors’ viewpoints.
    • Assessment: In-class worksheets.
  2. Students will compare and contrast Roosevelt and Addam’s perspectives on the United States’ neutrality and eventual entry into World War One.
    • Assessment: Class Venn Diagram and the optional final project for this lesson, which requires students to weigh the pros and cons of both Roosevelt and Addams’s arguments.
  3. Extension: Students will evaluate which perspective they believe would be best for the United States.
    • Assessment: Regardless of the option chosen for the final project, students are required to select and defend either Roosevelt or Addams’s side. This is shown in the written section of their project if they chose the musical, visual arts or skit option or continuously throughout their essay if they chose the writing option.

Suggested Extensions:

  1. Have students delve into the lives of other famous pacifists. For example, Jeannette Rankin, the first woman member of the House of Representatives, was one of 50 members who voted against the United States going to war.  She was also a suffragist and put aside her fight for this cause in order to stand against the war. Addams went through a similar experience, putting aside her goals for suffrage to advocate peace. 
  2. Use the resources listed above if there is time left. For instance, the “Roosevelt Family in World War One” article expands on Roosevelt's changing views on the war and the war's personal impact on his family.

Follow ups:

How did these two perspectives impact the war? Once the United States entered the war, how did Roosevelt's push for "preparedness" make it easier for American troops to make an impact. How did the work that Addams and other pacifists impact the negotiations to end the war in 1919?

You could also look at how Socialists and the working classes experienced the war, or explore how America's large population of European immigrants responded when their home countries were at war.

Supporting Diverse Learners:

  1. For students who have difficulty reading from a screen, printed documents will be available.
  2. For students who have difficulty reading from a screen and a print source, all documents will also be available in an audio format, where the computer will be able to read the text.
  3. For students who have trouble organizing their ideas when presented with large projects, all students and groups of students are required to send plans for their assignments to the teacher. The teacher will check them over and hand them back, marking any problematic spots.  Then the teacher and the student or group of students will work together to fix the problem.

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Photo credit: American delegates to the International Congress of Women held in the Netherlands in 1915.  (Source: Library of Congress)

US Entry to WW1