 Progress Through Peace
January 15, 1929 -
Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King Jr. Was Born
If you wanted to protest something, how would you go about
it? What's the best strategy? The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. believed in the use of peaceful demonstrations,
acting with love and calm. Born on January 15, 1929, in
Atlanta, Georgia, King became 20th century America's most
compelling and effective civil rights leader. He entered the
civil rights movement, which worked toward political and
social equality for people of all races, in 1955. By that
time, he was already a Baptist minister, a husband, and a
father.
During that same year, 1955, civil rights activists asked
King, the young, newly married pastor of a Montgomery,
Alabama, church, to lead a bus boycott aimed at ending
segregation (a separation of facilities by race) on public
transportation in Montgomery. The boycott was initiated by
the refusal of a woman named Rosa Parks to give up her bus
seat to a white passenger; she was arrested. For more than a
year, African Americans, a majority of the bus riders in the
city, stayed off the bus in protest of Parks's arrest.
Finally the boycott brought about the desegregation King and
the protesters sought when, in December 1956, the Supreme
Court banned segregation on public transportation, and the
boycott ended.
That was just the beginning. King asked civil rights
activists to remain nonviolent as they worked to lift racial
oppression. His advice was to use sit-ins, marches, and
peaceful demonstrations to bring attention to issues of
inequality. The commitment and moral integrity of activists
who remained calm in the face of violent opposition inspired
national admiration. Even in jail, King continued preaching
this message. He was arrested while protesting in Alabama to
desegregate lunch counters.
In 1963, King participated in the March on Washington for
Jobs and Freedom. From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, he
delivered his famous "I Have A Dream" speech to a crowd of
250,000. You've probably heard some of this powerful speech.
It emphasized King's belief that the movement would create a
society in which character, rather than color, prevailed.
For his efforts, Martin Luther King was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1964. Tragically, King was assassinated in
1968, but his ideals live on and his words continue to
inspire. Do you think America has come any closer to
creating the society that King envisioned? |
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King Kong's Favorite Building
May 1, 1931 -
The Empire State Building Opens
If you have ever seen the movie "King Kong," you may
remember the building that the giant ape climbs. The Empire
State Building officially opened on this day in history, May
1, 1931. President Herbert Hoover pressed a button in
Washington, D.C., and on came the lights in the world's
tallest skyscraper. Before that, the Chrysler Building
briefly held the record at 1046 feet. Now, the tallest
building in the United States is the 110-story Sears Tower
in Chicago.
Standing proud on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street
in New York City, the Empire State Building has 102 stories
and reaches a height of 1,454 feet. Motivated by a
competition between the leaders of Chrysler and General
Motors, John Jacob Raskob of General Motors and Alfred E.
Smith, a former governor of New York, formed a corporation
to finance the building. Construction started in 1930. The
steel framework of the Empire State Building rose to the sky
at an incredible rate of 4 and 1/2 stories per week. The
building's construction was completed in a phenomenal one
year and forty-five days! The mast on top, now a TV tower,
was originally a mooring for dirigibles, or airships, which
in the 1930s were considered to be the future of air travel.
Have you or members of your family visited the Empire State
Building? What is the tallest building you have ever been to
the top of? What did you see? |
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Surviving The Crash
July 8, 1932 -
The Stock Market Fell To Its Lowest Point During the
Depression
George Mehales lost everything in the stock market crash of
1929, including his restaurant. "The first day of October in
1929 made me feel like I was rich . . . (then,) I was wiped
out . . . I had nothing left." Mehales, a Greek immigrant
who lived in South Carolina, was just one of many
inexperienced investors who hoped to get rich quick in the
rapidly growing market of the 1920s. The stock market can be
a good place to invest some of your money, but it is also
risky, especially if you do not know much about stocks.
The Great Crash affected everyone, even those who had not
bought stocks. People ran to their banks to get their
savings, fearing the banks would run out of money.
Many banks had also invested in the stock market and lost
money. W.W. Tarpley, a bank officer in Georgia, remembered
the mob of people who came to his bank, fearful of losing
everything, " . . . people were losing their homes and some
their savings of a lifetime. The saddest part of it was to
see widows who probably had been left a little insurance and
had put it all in the bank."
The crash triggered the Great Depression. People all over
the country not only lost their money, but also they lost
their jobs. Businesses closed because they could not afford
to pay their workers. Stock prices continued to fall, and on
July 8, 1932, the market hit its lowest point during the
Depression. Many lives were drastically changed, but only a
few for the better.
Tarpley, the bank manager, was forced to sell his belongings
and leave his hometown to look for work, but he was
fortunate, as the Great Crash was only a minor setback for
him. "Of course I felt like I was ruined at the time," he
told an interviewer in 1940, "but if the crash had not come,
I might have still been down in that little South Georgia
town working for a small salary."
When Franklin Roosevelt was elected president at the end of
1932, he promised Americans a New Deal to bring economic
relief. The government created many agencies to revive
industry and agriculture and create jobs to help Americans
get back on their feet. Important reforms to the banking and
investment industry were made. The Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC) was established to insure bank deposits,
and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was formed
to protect against stock market fraud. It took a long time
though for the American economy to emerge from the Great
Depression. The depression continued for 10 more years and
didn't end until the military buildup of the early 1940s, as
the United States geared up to enter World War ll. |
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In the Heart of Radio City
December 27, 1932 -
Radio City Music Hall Opened to the Public in New York
Ever hear of the famous New York City precision dance team,
the "Rockettes?" New York's Radio City Music Hall is famous
not only for great acts like the Rockettes, but also for its
fabulous Art Deco design. This stunning theater opened its
doors to the public on December 27, 1932. Starting in 1933,
you could go there to see "The Radio City Christmas
Spectacular," a New York Christmas tradition.
Now you can see a number of shows there or just go inside to
admire the design by Donald Desky. The interior incorporates
glass, aluminum, chrome, and geometric ornamentation for a
contemporary Art Deco look.
Looking up from the seats of the Radio City Music Hall, you
see before you the Great Stage, measuring 66 feet deep, 144
feet wide, and resembling a setting sun. The stage's system
of elevators was so advanced that the U.S. Navy used
identical hydraulics in constructing World War II aircraft
carriers. According to Radio City lore, during the war
government agents guarded the basement to make sure no enemy
spy could steal the Navy's superior technology.
The Radio City Music Hall is part of Rockefeller Center, a
12-acre complex in midtown Manhattan developed between 1929
and 1940 by business tycoon John D. Rockefeller Jr. He
leased the land from Columbia University. Rockefeller
initially planned an opera house on the site, but changed
his mind after the stock market crash of 1929. One of the
complex's first tenants was the Radio Corporation of America
(RCA), hence the names "Radio City" and "Radio City Music
Hall." If you're ever in New York, take in a show or take a
peek into the famous Radio City Music Hall. |
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 The Rock
August 11, 1934 -
The First Prisoners Arrived at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Where do you put a group of prisoners considered "most
dangerous?" In 1934, they went to a place called "The Rock."
Officially called Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, "The Rock"
opened for business on August 11, 1934, when the first group
of federal prisoners arrived. For 29 years the federal
prison system kept high-security prisoners in lockup there.
It's called "The Rock" because it's an island in the middle
of the San Francisco Bay. Today you can take a ferryboat and
visit the actual cells where inmates lived.
Do you know any of the famous prisoners who were jailed on
Alcatraz? Inmates you might have heard of include Chicago
mobster Al Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, and Robert
Stroud, the man known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz."
Before it was a prison, Alcatraz was an uninhabited seabird
haven founded by explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala who named it
Isla de los Alcatraces (Isle of the Pelicans). The United
States acquired it in 1854. Only 36 convicts ever attempted
to escape from Alcatraz, but in 1962 three inmates did
escape the island and were never found. To this day no one
knows if they survived and made it to the mainland or died
in the icy cold water of the bay. |
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Back to Work
April 8, 1935 -
The Works Progress Administration
Has anybody in your family ever been out of work? Hard times
caused millions of workers to lose their jobs during the
1930s. So many people were out of work that historians call
this period the Great Depression. President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt and members of Congress responded to the emergency
by creating the Works Progress Administration (WPA) on April
8, 1935. The WPA was a government agency that made a
national works program. Do you know what a “national works
program” is?.
A national works program meant that the federal government
would give millions of people work by hiring them in
projects to build things like schools, bridges, and parks
that the public could use. The WPA hired 8.5 million people
on 1.4 million projects in just a few years!
One part of the WPA was the Federal Writers' Project. This
project gave work to writers who could not find a job. Many
writers who worked for the Federal Writers' Project became
famous. Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, Richard Wright, and
Ralph Ellison are some of the writers who became famous.
The Federal Writers' Project provided more than
entertainment. It also recorded the stories of 10,000 men
and women from different regions, jobs, races, and even
former slaves through the Folklore project. These stories
are important today because they give us a better idea of
what it was like to live in those times. Who would you
interview today if you were given the chance? |
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Simply Marvelous
September 2, 1935 -
George Gershwin Completes the Score for Porgy and Bess
When was the last time you did something so wonderful, you
surprised yourself? George Gershwin signed his name to the
completed opera score for Porgy and Bess on September 2,
1935. Gershwin wrote many popular songs, but of Porgy and
Bess, he said, "I think the music is so marvelous, I don't
believe I wrote it."
Porgy and Bess was based on the book Porgy by Dubose Heyward
(who also worked on the opera) about the African American
"Gullah" culture of South Carolina. Gershwin knew that
before he could write the music to Porgy and Bess, he would
need to learn something about the "Gullah" people,
descendants of former slaves who speak a unique language
that is a combination of English and West African words.
Gershwin went to Folly Island off the coast of South
Carolina to observe the customs of the local people and
listen to their music. He joined in their "shouting,"
creating rhythms with his hands and feet as accompaniment to
the spirituals.
Porgy and Bess premiered in New York in 1935 to good
reviews, and the opera received more attention in Europe and
the Soviet Union. Gershwin's entire score, however, was not
heard on an American stage again until 1976. Songs from the
opera, such as "Summertime," have become familiar tunes. You
may have already heard one or two of them.
Summertime...and the living is easy.
Fish are jumping, and the cotton is high.
Your daddy's rich... And your mamma's good-lookin'
So hush little baby, don't you cry. |
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Voodoo Macbeth
July 25, 1936 -
Closing Night of the WPA Performance
of Macbeth
Back during the Great Depression, when the stock market
crashed and there was widespread unemployment, it was
especially tough even for skilled performers to find work.
So President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Federal
Theatre Project (FTP), as part of the Works Progress
Administration (WPA), to help relieve the stress of
unemployed writers, actors, and artists. The WPA was a
national works program that helped people find jobs.
One of the most talked about shows was Shakespeare's
Macbeth, produced by John Houseman and directed by Orson
Welles. July 25, 1936, was the closing night performance of
Macbeth at the Park Theatre in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Critic Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times wrote of the
production, "It overwhelms you with its fury and its phantom
splendor." Nowadays, Shakespeare's plays are often set in
different locations and time periods than those for which
they were written, but it wasn't always this way.
Orson Welles, just twenty-one at the time, created a brand
new approach for this production. He cast African American
actors in all the roles, moved the play's setting from
Scotland to the Caribbean, and changed the witches to
Haitian witch doctors. Critics called the results
"startling," "splendid," and "colorful." Can you think of
why Welles might have wanted to change the setting of the
play? Do you think it made it the play more interesting or
gave it a different meaning? |
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 Hydroelectric Power
October 9, 1936 -
The Hoover Dam Produces Electricity
Have you ever had a school project that took a long time to
finish? The Hoover Dam took almost five years to build. It
stands 726 feet tall and is 660 feet thick at its base. Many
dams are built to control flooding, but the Hoover Dam is
hydroelectric. (“Hydroelectric” means using water to produce
electricity.)
The Hoover Dam uses the water in the Colorado River to
produce electricity. On October 9, 1936, this huge project
began to generate electricity for people in Nevada, Arizona,
and California.
During the Great Depression, many Americans did not have
jobs. The construction of the dam created work for thousands
of people who came from all over the country. When the
Hoover dam was built in Nevada, the federal government
created an entire town so the workers and their families had
a place to stay. It was called Boulder City. Still, workers
faced very hard conditions such as safety hazards and worked
in temperatures that could be hotter than 120 degrees!
The Hoover Dam tamed the wild Colorado River, supplied
electricity to people in the West, and provided jobs to many
others. However, there were disagreements about what to call
the dam. Some people called it the Boulder Dam. Others
called it the Hoover Dam. In 1947, Congress settled the
question by officially deciding to name it the Hoover Dam.
(Herbert Hoover was the thirty-first president.)
Although building it was dangerous and hard work, many
people saw the huge concrete dam as a source of hope. What
other great accomplishments could you compare this to? |
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San Francisco, Open Your Golden Gate
May 27, 1937 -
San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge Was Completed and Opened
What sights do you think of when you picture the city of San
Francisco? How about the massive and lovely 4,200-foot
orange-painted steel suspension bridge known as the Golden
Gate Bridge? The bridge was completed and opened to the
public on May 27, 1937. The next day, with a push of a
telegraph button, President Franklin Roosevelt opened the
bridge to cars, too. The Golden Gate is special for a number
of reasons. Until 1964, it was the longest suspension bridge
in the world. (Today, the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan
boasts the longest span at over 6,500 feet.) Do you know how
it got its name?
The area known as the Golden Gate is the channel formed
where the mouth of the San Francisco Bay meets the Pacific
Ocean. People used the name Golden Gate as early as 1846,
even before the gold rush and long before the bridge.
Explorer John C. Frémont was possibly the first to call the
rocky straits the "Golden Gate."
Construction of the bridge began in 1932, during the Great
Depression, when jobs were scarce. The men working on the
Golden Gate Bridge (a four-and-a-half-year project) were
greatly envied, even though they worked in very dangerous
conditions, balancing high above the freezing ocean waters.
To combat the dangerous working conditions, bridge designer
Joseph Strauss introduced the hard hat and a safety net that
stretched end to end under the bridge. Nineteen workers
fell. Saved by that net, they called themselves the
Half-Way-to-Hell Club.
In May 1987, to celebrate the bridge's 50th anniversary,
some 300,000 people reenacted "Pedestrian Day '37" with an
event dubbed "Bridgewalk '87." Two years later, the
gracefully suspended bridge withstood a 7.1 magnitude
earthquake without incident. The Golden Gate is a wonder to
see in person. Have you ever walked the bridge? Ask
relatives and friends if they have. |
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Old Blue Eyes
July 13, 1939 -
Frank Sinatra's Recording Debut
Fans flocked to see him. Women swooned. Just a few years
after he made his recording debut with the Harry James band
on July 13, 1939, Frank Sinatra became a teenage heartthrob.
Sinatra was more than just an overnight sensation. Unlike
other pop artists, Sinatra's career didn't end after five or
ten years but lasted more than half a century. He performed
for millions, including presidents John F. Kennedy and
Richard Nixon, and his recordings still appeal to audiences
of all ages.
When you were younger you may have sung a song that Sinatra
made famous. Do you know what it was?
"High Hopes," the song about the ant and the rubber tree
plant, was one of many songs written for Frank Sinatra.
Children sing it in school, but Sinatra's recording of it
won an Academy Award in 1959. Sinatra was also a talented
actor. He won an Academy Award for his performance in "From
Here to Eternity." If you like to watch old movies, you've
probably already seen Sinatra in at least one of the more
than 30 other films he made, including "Guys and Dolls,"
"High Society" and "Pal Joey."
Sinatra continued to perform until February 1995. On May 14,
1998, the man the world knew as "Old Blue Eyes" died, but
through his recordings and movies, he gains new fans
everyday. Are you one of them? |
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The Hippodrome Spectacular
August 16, 1939 -
New York City's Hippodrome Closed Its Doors for the Last
Time
Would you like to watch Harry Houdini, legendary magician
and escape artist, make an elephant disappear right in front
of your eyes? Or watch diving horses while a 500-member
chorus sings in triumph? Or see some of your favorite
comedians and singers perform live on a huge sparkling
stage? Back in the 1920s, you could have seen all this at
New York City's famous Hippodrome Theater. But on August 16,
1939, the Hippodrome closed its doors for the last time.
Built in 1905 with a seating capacity of 5,200 people, the
Hippodrome was at one time the largest and most successful
theater in New York. It featured lavish spectacles complete
with circus animals, diving horses, opulent sets, and
500-member choruses. The most popular vaudeville (variety
stage) artists of the day, including Harry Houdini,
performed at the Hippodrome during its heyday. But by the
late 1920s, the growing popularity of motion pictures
replaced the vaudeville acts and circus spectacles presented
at the Hippodrome.
In 1928, RKO, the motion picture company, purchased the
theater. Movie screens took over the stages for audiences
who were hungry for this new kind of entertainment. After it
closed its doors in 1939, the Hippodrome Theater presented
its final spectacle: the building's demolition. The era that
made the Hippodrome famous lives on in the American memory.
Do you know the names of any other stars from that
vaudeville era? Ask a grandparent! |
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A Drive For Victory
September 27, 1939 -
Professional Golfer Kathy Whitworth
Was Born
Have you been following the spectacular golfing career of
Tiger Woods? Well, he's got a big task ahead of him to match
the achievement of Kathy Whitworth, professional golf's
all-time leading tournament winner. Born September 27, 1939,
in Monahans, Texas, Kathy Whitworth won her first
tournament, the Kelly Girls Open, in 1962. In 1985, she won
her 88th, setting the tournament victory record for a
professional golfer--man or woman. She sure stayed out of
sand traps! And her honors go well beyond that.
Whitworth started playing golf at the age of 15. At 19, she
joined the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour.
Over the next 15 years, she received the LPGA Player of the
Year Award seven times. In 1965, and again in 1967, the
Associated Press named her Athlete of the Year. Golf
Magazine called her "Golfer of the Decade" for her
outstanding performance between 1968 and 1977. And in 1975,
Whitworth was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame. During
that time she also worked with her peers to help women
golfers gain greater recognition and financial rewards.
And Whitworth is still on the course today, though her focus
is on helping other women master the game that privileged
American women first tried in the mid-1890s. Then, women of
social status found the adventure and challenge of golf as
an opportunity to engage in sport. In the 1920s, after women
championed the suffrage movement and gained the right to
vote, women began playing in amateur tournaments. In the
1940s and 1950s, golfing greats such as Babe Didrikson
Zaharias started the LPGA tour and tried to make the sport
more accessible to women of all races and social classes.
With new super champions today such as Karrie Webb and Tiger
Woods, golf is more popular than ever. Why not pick up a
club and try a swing. Fore! |
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Entertaining the Troops
February 4, 1941 -
The United Service Organizations Was Chartered
When a World War II soldier received a needed break from
fighting, where could he go and what could he do? A solution
to this problem came with the formation of the United
Service Organizations, popularly known as the USO, on
February 4, 1941. Its mission was to provide recreation for
on-leave members of the U.S. armed forces and their
families. USO recreational clubs supplied a place for
everything from dancing, movies, and live entertainment to a
quiet place to talk, write letters, or find religious
counsel.
At the suggestion of General George C. Marshall in 1940, and
with the approval of President Franklin Roosevelt,
representatives from existing public service organizations
came together to form the USO Inc. Creating the USO were the
Salvation Army, the YMCA, the YWCA, the National Jewish
Welfare Board, the Travelers Aid Association of America, and
the National Catholic Community Service. During World War
II, more than 1 million volunteers operated more than 3,000
recreational clubs, which were established wherever they
could find room. Clubs were housed in churches, museums,
barns, railroad cars, storefronts, and other unlikely
locales.
During World War II, the best-known USO center in the U.S.
was New York's Stage Door Canteen, celebrated in song and in
the film "Stage Door Canteen" starring Katharine Hepburn and
Groucho Marx. A message on the door read, "All American
place for the all American boy." The Hollywood Canteen was
one of the largest USOs, with capacity for 10,000 and
featuring entertainment by famous movie stars like Bette
Davis, Marlene Dietrich, and the USO champion, Bob Hope.
Comedian Bob Hope is famous for taking his USO shows on the
road and performing at bases and hospitals, wherever U.S.
servicemen were stationed in World War II and beyond.
Disbanded in 1947, the USO reorganized during the Korean
War, expanded considerably during the Vietnam War, and is
still in existence today.
Bob Hope traveled to the troops in the Korean War, the
Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War. His "cowardly
wise-guy humor" has brought laughter to millions of GIs. If
you know anyone in the armed forces, ask if they have ever
experienced a USO-sponsored club or event. Maybe they even
saw Bob Hope live. |
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Jelly's Last Jam
July 10, 1941 -
Jelly Roll Morton Died
Are you a jazz fan? You might be if you heard a recording by
Jelly Roll Morton. He died on July 10, 1941, but his music
still makes you want to get up and dance. If you've listened
to ragtime or watched old black-and-white cartoons, you have
an idea of the kind of music Jelly Roll Morton wrote and
played.
In the 1920s, Jelly Roll Morton rose to fame with his band,
the Red Hot Peppers. Morton was a great pianist and
generally acknowledged as one of the first orchestral jazz
composers. He even claimed to have invented jazz. That boast
brought him a lot of enemies in the music world. Whether or
not you agree with his claim, Morton made some serious
changes to the way jazz was played. Can you think what those
changes might be?
Jazz wouldn't be jazz without musicians creating variations
of the music along the way. What Jelly Roll Morton added to
those free-flowing improvisations were careful rehearsal and
arrangement.
Born Ferdinand Joseph La Menthe, in 1890 in New Orleans,
Louisiana, he billed himself as "Jelly Roll" Morton when he
played in vaudeville (variety) shows. In 1917, he moved to
California and played in nightclubs.
Jelly Roll Morton is best remembered for such pieces as
"Black Bottom Stomp," "Shoe Shiner's Drag," and "Dead Man
Blues." Maybe someone you know has some jazz recordings from
the 1920s. If so, you can turn the music on and get up and
dance. |
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Tanks on Loan
October 23, 1941 -
Senate Passed a Supplemental
Lend-Lease Bill
In 1941, President Roosevelt was faced with a puzzle: How
could the U.S. help Great Britain with its efforts in World
War II without violating the United States' official
position of neutrality? With the help of the Senate, he
found a way. On October 23, 1941, the Senate passed the
$5.98 billion supplement to the Lend-Lease bill, originally
passed in March at Roosevelt's urging. What did this
big-money bill do?
The Lend-Lease Act gave Roosevelt virtually unlimited
authority to direct material aid such as ammunition, tanks,
airplanes, trucks, and food to the war effort in Europe
without the U.S. actually entering the war. Nonetheless, it
brought the United States one step closer to direct
involvement in World War II. Soon after, in December 1941,
the Japanese attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in
Hawaii. This forced America's direct involvement in World
War II. Congress passed and Roosevelt signed the Declaration
of War against Japan.
Despite the U.S. entry into the war, the Lend-Lease program
continued. Initially intended to help Great Britain,
Congress expanded the program to include China and the
Soviet Union. By the end of the war, the United States had
extended $49.1 billion in Lend-Lease aid to nearly 40
nations. If anyone you know lived during World War II, ask
them if they remember the Lend-Lease Act. |
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A Date Which Will Live in Infamy
December 7, 1941 -
The Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor
President Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941, "a
date which will live in infamy." On that day, Japanese
planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii Territory. The bombing killed more than 2,300
Americans. It completely destroyed the American battleship
U.S.S. Arizona and capsized the U.S.S. Oklahoma. The attack
sank or beached a total of twelve ships and damaged nine
others. 160 aircraft were destroyed and 150 others damaged.
The attack took the country by surprise, especially the
ill-prepared Pearl Harbor base.
"AIR RAID ON PEARL HARBOR X THIS IS NOT DRILL."
The ranking United States naval officer in Pearl Harbor,
known as the Commander-in-Chief Pacific, sent this hurried
dispatch to all major navy commands and fleet units. Radio
stations receiving the news interrupted regular broadcasts
to announce the tragic news to the American public. Most
people knew what the attack meant for the U.S. even before
Roosevelt's official announcement the next day. The U.S.
would declare war on Japan.
The U.S. was already close to joining the war, but in an
attempt to preserve its stance of isolation and neutrality,
it had only committed to sending war supplies on loan to the
Allied forces, mainly Great Britain, France, and Russia.
Within days, Japan's allies, Germany and Italy (known
collectively as the Axis powers), declared war on the United
States. December 7, the "date which will live in infamy,"
brought the United States into World War II. Do you know
anyone who fought in the war? |
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Uncle Sam Wants YOU!
June 13, 1942 -
The Office of War Information Was Created
"Uncle Sam wants you!" That's what Americans read on posters
during World War II. To attract U.S. citizens to jobs in
support of the war effort, the government created the Office
of War Information (OWI) on June 13, 1942, some six months
after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. OWI photographers
documented American life and culture by showing aircraft
factories, members of the armed forces, and women in the
workforce. Using propaganda (photographs and captions with
emotional content), the OWI aimed to inspire patriotic
fervor in the American public.
Pearl Harbor Widows have gone into war work to carry on the
fight with a personal vengeance. Mrs. Virginia Young (right)
whose husband was one of the first casualties of World War
II, is a supervisor in the Assembly and Repairs Department
of the Naval Air Base. Her job is to find convenient and
comfortable living quarters for women workers from out of
the state, like Ethel Mann, who operates an electric drill.
This is the original caption for this Office of War
Information (OWI) photograph. Can you see how it would
attract people to the war effort?
In addition to waving the flag and promoting a vision of
apple-pie America, OWI photographers covered less happy
occasions. The OWI also documented social change, including
the massive movement of women into the workforce and the
advancement of African Americans in the military. Talk to
someone who was alive during World War II and ask him or her
if he or she remembers the Office of War Information. |
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A Russian Request
August 13, 1942 -
Joseph Stalin Wrote A Memo
During World War II, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin needed
help from President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime
Minister Winston Churchill. Despite Stalin's agreement with
the German dictator Adolph Hitler, German forces were
attacking the Soviet Union.
On August 13, 1942, Stalin wrote a memorandum to Roosevelt
and Churchill opposing their decision not to invade Western
Europe at that time. Stalin wanted the Americans and British
to distract the Germans in Russia by fighting them on
another front, Western Europe. Where were the Americans?
Just a few months after Stalin's letter, Great Britain and
the United States (who were already fighting in the South
Pacific) entered Africa to fight the Germans. But it was not
until 1943 that the American and British forces would invade
Italy. Then, on June 6, 1944, D-Day, the Americans and
British invaded Western Europe on the beaches of Normandy,
France almost one year after the German army began its
retreat from Russia.
The uneasy alliance of Great Britain and the United States
with the Soviet Union during World War II began to unravel
after Germany's defeat in 1945. The Soviet Union and the
United States soon regarded each other as adversaries. This
tension brought about a prolonged rivalry known as the Cold
War.
Ask someone who fought in the war or grew up during that
time to tell you more stories of World War II. |
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Play It Again, Sam
November 26, 1942 -
"Casablanca" Premiered and the Allies Landed Expeditionary
Forces in North Africa
"This looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship,"
says hero Rick Blaine at the end of the movie classic
"Casablanca." Do you know any other lines from this famous
film? New Yorkers watched the motion picture for the first
time on November 26, 1942. At the same time, the Allied
Expeditionary Forces (AEF) of World War II landed in North
Africa, the real Casablanca's locale, to take over the area
that had been occupied by the Germans. Casablanca, Morocco's
chief port city, was the setting of both the film and,
later, of a major conference of the Allied leadership.
Consequently, "Casablanca" the movie ended up playing a much
more meaningful role than just being a hit at the box
office.
In the film, hero Rick Blaine settles in Casablanca after
fighting fascism (a dictatorship) in Spain. He opens up a
nightclub called "Rick's Café American." ("Rick's Place"
became World War II military code for the city of
Casablanca.) When Rick's former lover, Ilsa, arrives at his
café with her French Resistance leader husband, the club
owner helps them escape. By film's end, Rick and Ilsa have
given up each other to serve a greater good--freedom from
fascism. Just as the Allied invasion of Casablanca advanced
box office sales, so the film "Casablanca" reinforced the
war effort by underscoring the value of freedom and the
importance of personal sacrifice. As Rick says to Ilsa in
the famous farewell scene, "I'm not good at being noble, but
it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three
little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy
world. Someday you'll understand that. Here's looking at
you, kid."
The city of Casablanca suffered severe bombardment during
General Dwight Eisenhower's "Operation Torch." Six weeks
later, in January 1943, however, President Franklin D.
Roosevelt and British leader Winston Churchill met there for
the Casablanca Conference. There they developed a single
military strategy and decided Germany, Italy, and Japan must
surrender unconditionally. At the time, the movie
"Casablanca" was a compelling anti-Nazi film, starring
Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. It won Oscars for Best
Picture, Best Direction and Best Screenplay of 1943. It also
featured the beloved song "As Time Goes By," which begins,
"You must remember this," as performed by the café's
pianist, Sam. If you haven't seen it, rent it. If you have,
you might want to "Play it, Sam." |
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All's Quiet on the Western Front
June 6, 1944 -
D-Day
Early in the morning of June 6, 1944, Americans heard on
their radios that thousands of American and British soldiers
had landed on the beaches of northern France. They were
fighting German soldiers. This day marked the beginning of
the end of one of the bloodiest wars ever: World War II.
Where were your grandparents and great-grandparents during
the Second World War?
During the Second World War, Germany, Italy and Japan were
our enemies. The war effort involved thousands of men and
women, both fighting abroad and working at home around the
clock to build weapons and machines and to raise money.
Food, metal, and gasoline were rationed during this time.
Ordinary people grew "victory gardens" and saved everything
from tin foil to hairpins.
America's involvement in the war lasted a long time--from
1941 to 1945--so music and movies at the time were often
about the war. Because so many men were fighting as
soldiers, many women worked in factories. Ask your parents
or grandparents whether they remember seeing posters from
the wartime, like Rosie the Riveter.
The American and British invasion of France was a top-secret
mission called "Operation Overlord." When they landed on the
beaches of Normandy on June 6, the goal of every soldier was
to drive the German military back. Thousands of men died
during that effort, either in the churning waves of the sea
or by German gunfire. But enough soldiers struggled up onto
the bluffs that, by nightfall, American and British forces
had conquered a small area of Nazi-occupied France. |
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