U.S. History: 1877-Present—Semester B

Sample Lesson - Introduction

Lesson 9.04: Race in War

"I'm sorry, I can't hear your racism over the sound of how awesome I look."
(Source)

Now, here's a shocker: wars never occur in isolation from the people and cultures that fight them. That means that WWII wasn't just a series of battles and military strategies—it was a massive, whole-scale event that interacted with every single facet of American culture.

And here's another shocker: one of the most important and pervasive issues in American society was race. We've talked about the broken promises of Reconstruction, the rise of Jim Crow, and the increase in racial violence. By the 1940s, African Americans and other people of color were still confronted with every kind of discrimination, segregation, oppression, and straight-up racism twentieth-century America could invent. And then World War II landed in the middle of it.

Today we'll be talking about some of the ways that the war changed American perceptions of race for the better, and some of the ways that African Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans simultaneously fought for both their country and their human rights.

First, we've got the Navajo code talkers, who stepped up to the plate when the Japanese were figuring out all of our codes. The idea: just pass all of our communications in Navajo. Translate that, suckers.

Then we'll talk about the Tuskegee Airmen, a unit of Black men trained to fly planes at the Tuskegee Institute. In a time when the American military was still segregated, these dudes—the very first Black aviator team—piloted planes over Sicily, North Africa, and the Mediterranean.

Let's add into the "new opportunities for minorities" bucket the 442nd Regimental Combat team, a group of second-generation Japanese men mostly from Hawaii. The 442nd were instrumental in many European battles, not least of which was breaking through German forces so the Allies could bring about Germany's ultimate surrender and the end of World War II.

So, given these incredible contributions to the war effort, nobody back home could have any doubt that people of color deserved equal rights, could they? Oh, they totally could.

Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 9.9.04: Breaking Codes and Flying Planes

Talkin' Code

Let's start by getting a behind the scenes look at Navajo code talkers and how vital they were to the U.S. Marine Corps. While you're reading, think about why Navajo was an insanely perfect language for cryptographers, in terms of its syntax and patterns of use—talk about a uniquely helpful group of Americans.

Tuskegee or Bust

Read this overview and this article on the obstacles faced by the Tuskegee Airmen (besides enemy planes...) and the stats on how many planes and destroyers these men really shot down. While you're reading, think about what the Tuskegee Airmen proved to American military culture, and how their wartime efforts may have contributed to the American civil rights discussion on the home front. President Truman desegregated the Armed Forced in 1948—how might the Tuskegee Airmen have helped this long-overdue decision along?

442nd to the Rescue

In this reading on the 442nd Regimental Combat team, we'll learn all about the soldiers who called each other Buddhaheads (a term for Hawaiian soldiers) and kotonks (mainland soldiers) and why they got sweet slang names (where's Shmoop's slang name?). As we learn about the conflict between these soldiers we will also get to know just how many times the 442nd saved the butts of their fellow American soldiers. Spoiler alert: it was more than the number of times we've walked into a glass door.

While you're reading, think about the prejudices that Japanese Americans had to confront to become soldiers, as well as the unique skill-set that they brought to the army.

Also, keep an eye out for the liberation of the Lost Battalion—a Texas-based unit that was rescued by the 442nd. When it came time for Congress to vote on admitting Hawaii as a state, the Texan representatives in Congress were majorly influential and swung the vote in Hawaii's direction. Why? Turns out our Texan congressmen all said the 442nd rescue of the Lost Battalion in WWII was a big part of their decision. So, we should all thank the 442nd for every vacation we've had (or dreamed of having...sigh) in the beautiful state of Hawaii. Turns out wartime actions can really influence cultural and political opinions on the home front.

Race on the Home Front

But, while you might have hoped that this was the end of racism in America, WWII brought few tangible changes for African Americans. Lawful segregation continued to limit access to public facilities in the South, laws restricting Black suffrage remained intact, and the threat of economic reprisal and death at the hands of whites prevented Black citizens from owning land and gaining economic independence.

Still, one thing had changed: Black veterans returned home transformed. With their wartime experiences came new frustrations, and a more urgent desire to take charge of their lives and protest ill treatment. The fear and anger they felt on the battlefield didn't fade at war's end, but instead intensified. Many Black veterans were determined to discard any semblance of "that's just the way things are" nonsense. The "status quo" meant white people degrading, humiliating, and terrorizing Black communities, and while many Black soldiers were eager to return to civilian life, a return to that life was unthinkable. 

"I had spent five years with white men, and women, from Africa to Italy, through Paris, and into the Fatherland itself," Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins reflects in Devil in a Blue Dress, a novel by Walter Mosley. "I ate with them and slept with them, and I killed enough blue-eyed young men to know that they were just as afraid to die as I was."

Black soldiers returning from World War II would provide the fuel for the growing Civil Rights Movement. But more on that in the next few units.

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 9.04: The Next Maya Lin

Do you know Maya Lin? If not, you should, because, well, she was awesome. She was also a student when she designed the Vietnam War Memorial. Yes, as in of all the people in the whole wide country who wanted to design this important memorial, including all the super-famous artists, a 21-year-old college student designed the winning submission. Pret-ty baller, if you ask us.

In this activity, you'll take a page out of her book. Pick one of the special fighting forces you read about in the readings, and draw a design for a memorial commemorating it and its members' contributions in World War II.

Get creative with this one. You'll want to figure out what the memorial will look like, what text will be on it, how it will highlight the contributions of the fighting force and its members, and how it will educate the general public.

You can go traditional by planning a big stone monument, a little crazy with a 20-foot high original poem, a little weird with a piece of abstract art, or think out of the box with a museum and/or virtual simulation experience. Whatever it is, it'll need a visual component. You can design it on the computer, or sketch it out and take a picture (or scan it)—either way, include a few bullet points describing what it will look like.

You never know, maybe your designs will be featured in a reality television show where history students design national monuments. It could happen.

But in order to really push your designs (and your knowledge of these fighting groups and their contribution to American history) over the edge—and in case future reality television shows require an application—you will write 2 – 3 paragraphs explaining your designs and how they represent the specific contributions of your chosen special fighting force.

Upload your memorial plan and your paragraphs below!