New York Times War and Memory Lesson

NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY
The New York Times and the Creation and Portrayal of War and Memory
Senior Capstone Project: Lesson Plan
EricaEllis
12/13/2011

Type: Lesson Plan Topic: The portrayal and memory of war through the New York Times and media Introduction: This section will focus on the newspaper The New York Times and the way that it presents information, creates memory and attempts to show what was important for a day in history. The class will also examine new forms of media, mainly movies, to see the type of memory they create and how each type of media is engineered for a different purpose. Overview: This lesson plan would ideally come at the end of a semester or possibly yearlong American History course. If it were a semester long it would be from the Civil War on to the present. The class is targeted to a lower division college course. Time Frame: This topic would take up to 4 1-hour course periods. Structure: Students will need to have read certain sources and obtain some background knowledge on the subject before the class begins. This will be done through specific readings and handouts as well as general knowledge about the wars examined in this lesson which will be gained from throughout the semester. The readings for the lesson can be found at the end of the outline. Format: The lectures will be given on Power Point slides and the specific articles and front pages of The Times will be displayed during class by PDF format. Purpose: From this lesson students will gain knowledge of how the media, mainly the news source The New York Times is so important in how we get information about, view and remember wars. Students will also learn why The Times is in fact such a landmark publication and reliability of information as well as choosing what is important. They will be applying what they have learned over the course of the semester/year in the field of war knowledge and analysis of primary sources to this unit. The goal of this section is to teach students to be critical of the media they see and how to analyze it for historical purposes. They will also be able to recognize bias in new media and those created for economic gain. Objectives: 1. To understand the importance of media in history. 2. To understand the biases in media. 3. To interpret primary sources. Assessment of Learning: Students will have two quizzes covering the material presented and readings. These will be in-class quizzes for 10 points. The culmination project for this unit will be for the students to create their own front page, showcasing what they have learned about
Copyright Erica Ellis 2011
media and war. Notes from the analysis of articles will also be turned in for credit as well as handouts used throughout the unit. Day One: Introduction to topic/History of the Paper/the Civil War/Spanish-American War Day Two: WWI/WWII Day Three: Korea/Vietnam/Desert Storm/The War on Terror Day Four: The Paper Today/Media in General *There are more headlines suggested for each war then would be expected to be covered for the time frame of this mini-unit. At the teachers discretion some may be cut out but this may lessen the effect of the lesson. The best action would be to go over larger ideas during class (these front pages will be indicated by a symbol () next to them) and assign the rest to be examined for homework.

Day 1: Introduction to the Times, the Civil War and the Spanish American War Materials: Power Point Presentation, PDF or copies of The New York Times front pages for the dates to be used and before class readings Before Class Preparation: Read Introduction to The Complete Front Pages, Picketts Charge excerpt, The Battle Over Citizen Kane video Why is the media important and why should we study it from a historical perspective? Yellow Journalism and the Maine Incident- Clip of Citizen Kane- Ill provide the war Power of the media William Randolph Hurst- was able to control a media empire, spin the news to say the things he wanted how he wanted them said and blacklisted those against him. I.E. Orson Wells (Show Clip from The Battle Over Citizen Kane) The media was the first to use the phrase Picketts Charge The newspapers only have so much space that they have to fill. A newspaper is a specified size and cannot be changed every day to fit either an abundance or lack of news. What they choose to show, how big they will show it, how they will say it and what they do or do not supplement it with means a lot. Much of this is decided through how important they feel an event is and how much it should be covered. Much of what appears in print is left to the discretion of the editors. Introduction to the New York Times First Issue: September 17, 1851 April 21, 1861- Due to demand for Civil War news The Times along with many other papers begin a Sunday edition This is where we can see how the demand for war information drives the media sources December 11th- First illustration. Cartoon of a rival newspaper man from The Herald, James Gordon Bennett September 6, 1896- First photos- The Queen of Englands Jubilee June 10, 1919- Only paper to print the entire treaty of Versailles October 16, 1997- First color image printed on the front page. It was of Tony Fernandez and his 11th inning home run that put the Cleveland Indians into the World Series.
Class Participation: What do these milestones of visuals show about the paper? What kinds of things are important here? This is a primary source so of course it will have its biases Class Participation- What could some of those biases be? Possible Answers- from the north, came in during the middle of the actions leading up to the Civil War, Why The Times?- Class Participation Possible answers- been around a long time, has a good reputation, its where journalists want to be Intro to book- The front page was the collection of what the editors found to be the news of yesterday. Now because of the digital age, this focus is diminishing on narrowing and sifting the information to a single page. When it comes to The Complete Pages, it is important to realize that the articles placed in it had to be selected, and they were for specific reasons. It was for the events they recorded. This creates a study guide to our development as a people. (p. 8) By examining news through the front page we see how it helps in studying history. There is context. What else is going on that day? On March 21, 1933 we saw a headline covering F.D.R.s desire for executive power to counter the Great Depression. Just opposite that headline in similar prestige we see the beginning of Adolf Hitlers dictatorship. How we view these events today puts them both in an important place and we now have a record of how two important events took place on the same day. This is historical context, what else is going on? Sometimes headlines that were important that day have little lasting significance and so we could be left to wonder why that is. These headlines are not always clear and as with all primary documents require interpretation. Compare the day Lincoln was assassinated to 9/11. Here we see a distinct similarity and an important difference. Both of these front pages recorded a tragic event in US history and served as a unifying point for all Americans. But the biggest difference is knowledge. The assassination of President Lincoln horrified the nation when it appeared in the Times the next morning, but who could say that by September 12th, they were not already aware of what happened the day before? New media over the 150 years between the two pages makes the purpose and importance of print papers change with it. Media coverage is becoming more expansive and immediate. We know what is happening practically as it happens instead of the next day. In The New York Times one will find stories of Reichkristallnacht (the night of Broken Glass) and mass deportation of Jews, but no front page article on the Holocaust itself. This, according to Keller was a misjudgment on the editors part.
What is important? When Comparing headlines ask the following questions- For each article we examine, take notes on these questions, which will be turned in at the beginning of the next class 1. What does the headline say? 2. What could that headline mean? 3. What else is going on in the news that day? 4. Is it related to the headline? 5. Which seems to be more important? 6. What is the balance of social, economic, political and war stories on each page? 7. What is your memory of this event?

Intro to Civil War section- This was the first war in which pictures were used to show what had happened. Up until this point people saw paintings, and these paintings were idealistic at best. They showed a heroic general riding into battle on his white horse. But photographs showed the carnage, what really happened out there. Bodies lay everywhere in images from Gettysburg. People saw what war really was. Journalism and photography opened civilian eyes to what was happened on the battlefield. Headlines to Discuss 7/6/1863 4/10/1865 4/15/1865 For Next Class: Students will need to have had a background in the war from previous class lectures, the course text and readings with focus on propaganda such as the Zimmerman Note. There will also be the following readings: From Blitzkrieg to Genocide by Richard Bernstein from The Complete Front Pages and Photography Changes How Wars are Fought by Von Hardesty. (link: http:// click.si.edu/Story.aspx?story=36)

Day 2: World War I and World War II Materials: Power Point Presentation, PDF or copies of The New York Times front pages for the dates to be used and before class readings Before Class Preparation- Students will need to have had a background in the war from previous class lectures, the course text and readings with focus on propaganda such as the Zimmerman Note. There will also be the following readings: From Blitzkrieg to Genocide by Richard Bernstein from The Complete Front Pages and Photography Changes How Wars are Fought by Von Hardesty. (link: http://click.si.edu/Story.aspx?story=36) World War I Things to keep in mind about World War I Propaganda was being spread by the media in all kinds of ways and by governments to promote their nationalism in the war The Zimmerman Note is a super important document to this war for the United States. It was one of the reasons we got involved Printing of documents- as we will see in various front pages the Times would run messages between countries and governments and people as it pertained to the war. This is obviously not something we do anymore. o Class Discussion- Could it be because of Vietnam and the governments bad publicity with war at that time? Why do you think we do not do anymore? o Dates with printed notes May 31, 1915 February 1, 1917
Total War- civilians were now being attacked (unrestricted submarine warfare) and now the people needed to be informed. When things hit home or the people of home, then it gets huge media attention. It was now a war against everyone and everything and so everyone had to know about it.
Headlines to Discuss- Articles not discussed in class can /will be assigned for homework at teachers discretion.
5/8/1915 11/11/1918 11/20/1919 World War II World War II was so long in the making that The New York Times basically tracked and reported it from the start. We saw Hitler gaining power in Germany on the front page of the times on March 21, 1933. The thing was that he did it legally. So the papers, not knowing what he would do in the next 12 years, reported it. They saw what he was doing as ridding Europe of the leftists and communists, which was a good thing to the US. The allies gave into more demands and the Times reported it. It was no secret what was going on in Europe; it was all laid out for the people to see. What made war so undetectable was the way it was manufactured, publicized (which removes some fear of foul play) and the hope that if they gave in he would stop. Yes, there were the reports and stories about the bad stuff that was happening, but being isolationist we didnt pay it much mind and it built up over time. If we had the goal after World War I to be an isolationist nation, then why were we printing so much about what was happening in Germany and Europe through the 30s? (Opinion question- there is no right or wrong answer but students should be thinking about this as they approach each headline about the war before the US got involved, Why did we print this if we were not at war?) Headlines to Discuss- Articles not discussed in class can /will be assigned for homework at teachers discretion. 12/8/1941 4/10/1942* This shows the Bataan death march. We knew about it, we reported it. Class Discussion? -Why then do we see nothing about the Holocaust? 6/6/1944 War News Summarized- Observe how integrated war had become with civilian life. It was published every day during the war. From Blitzkrieg to Genocide- Even though the war has been over for three generations, its memory lives on and is much debated among many fields of academia and in everyday life. How do we, either as an individual or a society as a whole, grapple the horrific loses of this war? How do we remember those lost in battles (Civilian, soldier and Holocaust)? How do we deal with the Holocaust? Who is at fault? Nazis? All Germans? Was the Treaty of Versailles to blame? Why did we do the things we did? Even though we have incalculable numbers of primary sources from this time, we still do not and cannot come to one simple conclusion or answer to these
questions. These sources we look at including these newspapers help us create our own individual memories, which we may share with some but will not share with all. This controversy and wealth of sources leads to multiple interpretations of what happened, making World War II the most written about historical event to date.

Day 3: Korea, Vietnam, The Cold War, Desert Storm and the War on Terror Materials: Power Point Presentation, PDF or copies of The New York Times front pages for the dates to be used, quiz #1 and Photography VS TV handout Before Class Preparation: Students only need to have the knowledge gained through the semester about these events before coming to class on this day. This will be general information about the Cold War obtained through previous class lectures and the text. Beginning of Class: Collect notes on articles done in class and for homework Learning Assessment: Hand out quiz 1. The quiz should take no more than 5-10 minutes for each student to complete. Can be graded in class or collected and graded by instructor. Quiz 1 is based upon the lecture from the first day of this unit, Introduction, The Times and the Civil War. Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War Headlines to Discuss- Articles not discussed in class can /will be assigned for homework at teachers discretion. 10/23/1962 11/11/1989 12/9/1991

The End of Communism and the Cold War The fall of the Berlin Wall was the symbolic end to communism for so many. This event was largely covered by the media. Photos of the wall being torn down are still extremely popular photos. This was largely publicized as was all elements of the fall of communism because people had lived with it for long. It was a memory in the making. People had lived through this and were affected all over the world, and now wanted documentation of some called the greatest event in their time. For journalists, this was probably going to be the most important story of their career. TV in Vietnam
Activity- Changes in media. During the Civil War we saw the photograph shape warfare and warfare journalism. In the Vietnam War we saw that will television. Using the handout, compare the two revolutions in media and how they apply to war. This assignment will help students to understand how much media and the changes in technology can affect the way a war is portrayed at the time, remembered and supported by the people or not supported. The War on Terror Without being an actual declared war we have spent the last 10 years seeing front page news about the War on Terror. It has, through media of all types, been able to stay at the front of our minds but in a different way then perhaps World War II. In World War II everyone remembered every day that the United States was at war. During the War on Terror it has been a more subtle dominance over our lives. Class Participation- Do you think this is truly the case? (Opinion question- there is no right or wrong answer) Headlines to Discuss- Articles not discussed in class can /will be assigned for homework at teachers discretion. 9/12/2001 1/29/2003 3/19/2008 For the Next Class: Students will need to be thinking about a piece of media, most likely a movie, about war to be able to do an activity with next class. Students will need to fill out the Preparing for Media Analysis handout for homework and turn it in for the next class.

Day 4: Media and Memory Materials: Power Point Presentation, PDF or copies of The New York Times front pages for the dates to be used, quiz #2 and media critique handout Before Class Preparation: Students will need to have read Warfare and the Teaching of History by Michael J. Salevouris. They will also need to have thought of their piece of media such as a movie about war. Beginning of Class: Collect handout Preparing for Media Analysis Learning Assessment: Hand out quiz 2. The quiz should take no more than 5-10 minutes for each student to complete. Can be graded in class or collected and graded by instructor. Warfare and the Teaching of History War films and shows have greatly romanticized warfare. Walt Whitman is quoted saying "The real war will never get in the books." Salevouris says that had Whitman lived in our time that list would also have included films or TV. Saving Private Ryan could arguably be one of the main reasons for the resurgence in interest in World War II in the past 15 years. Personal memoirs of the people who were there are a good source to understanding what happened. Movies are filled with special effects, over dramatizations in many cases and oftentimes improbable love stories to make the movie sell. The "experience of war" as Salevouris uses, is important to study this topic. Memory of war comes from all places and it is important to have a grasp on the human element when teaching and studying such a horrific event. What combat was like is now important to how we remember, and movies like Saving Private Ryan touch in what men in the field may have experienced. War should not be taught, studied or remembered as generals pushing men. Or kings. In the movie Troy, though not relevant to the time we are talking about, there is made a relevant statement. King Agamemnon says to Achilles "history remembers kings." The soldiers who fought in Troy are largely forgotten, we remember the greatness of their leaders only. But now, with the age of film, we are seeing more personal stories and those of humanization come to life. History does not show private stories but private stories sell, so they do it. Media shapes out memory of war further back then when media existed. In movies about the Crusades we usually see the 3rd crusade. This is because of the participation of Richard the Lionheart (personal stories sell), even though the 3rd Crusade was lost. The Media of Maus The graphic novel Maus written by Art Spiegelman details the story of his father Vladek, both during the Holocaust and how it has affected his life and the life of his family afterward. While being a good source for many reasons such as memory and victim perspective, it has its drawbacks as well.
This comic provides a unique source/perspective about the Holocaust, more so than simply being told as a comic. It is a memory told as a memory. Vladeks Holocaust story is told alongside his current life, making it a re-telling or a memory of Vladek. Being written as a comic about mice is another strength of this novel. By making it into a graphic novel it becomes much easier and lighter to read, which is important when it comes to such a heavy topic, both in detail and emotion. By illustrating the characters as animals, readers can see the hierarchy and the relationships between the different people. Mice (Jews) are victimized and killed by cats, (Nazis and Germans) who are eventually stopped by the Allies (dogs). By using animals it is also easier to cope with the scale and atrocity of the Holocaust. Sometimes it helps to distance the reader from that heavy emotional toll that comes with this topic. But even though they are mice, the story can become so real at times that the novel becomes very emotional as through it one develops a connection and investment in the characters. Board Games and War Memory Games can be a form of media and memory as well. And sometimes their lessons are true. Risk- The game of world conquest is all about having it all. Something Hitler and Napoleon certainly wanted. Perhaps where you build your own empire from is based upon how you feel about certain countries. Or perhaps you build your armies based on strategy and key locations. (Building up from Australia is a popular move for strategic purposes.) Remember how hard it was to hold Asia, or even to get it? Here we see the lesson that Napoleon and Hitler learned well, do not walk into Russia in the winter. Stratego- This was a logic and strategy based game of narrowing down your opponents army based upon numbered ranks. Avoiding high ranking generals wherever they may be is a good idea when you are a 1 or 2 ranked private. That piece is just more cautious of big names. During the Battle of the Bulge, the German armies were so scared of the name of General Patton that his existence almost became psychological warfare. Activity- Current media and war Students will complete the handout that analyzes and critiques the piece of media of their choice. This will be done on the handout provided to them.

Activity A few students will have the opportunity to choose a date they would like to see and that front page will be brought up for the class to examine.


Name________________________ The New York Times/ Media Quiz #1 1. Citizen Kane was a satire by ____________ on the life of _______________. a. Steven Spielberg, Orson Welles b. Oscar Wilde, F.D.R. c. Matt and Trey Parker, Steve Jobs d. Orson Welles, William Randolph Hearst e. Henry Jarvis Raymond, F.D.R. 2. The first issue of The New York Times was printed a. August 12, 1850 b. September 15, 1812 c. March 7, 1799 d. December 2, 1856 e. September 17, 1851 3. The New York Times was created by ______________________________, later the director of the Associated Press. 4. The New York Times was the only paper to print. a. The Zimmerman note b. The complete Treaty of Versailles c. The Union victory in the Civil War d. The attack of 9/11 e. A Sunday edition of their paper
5. What was shown on the front page of The Times on the same day that F.D.R. tried to get executive powers to aid the depression? a. Hitler became chancellor in Germany b. World War II started c. World War I started d. The Hindenburg Blew up e. The Titanic sank 6. Which of these events will you NOT find on the front page of The New York Times? a. The assassination of President Lincoln b. Deportation of Jews in Europe c. The Holocaust d. The Night of Broken Glass e. The sinking of the Titanic 7. Which is NOT one of the questions we ask while looking at a front page? a. Who wrote the headline? b. What could the headline mean? c. What else is happening on that day? d. Which [headline] seems more/most important? e. What is the balance of stories on each page? 8. A phenomenon that aided the Spanish-American War was ______ Journalism. a. Pink b. Orange c. Green
d. Blue e. Yellow 9. According to Ben Keller, The Complete Front Pages creates a ______________ to our ____________________ as a people. 10.What two events are used to illustrate how, even after the 150 years between these two horrific events, The Times is still a unifying point for the American People. (Select one and fill in the other) a. The Sinking of the Lusitania b. Pearl Harbor c. The assassination of Lincoln d. Union Victory in the Civil War e. The Maine Incident ______________________________________________

Name________________________ The New York Times/ Media Quiz #2 1. What brought the United States into World War I? a. Unrestricted Submarine Warfare b. Carpet Bombing of New York c. The Zimmerman Note d. The attack on Pearl Harbor e. Appeasement 2. Which of these dates saw the United States end the war through the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles? a. November 11, 1918 b. November 20, 1919 c. June 29,1919 d. March 16, 1917 e. None of the above 3. According to The New York Times, Germany called the sinking of the Lusitania. a. an accident waiting to happen b. a mistake c. justified self-defense d. an act of war e. necessary hostility 4. Using The New York Times as a source, we can track a. The events leading up to the Holocaust and other genocide b. Appeasement by the Allies c. Hitlers rise to power d. World War II
e. All of the above 5. The _______________ changed the Civil War in similar ways to how _______________ changed the Vietnam War. 6. For journalists, the ________________________________ was going to be the most important story of their career. 7. Describe the issues and controversies concerning memory and World War II. (2 points) ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ 8. What is War News Summarized? (2 points) ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________

Name____________________ Preparing for Media Analysis Directions: Answer the follow questions while you think about new types of media. 1) What are different types of media that you can think of?

2) What kind of media do you most often see?

3) Why that type of media?

4) Do you feel that many people also view these types of media and why?

5) What are the goals of different forms of media?

6) Do you critique media for accuracy or biases? If so which kinds of media?

7) Is there any kind of media you accept to be true? Accept to be untrue?

8) Is it important to be critical of media? How? Why or why not?


Name____________________ Media Critique Directions: Using a piece of media of your choice that displays war or a historical event, answer the questions below about media purpose and portrayal. Title___________________________ Type of media__________________________ What is the purpose of this media?_______________________________ Where are the priorities of the creation of this media? (Economic, educational, entertainment, persuasion, memory etc. There can be more than one.) ____________________________________________________________________________ ____ What kinds of bias could this create in this media? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ __________________ What kind of memory does this piece of media create? (Des tis create a realistic, romanticized humorous, etc.) How do you remember/have memory of the events that occur in this piece? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________ What are some historical accuracies in this media? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ __________________ What are some historical inaccuracies in this media? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ __________________ Why did you choose this media? __________________________________________________________ Does the reason for choosing the media come from the memory, accuracies, inaccuracies or other? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ __________________ Write a 1 paragraph review of this film making sure to put it into historical and media context. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Copyright Erica Ellis 2011
____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ What, if anything, did you learn from this exercise? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________ The New York Times/ Media Final Project Due Date: This project sheet will be handed out on the first day of the unit and the project will be due the week after the unit is finished. Goals: To showcase what you have learned about the importance and memory of print media. Recognize how and why things are chosen for media representation. Identify how they are represented and what the effects of that could be. Directions: Create a front page to a newspaper. This can be done in a couple of different ways so long as you meet the goals of the assignment. For example A front page for a weekly publication with current news of a particular week A daily paper *The content and intended audience for this project can be unique and of your own creation, but keep in mind that if you are creating a general newspaper, relevant and abundant content may be a bit easier to find. *Some of these projects will have more material to work with, but remember, The Times only has one day to collect and create their page, and they do it every day. It is possible to do a daily and a potential limited base of stories will be accounted for in the grading. A cumulative or monthly publication will not have such leniency. I expect at least 7 stories per front page and probably not more than 10-12. This means that a cumulative project much be selective about the stories they run. *Do not put the entire story of all stories on the front page; there is carry over to another page. (Create a Continued on. At the end of the story and include the rest of the story in your final project.
*At least 3 photos or illustrations. They can be standalone with a caption (not part of story count) or images to accompany a story. All images must have some sort of caption. *From a journalistic standpoint, if you wanted to write your own articles (about real events) to put on the front page, that is ok. *This project will be done in groups of 4. Each person will have a specific assignment. Descriptions of those positions will be described in a handout. ALL STORIES MUST BE FOR THE DAY/DAYS OR PERIOD YOUR PAGE COVERS. Grading: This assignment will be worth 100 points, broken down as follows. 20 points- Formatting. Make it look like a paper
10 points- Individual work. This will be based upon who was assigned what job, how well I can see that they did it and a short evaluation of your group which you will provide when you turn it in. (Pay attention to points here. Without teamwork, the best you can do is a "B".) 60 Points content 10 points- having 7-12 stories on you page 15 Points- Illustrations (at least 3) with captions 10 points- Relevance to the time and your intended audience 5 points- Context 20 points- Is this a comprehensive overview. Did you print the right stuff?
10 points- The basic stuff like spelling and grammar

Final Project Job Descriptions These are the descriptions of the positions you can choose from for the final project. This project will be done in groups of four and the positions must be divided as followed. This from needs to be filled out by the group and turned in so that grading can be based not only on the final project but how each group member performed their task. Reporters (2) ____________________________ and ________________________________ Two people in the group will be responsible for finding stories. Stories must be from the date range involved in the front page. Reporters will be responsible for accumulating more stories then will eventually be needed so the editor can make choices about what to keep and publish. Reporters also need to find photographs to go along with the stories. Extra photos will also be helpful to the editor.

Editor (1) ___________________________ The editors responsibility is to take the stories from the reporters and decide what is fit to print for the date range of the publication. This must include stories and photographs. The editor must create headlines for each story to gain reader attention. Which stories and photos will make the final cut is ultimately up to the editor.

Printer (1) ____________________________ The printer takes the stories from the editor and using his/her comments will create the format from the front page. The printer will create a layout and insert the stories and photos. How much of each story will be decided in collaboration with the editor.

Name_________________________ Media, War and Memory Final Project Group Feedback Sheet My Job________________________ What I did for the group

How I felt about the job I did

What I could have done better

How I felt about the rest of the groups work

What I think they could have done better

How I tried to get things done better

General Comments


Sample Answers and Rationales for The New York Times Front Pages This is a list of what students should grasp from looking at each front page.
8. What does the headline say? 9. What could that headline mean? 10. What else is going on in the news that day? 11. Is it related to the headline? 12. Which seems to be more important? 13. What is the balance of social, economic, political and war stories on each page? 14. What is your memory of this event?
Civil War Pages 7/6/1863- This page is significant because it is one of the great battles of the Civil War. 1. The Great Battles 2. These could be the best or most successful Union victories or battles. 3. This day is mostly just war news because the battle of Gettysburg just happened. 4. N/A 5. War News is the dominant topic on this page 6. War stories 4/10/1865- This page shows the end of the Civil War. 1. Union Victory! Peace! 2. The Union has won the Civil War and now there will be peace in the united States. 3. The paper shows other correspondence from the end of the war. 4. Yes. 5. The end of the war is more important than how it ended. At this point they just wanted it over. 6. War and political stories 4/15/1865- This page is the announcement that the president was shot and killed. This is how people got their news back in the 1860s. This page also shows other events occurring. Copyright Erica Ellis 2011
1. Awful event. President Lincoln shot by an assassin. 2. President Lincoln was killed on purpose. 3. Other accounts of Lincoln's assassination, news about our cruisers in Portugal and news from Britain, India and Brazil. 4. One article is, but most of it is not. 5. The assassination of Lincoln and the Cruisers in Portugal take dominance on this page. 6. War, political and global. World War I Pages 5/8/1915- The sinking of the Lusitania is the events that eventually brings the United States into World War I. This headline is a bit more complex than those seen in the Civil War. 1. Lusitania Sunk by Submarine, Probably 1,000 dead; Twice torpedoed off Irish coast; sinks in 15 minutes; Americans aboard included Vanderbilt and Frohman; Washington believes that a grave crisis is at hand 2. A ship carrying American people, including important one, has been sunk by torpedoes. We are not sure how many are dead but the ship sank quickly so there is not likely to be many survivors. The government is now fearing that we are on the brink of war. 3. Other articles include how London reacted to the sinking, what the Americans such as Roosevelt think of the act as well as that some of the dead have already been found. 4. Yes. 5. The number of people who died and the current shaky political climate 6. Social, War, political 11/11/1918- The armistice signaled the end of the fighting in World War I, but not the war itself. Show the state of unrest Europe is now in. 1. Armistice signed, end of the war! Berlin seized by revolutionists; new chancellor begs for order; ousted Kaiser flees to Holland. 2. The war is over. But there is still trouble in Germany as Berlin is now under the control of a new chancellor who is begging for mercy. The old leader has fled the country and the chaos more than likely out of fear. 3. Who else left Germany with the Kaiser, when the armistice happened, revolution in Berlin, the end of many German dynasties and more power for the communists. 4. Some are yes. 5. There will be no more fighting and Germany's leadership is questionable. 6. War, political, social, economic Copyright Erica Ellis 2011
11/20/1919- The United States never ratified the Treaty of Versailles and did not seem to be very interested in it and more so with social issues that day 1. Senate Session ends, treaty is defeated; three votes taken, 39 to 55, 41 to 50, 38 to 53; May be revived at the December session 2. The United States Congress did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles. In three separate votes the treaty was struck down. They may revisit the issue in December. 3. The Prince of Wales spent a day in New York, Plot to put bombs in Christmas mail, Economic downturn, deadlock on coal dispute 4. Stories about nullification and rejection of treaty are 5. There is a balance of the importance of stories on the front page 6. Social, economic, political, war, global, local World War II Pages 12/8/1941- How the United States was provoked into the war, giving strong favor to the Allied cause and opening a large Pacific Front. 1. Japan Wars on U.S. and Britain; Makes sudden attack on Hawaii; Heaving fighting at sea reported 2. The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Britain. There are reports of sea battles. 3. Congress declares war on Japan, bombers attack Pearl Harbor, Guam is sunk with a US ship, New York City rounding up Japanese. 4. Yes, most of these stories relate to the new war on Japan. 5. The Japanese attacks around the world. 6. War, political, military 4/10/1942- The Times chose to run information about the Bataan Death March but showed nothing about the Holocaust. 1. Japanese capture Bataan and 36,000 troops; Sink two British cruisers; Italians lose one; India Reported agreeing on native council. 2. The Bataan Death March occurs by the Japanese. British and Italian armies lose ships. 3. Gas supplies cut, Italian cruiser sunk by British, Burma air fight, Japanese success in Bay of Bengal 4. Yes 5. Sinking ships and Burma 6. Social, war, military Copyright Erica Ellis 2011
6/6/1944- D-Day was the most significant push into Europe and toward Berlin. This created a turning point in Europe for the Allies 1. Allied armies land in France in the Havre-Cherbourg area; Great invasion is under way 2. The D-Day invasion has begun. There are high hopes for the Great Invasion 3. Insurance ruling, FDR speaks on Fall of Rome, Ike commands Europe, Italys power change, Montgomery leads army, Planes assist land assault troops in Normandy 4. Yes 5. The Invasion of Normandy 6. Social, Economic, Military, Political, War Cold War Pages 10/23/1962- The Cuban Missile Crisis is one of the most iconic events of the Cold War and the closest we have come to nuclear war since the creation of the A-bomb 1. U.S. imposes arms blockade on Cuba on finding offensive-missile sites; Kennedy ready for Soviet shutdown 2. The Soviet Union has places missiles in Cuba. President Kennedy has imposed a trade blockade on Cuba and is preparing to talk to the Soviets. 3. Judges get power to allow blacks to vote, 102 saved at sea as plane ditches, Cuban military mobilized by Castro, Cuban crisis shuts down campaign talks, Border between East and West Berlin slowed, Moscows reaction to Cuba, Forces to blockade Cuba 4. There are a lot of articles related to Cuba and how it will be handled and the shock it has created 5. Cuba is the dominant topic in the news on this day 6. Political, War, Social 11/11/1989- The fall of the Berlin Wall was iconic and signaled the beginning of the end for the communists and the Soviet Union 1. Joyous East Germans pour through wall; Party pledges freedoms, and city exults 2. The Berlin Wall Falls, allowing people to move freely for the first time since 1961. There Germans living in East Berlin are incredibly happy about the fall. The political parties promise freedom to the people. 3. US concerns about fall of the wall, Bush provides housing aid to the poor, Bulgarian chief steps down, How to define Europe in the wake of the fall of the wall, Party in Berlin 4. Much of the news from that day is about the new global climate that the fall of the Berlin Wall, the largest symbol of communism, has created 5. The Fall of the Wall Copyright Erica Ellis 2011
6. Political, social 12/9/1991- The USSR announces the end of the Soviet Union and therefore the end of the Cold War 1. Declaring death of Soviet Union, Russia and 2 republics form new commonwealth 2. The Soviet Union will dissolve itself and form a new nation with itself and two republics 3. What is going to be born out of the death of the Soviet Union, high school basketball, Persian Gulf tensions 4. The focus of news on this day was new global changes 5. New global changes 6. Political, social War on Terror Pages 9/12/2001- This was the event that sparked the War on terror which we are still dealing with. This event is landmark in the field of terrorism. This is also an event most people can remember in a personal way in contrast to less personal events covered in the lesson 1. U.S. Attacked- Hijacked jets destroy twin towers and hit pentagon in day of terror 2. The World Trade Centers were hit by two planes and collapsed as a result of a deliberate terrorist act. The Pentagon was also struck by a plane 3. President vows revenge for this evil, waiting to hear what will happen next, president addresses nation 4. Yes, all news that day pertained to the attacks 5. The attacks are dominant 6. Political, war, social 1/29/2003- Although Bush is calling Iraq a serious threat and plans to do something about it, we still see a balance of other news in the paper. This pattern will continue for the next ten years as we fight the war on terror. It will have only subtle dominance over our lives. 1. Calling Iraq a serious threat, Bush vows that hell disarm it, and also rebuild U.S. economy 2. Bush is going to react strongly against Iraq and take it down. Oh, and he is going to work on fixing the economy 3. Budget plans for NYC, Bush links Iraq with the terrorists, President will handle domestic issues, Israeli election, Bushs twin challenges 4. Some are related to the impending force to be used against Iraq and why
5. The push against Iraq is large but there are still other important things covered by this days news. It is not all about Iraq. 6. Social, Economic, Political, war, global, domestic 3/19/2008- The headline of this day is technically about the economy, but again, showing subtle dominance the item that gets the readers attention and have an image is tracking the progress of the war on terror. We are now 5 years in and we are looking back on it. Although the articles are not on the front page, it is shown here and captured with and image to make sure people know about and read it. 1. Fed trims rates sharply, sending the markets up 2. The central bank is in jeopardy and it is affecting the national economy 3. Notes from the field 5 years in, Obama talks about race, Governor talks about his affair, Medical students and future jobs, Credit crisis, gun rights 4. There is a mix of news on this page covering all sorts of topics, one story is not related to another 5. Although the headline is about the economy, the most important story is about the field notes from the war on terror 6. War, political, social, economic, education

Erica Ellis HIS 498C Lesson Plan Rationale I chose to create a lesson plan teaching war and memory from the perspective of The New York Times. I chose this to be a winding down unit at the end of a course that builds upon knowledge gained in the course building up to this and brings in new information in a unique way. During my secondary education and early college education I received little experience in how to interpret a primary source. My goal of this lesson plan and the reason I chose it was to be able to teach students how to look at primary sources. War is an interesting topic for most and it is also important to study the memory of war because it dominates history and our past. The Unites States has been in a lot of wars. This lesson will not cover all of those wars or even all components of the wars in the lesson. This will be covered previously in the semester. This is to supplement previous learning and should not be treated as the lessons on each war themselves. I chose a lesson plan instead of a term paper because I felt that it would be more fun to teach this subject then to write a paper on it. This is because when someone examines a primary source so many different conclusions can be drawn from the same thing. The example that comes to mind is Christopher Brownings Ordinary Men was based off of many of the same sources
Daniel Goldhagen used in his book Hitlers Willing Executioners but both men came to wildly different conclusions. When looking at a source that is so open to interpretation and subjectivity as what I feel a newspaper to be, having the opportunity to discuss it and see how other people feel is a much more interesting and sometimes helpful experience. I wanted to create a lesson plan that sets up an environment that gets people to think about these sources and how their ideas could differ from another persons. I am gearing my lesson toward a college level survey course on United States history. This preferable would be from the Civil War to the present. If the Civil War is taught in another course, then a review of the Civil War would be part of my lesson in the beginning, as this would need to be refreshed to cover reconstruction and to be able to understand the media of the Civil War later in the course and this mini-unit. I use the term mini-unit because four lessons cannot justify an entire unit, it feels a bit short. However, I feel with the demands of university and the caliber these college students are held to, I feel that there is not time nor need to cover this in more than 4, maybe 5 if the class runs a little slow. The assignments in this course are closer to the level of an upper division high school course and I do that so the students are not overwhelmed with a difficult unit near the end of the term where they will be studying for the final exam for this class, which will cover the whole class not just this section. The reason for this unit goes back to giving students extra practice interpreting primary sources in a bit of an easier and hopefully more fun way. Primary source interpretation is Copyright Erica Ellis 2011
important to the study of history and I would like students to have a good grasp on that before heading off to upper division history courses. I chose to teach my media lesson at the end of the class for several reasons. The first being that the students need to gain knowledge of the wars we will be talking about before they learn about how the media recorded them. They need this knowledge to be able to contrast how the historical record states what happened and how journalism says it did. This way there can be comparisons made to strengthen the idea that there are media biases to events. The readings they will do throughout the course of the semester will suffice for their working knowledge base for this mini-unit on media. This will include but is not limited to 1. A United States History Text 2. Supplemented materials from the Digitalhistory.uh.edu website 3. Lessons on wars will include additional readings from the book For the Common Defense which is a story of the United States military in war 4. Over the course of the semester, when it reaches lessons about wars covered by this media mini-unit, I will show some of these headlines/front pages to the students so they can begin to familiarize themselves with it and not be overwhelmed by the amount of information they are getting. I also wish to use some of these articles as primary sources through the semester. Students will be told when these headlines/front pages appear to remember them, which they will come back at the end of the term. This will also help
reduce the number of headlines that have to be covered during this unit itself. Other nonwar related front pages may also be used during the semester for primary sources. I would like to be able to examine with the students as many of my listed headlines as I could as they are all important to the wars at hand. However, time is of the essence and there may not be enough time in 50 minute to 1 hour class periods to cover them all. This is another reason I wish to be showing some of these pertinent headlines/front pages during the semester. This will lessen the time needed to be spent of them during this small time span. With this understanding in mind, any professor that wishes to use fewer headlines may do so. Or the ones that are most important, hopefully the beginning middle and end are still shown in class, can be discussed as a group and the remaining headlines can be completed for at home practice or extra credit. Due to the rather simple nature of this mini-unit it would not be too much of a strain on students to have this as homework. There is, as mentioned, quite a bit of material to over in not much time. In focusing on creating a lesson plan that could actually be used, I wanted to provide enough and perhaps more information than necessary so that if a teacher were to actually pick up this plan and use it, they would not run out of time and could make changes in the number of headlines used to their tastes. Because the students have already learned about the wars in this unit during the semester of the course not doing one or two will not affect their overall knowledge of the war itself, the core subject matter. Also, because there is not a lot of difficult work, it is simply just examining a papers headline and writing/talking about what you think it means, it may not be too time consuming.
This course will focus on the headlines and later the images shown in the paper more than the context of articles themselves. This is for a couple of reasons. The first being that reproduction of the front pages of the paper is of low quality and reading the entire story would not be easy or even doable in comes cases. The next reason is because we will be discussing biases with these pages often. Examining the headlines does show what is going on, and can offer a certain spin on the story. They are good indicators of how the media showed what they felt was important, which is the point of this mini-unit. Also, as historians and using the information gained through the semester, we already know what happened with these events. We have the background knowledge of these wars which was gained throughout the course. (All of the front pages to be discussed in this mini-unit are about events previously addressed in the term.) We do not need to relearn what happened as those people reading the paper did. We are not studying what happened, and that is important to understand with this lesson, we are studying how it was represented and portrayed. The easiest way I feel to do that is to look at how they tried to get peoples attention. How they summarized the day. The paper is a summarization of the events of the day, and the headlines are a summarization of that front page. Final Project- I chose this final project as a way to showcase what students have learned without taking away too much time from the upcoming final exam. This project will be done in groups. Groups of no more than 4 should be acceptable. This would be based from the model that there would be two reporters to get stories, one editor to select the stories and one printer to assist the editor with formatting.
Quizzes- There will be two quizzes. They will be in multiple choice and fill-in the blank format. The second quiz will have two short answer questions. (1-3 sentences) One will cover the first days lesson and the second will cover days two and three. I chose this because there is a lot of information in the first day and should be a quiz by itself. The 2nd and 3rd days are combined because much of the class if analysis of front pages and the quizzes are meant to be an assessment of the lecture. Material- The class is divided into four lessons with varying numbers of topics per day based upon the information to be presented. The introduction and the world wars are the largest sections, and will be almost days to themselves. The introduction will be accompanied by the Civil War so that World War I and World War II can be on a day alone and the Civil War is not an day to itself and the introduction is not quite a whole day either. Day three will have no previous readings required. Mostly this is due to the fact that this would have been recently covered in a class like this and there is a bit of reading involved for day 4. Also today will be including an activity that will encompass most of the class. On day three I have lumped the Cold War, Korea and Vietnam together to be just the Cold War. This is because the events/front pages I choose to show demonstrate the Cold War as a whole, not specific battles or wars within it. Day four will be a modern/current media overview/analysis. This is an important topic because so much of what we see today affects our memory of war, which is why a general media section is included in this lesson. This day functions as a comparison to print media. As less people are focusing on print media today I wanted a lesson that students can apply to their
everyday life. The print lessons teach how to look at primary sources, which helps in academia but is becoming less relevant for the world outside of scholarship. It is making examples out of what people see every day. I also thought it would engage the students more. There needed to be some sort of comparison or contrast to The Times and I felt that a different type of media would be best because they have much different goals then print papers. Seeing two different goals at work may be more engaging to students then seeing the same goal achieved in two different ways. The word choice current is important because very few people consider newspapers a current media. TV and film are the new media. Beginning with the article Warfare and the Teaching of History I felt was best because it provides a jumping of point to what we are talking about in this lesson. Not everything in this heading relates directly to the article, but it is a general discussion which the article does touch upon. I want to talk about Maus in this lesson as a different type of media which has made an impact on our memory. It is not all papers and movies. And comics do have their place in history with this book, which I think will find an audience and interest with some students. The same goes for board games. The examples I will be talking about in class are Risk and Stratego. They create memory of war and based on our memory or knowledge or war and strategy we may play the game a certain way. I have a friend who is a pacifist and so when playing Risk, she does not play. She just passes when it comes to her turn. For this reason I believe that past knowledge and beliefs plays a role in how we see these games. At the end of class after the discussion and new media activity there will be time to look up dates of the students choice, ones that may have special meaning or memory to them. This is to encourage them to revisit memory and how they look at things they have personal formed opinions about. This will have to be done time permitting. This is the sort of filler
activity that can lengthen out a quickly moving class or may not be done in a slower moving class.

Bibliography
Hardesty, Von. Photography Changes How Wars are Fought. n.d. http://click.si.edu/Story.aspx? story=36 (accessed September 13, 2011). Miller, Allan R. For the Common Defense. New York: The Free Press, 1984. Mintz, S. Digital History. n.d. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/ (accessed October 31, 2011). Reardon, Carol. "Pickett's Charge in History and Memory." 1-10, 39-40. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Pres, n.d. Salevouris, Michael J. "Warfare and the Teaching of History." The History Teacher 22, no. 4 (1989): 341-355. Spiegelman, Art. Maus I:My Father Bleeds History. New York: Pantheon Books, 1986. . Maus II: And Here My Troubles Begin. New York: Pantheon Books, 1991. The New York Times. The Complete New York Times. Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2009.

New York Times War and Memory Lesson

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NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY

Copyright Erica Ellis 2011

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10 points- The basic stuff like spelling and grammar

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