CRUSADER



PRESS CONFERENCE REVISITED

The Government Mobilizes the U.S.A. for WWII

OVERVIEW

The United States has finally decided to enter World War II. In order to win the war, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the government have to implement numerous changes in the United States that will affect the daily lives of the people. Your job, as a representative of a wartime agency, is to announce these changes in a press conference. Good luck! Hopefully, you won’t be hit with tomatoes or lettuce from the crowd.

DIRECTIONS

WARTIME AGENCIES

(1) Assign Roles: Ten students will be asked to serve as the heads of the following wartime agencies, make official statements at the press conference, and answer questions from newspaper reporters. The rest of the class will serve as the newspaper and radio station reporters.

- War Production Board Donald M. Nelson

- War Manpower Commission Paul V. McNutt

- Office of War Mobilization James F. Byrnes

- National War Labor Board FDR

- Office of Price Administration Leon Henderson

- Office of Scientific Research and Development Vannevar Bush

- Office of War Information Elmer Davis

- Office of Censorship Byron Price

- Fair Employment Practices Committee FDR

- War Relocation Authority Milton S. Eisenhower

(2) Research: The Enduring Vision (pp. 873-878; 886-887) and/or Facts on File (available through the RV Instructional Media Center at ). As you read about your specific agency, consider the following questions: What was the general purpose of the agency? Why did FDR create it? What were its responsibilities? How did it affect the daily lives of the people? What should the people know about the agency?

3) Brainstorm: Once you have reviewed the information, it is time to start thinking about the changes that your agency will want to announce to the people of the United States. Consider the following questions:

a. What changes must be made? Why? Justification beyond war? Who will be most affected?

b. How can you persuade the people to go along with such changes? How can you win their support? Is their support necessary?

4) Compose Press Release: Based on your research and brainstorming, compose a press release covering the changes that your agency plans to implement to help the United States win World War II. You will deliver the statement in the press conference.

5) Press Conference: You will come to the front of the room for the press conference. There will be a podium and microphone. Make sure to bring a copy of the press release and your notes. Deliver your statement to the press/public and be prepared for a reaction and questions. A timer will be set to keep the activity moving, so you will only have a limited amount of time to read your statement and answer questions. If you are not presenting, you become one of the people in the audience and you may ask questions just like the reporters. Take notes on the other agencies in your binder.

REPORTERS

1) Select Newspaper or Radio Station: Choose a newspaper or radio station that you will be working for at the press conference. For authenticity, try to choose an actual newspaper or radio station. However, you may create a fictitious company if you wish.

2) Brief Research: The Enduring Vision (pp. 873-878; 886-887). Read these pages to get a general idea of what the agencies listed above are all about. You should take brief notes on each agency so that you will be able to compose high quality questions for the press conference.

3) Brainstorm: After getting the basics of each agency from your research, think about potential questions you could ask. Remember that the head of each agency will be giving an overview of his or her agency, so there is no need to ask a question on basic information unless it’s for clarification purposes. What would the people be interested in learning about the agency? Is there anything controversial that could be explored through questioning?

4) Compose Questions: You MUST write at least two good questions for each agency listed above. Create questions that would theoretically help you write a newspaper article or give a radio report.

5) Press Conference: After each head of a specific agency reads his or her press release, the floor will be opened to questions. When the speaker says “Any questions?,” you should immediately raise your hand and try to get his or her attention by yelling their name or blurting out your question. This will make the activity as authentic as possible.

DISCUSSION

After all agencies have made their statements and answered questions from the reporters, the class will discuss the bigger picture of these changes to life imposed by the government during World War II. Together, the class will attempt to create generalizations about the work of the agencies. If there is no time, we will simply review a list of generalizations created by the teacher.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

From participating in this activity and completing all associated work, you should be able to do the following:

1) Identify and describe the different agencies created by FDR during WWII.

2) Understand the bigger picture of how these agencies affected the people of the U.S.

3) Consider and debate the more controversial aspects of government imposed changes in life during wartime (i.e. the draft, censorship, propaganda, internment, rationing).

All of these objectives could potentially appear on the test and the AP Exam. If you feel you do not know or understand something as well as you should, consult the textbook and stop by in tutorial.

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