Social Studies - Utah Studies
Lesson Plans

UT Strand 3: UTAH IN THE UNION

(Ca. 1896-1945)

In 1896, Utah became the forty-fifth state, with a newly ratified constitution and a mandate to create a state government. During the next half century, the interplay of national and global forces on Utah increased, from economic crises and industrialization to progressive reforms and two global wars. Utah's human and physical geography influenced everything from the mining industry and labor movements to the placement of wartime infrastructure, including military bases and internment camps for Japanese Americans.

Possible Guiding Questions to Consider:

• What are historic and contemporary examples of Utah's economic interdependence?
• How can global events occurring in distant parts of the world sometimes affect daily life in Utah?
• What is the function of a state constitution?
• How have physical and human geographic characteristics influenced Utah's economic development?
• What factors can influence social reform movements?
• What were the main goals of the Progressive movement? How successful was that movement in Utah?
• How was Utah's economy changed by the Great Depression?
• What are historians' arguments for why Japanese American were interned at Topaz?
• What role did Utah play in World War II, and what impact did the war have on Utah?

UT Standard 3.2:

Students will use primary sources and/or oral histories to analyze the impact of a national/global event such as World War I, the Spanish flu epidemic, the Great Depression, World War II, and Japanese American internment on an individual or community in Utah. (history)

• Beyond Rosie the Riveter: Women's Contributions During World War II
  This resource gives an overview of women's efforts on the homefront during WWII including social, political, and economic efforts.
• Children on the Homefront
  Resource to help students learn about how children were involved in the war effort in the 1940s. Includes propaganda posters with students creating their own. Some patriotic songs are provided that were taught in schools and look at ways to compare contributions during the war to modern times.
• Farewell to Manzanar: Japanese Internment Camps During World War II
  Resource contains activity prompts, essay topics and ideas, and other lesson activities that coincide with reading Farewell to Manzanar and learning about Japanese Internment
• Topaz
  Topaz is the story of the thousands of San Francisco Bay Area Japanese who were separated from their property, livelihoods and constitutional rights, removed from their homes and shipped to a windswept stretch of Utah's roughest rangeland. There, for more than three years, these men, women and children were forced to call row after row of tarpaper barracks "home." This was Topaz, a War Relocation camp near Delta, Utah, which overnight became the fifth largest city in the state.

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http://www.uen.org - in partnership with Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and Utah System of Higher Education (USHE).  Send questions or comments to USBE Specialist - Robert  Austin and see the Social Studies website. For general questions about Utah's Core Standards contact the Director - Jennifer  Throndsen.

These materials have been produced by and for the teachers of the State of Utah. Copies of these materials may be freely reproduced for teacher and classroom use. When distributing these materials, credit should be given to Utah State Board of Education. These materials may not be published, in whole or part, or in any other format, without the written permission of the Utah State Board of Education, 250 East 500 South, PO Box 144200, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200.