Montana: Stories of the Land

Chapter 16 - Montana and World War I, 1914 - 1918

For simplicity's sake, the textbook separates the intertwined histories of radical political movements (discussed in chapter 15) and the conservative response, particularly as represented by the lynching of Frank Little and the passage of the Montana Sedition Act (discussed in chapter 16). However, these stories are clearly interconnected. Ideally, then, this chapter will be taught in tandem with Chapter 15, "Progressive Montana." Equally, educators may find links listed on Chapter 15's companion web pages of use when teaching this chapter.

Takeaways

Inspired by reading specialist Tammy Elser, who was in turn inspired by SKC graduate Taylor Crawford, we've created a "Takeaway" bookmark for every chapter of Montana: Stories of the Land. Before starting a chapter, print and cut out these bookmarks and distribute them to your students. Ask them to use the Takeaway to summarize the GIST of what they learn from reading assigned sections of the chapter. Remind them that they don't have much room, so they'll need to think before they write down the most important idea they want to take away from the section. Learn a little more about the GIST strategy.

Even though we've created Takeaways for every chapter, we don't recommend you have your students complete a Takeaway for every section of every chapter they read. That would be exceedingly tedious. However, used appropriately, they can be a useful tool for encouraging reflection and teaching students how to summarize information.

Websites and Online Lesson Plans

Created to commemorate the centennial of the U.S. entry into World War I, Montana and the Great War provides resources to investigate the war's transformative and complicated legacy in our home state, including a lesson plan, story maps, digitized articles, and a World War I scavenger hunt. An answer key is posted under Chapter 16 answer keys in the password protected area of this site.

The NEH features the lesson plan "United States Entry into World War I: Two Diametrically Opposed Views" among other lessons on the war.

Montana The Magazine of Western History created a discussion guide for "A Reexamination of the Granite Mountain-Speculator Fire," by James D. Harrington,  an article published in the Autumn 1998 issue. The article's full text (but not its pictures) is posted online.

Discover more about Butte's rich labor history in "When Toil Meant Trouble: Butte's Labor Heritage," by George Everett.

Two of the complementary "Learning from Historical Documents" units created to accompany Chapter 12 also work well with this chapter. These units feature letters (from opposing points of view) regarding the Industrial Workers of the World and the 1917 timber strike.

The Montana Sedition Project's website on the Montana Sedition Act is a rich and fascinating resource. (Please note that primary sources are quoted verbatim and in a few instances include obscenities.)

PBS has a website on the influenza epidemic to accompany its film "American Experience: Influenza 1918." 

The Library of Congress's "On the Homefront: America during World War I and World War II" also features a gallery of posters and fliers, in this case from both wars, and suggested teaching ideas that can be easily related to Montana.

The University of Montana Special Collections Library has created an online exhibit: World War I Propaganda.

Videos or DVDs

Jailed for Their Words: When Free Speech Died in Wartime America - 60 minutes.

Chapter 1, "When Copper Was King," (22 minutes) and Chapter 12, "Montana's Response to Global Conflict," (17 minutes) of Montana Mosaic: 20th Century People and Events. Chapter 1 discusses labor strife and Chapter 12 focuses on Jeannette Rankin's story. (Check your library. OPI donated a copy of this DVD to every public school in Montana. The DVD is also available as streaming video.)

Paupers Dream: Tribute to the Montana Hard Rock Miner, Joseph Campanella - 58 minutes.

American Experience: Influenza 1918 - 60 minutes.

American Experience: The Great War - 3 parts, each 114 minutes.

Possible Fieldtrips

World Museum of Mining, Butte 

Granite Mountain Memorial, Butte

Alignment to Content Standards and Essential Understandings Regarding Montana Indians (EU)

Tests and Answer Keys