The Red Scare

Ohio Content Standards: Grade 10, History 9-A

Duration of Lesson: 1-2 Class Periods

Learning Objectives:

• Students will Understand issues of Nativism and Protectionism in
  early 20^th Century America.
• Students will analyze the roots of anti-immigrant movements in
  the Post-World War One United States.
• Students will understand the differences between capitalism and
  communism.

Summary: Using political cartoons students will
become familiar with the issues of nativism and protectionism, specifically in
regard to the era of the Red Scare.

Materials needed:

• Printout of lesson plan
• Copies of cartoons on paper and/or transparency.
• Overhead projector
• Copies of Cartoon Analysis Worksheet

Pre-Assessment:

Terms to Know:

• I.W.W
• Bolshevik
• Melting Pot

Propaganda

• Anarchy

Communism

• Capitalism
• Socialism

Instructional Steps:

1. Divide the students into three
   topical groups. Assign each group one of the following topics: Stereotype,
   Symbol, or Caricature.
2. Distribute copies of the
   cartoons to each member of the topical group so all cartoons are in use for
   each group. (example: Stereotype group will have all cartoons, as will Symbol,
   etc.)
3. Distribute Cartoon Analysis
   Worksheet to each student.
4. Students are to find examples
   of their assigned topic using each of the cartoons present in their group and
   fill in the appropriate space on the worksheet in Part I. (5-10 minutes)
5. Students are to then arrange
   themselves in a group according to their individual cartoon, thus forming 6-8
   new groups centered on one specific cartoon.
6. Students are to complete
   Worksheet Part II using information from other members of their group.(5-10
   minutes)
7. Individual groups will briefly
   present analysis of their cartoon to the class (Note: an overhead copy of the
   cartoon will expedite this process)

Post-Assessment Activity: As a class, students will
answer and discuss the remaining questions (Part III) on Cartoon Analysis
Worksheet.

Extension Activities:

• Each student will create a T-chart in which the student
  compares and contrasts immigration policies of the United States as they have developed from early America (1760) to the present. The charts should
  include open shores, quota systems, illegal immigration, and national
  origins.
• Have students write an essay analyzing the quote from the
  Statue of Liberty in relation to the Red Scare and the immigration policy
  of the United States.