1920–1944 Archives

Aug. 31, 1921: Battle of Blair Mountain

The Battle of Blair Mountain was the climax of two mine wars fought in the West Virginia coalfields.

Sept. 29, 1943: Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary Hunger Strike

Conscientious objectors began a hunger strike at Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary.

From the New Deal to the Green New Deal: Stories of Crisis and Possibility

Teaching Activity. By Suzanna Kassouf, Matt Reed, Tim Swinehart, Ursula Wolfe-Rocca, and Bill Bigelow.
The stories of twenty people whose lives were touched by the New Deal of the 1930s come to life in this classroom activity, intended to open students' minds to the possibilities of a Green New Deal.

Jewish prisoners in Baden-Baden | Zinn Education Project

Nov. 9, 1938: Pogromnacht in Germany and Austria

Violent anti-Jewish demonstrations in Europe in which hundreds of synagogues were destroyed; 7,500 Jewish-owned businesses, homes, and schools were plundered; 91 Jews were murdered; and 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps.

April 3, 1934: Southern Tenant Farmers’ Union

The Southern Tenant Farmers Union broke away from a larger organization and became a racially integrated workers union.

The Good War and Those Who Refused to Fight It

Film. Produced by Rick Tejada-Flores and Judith Ehrlich. 2002. 60 minutes.
Documentary film on WWII conscientious objectors and excellent online resources for the classroom.

Flint Sit-Down Strike, 1936-1937

Poster. By Dylan Miner.
Informational poster about Roscoe Van Zandt and the Flint Sit-Down Strike.

Slavery by Another Name

Film. By Sam Pollard, Catherine Allan, Douglas Blackmon and Sheila Curran Bernard. 2012. 90 minutes.
Reveals the interlocking forces in the South and the North that enabled “neoslavery” post-Emancipation Proclamation.

Helen Keller letter to German students. Click image for source page with transcription.

May 9, 1933: Helen Keller Writes to German Students

Helen Keller wrote a letter to the students who planned on burning all books deemed “un-German.”

Dec. 27, 1937: Harriet Elizabeth Brown Case Settled

Harriet Elizabeth Brown, a teacher from Maryland, sued for equal pay for Black teachers and won the case.

Jeanette Rankin. Portrait by Robert Shetterly of Americans Who Tell the Truth.

Dec. 8, 1941: Jeannette Rankin Voted Against WWII

Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin was the only member of Congress to vote against declaring war on Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Executive Order 9066 | Zinn Education Project

Feb. 19, 1942: Executive Order 9066

Executive Order 9066 issued by President Roosevelt authorized the incarceration (internment) of U.S. citizens of Japanese descent.

March 31, 1944: Frank S. Emi Interrogated

Frank S. Emi protested the draft during Japanese American incarceration and was interrogated.

April 21, 1937: Congressman Ordered to Jim Crow Section of Train

Illinois congressman Arthur W. Mitchell was ordered to move to the Jim Crow car of the train once it entered Arkansas.

April 19, 1943: Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Began

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising began, on the eve of Passover, when Nazi forces attempted to clear out the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw, Poland, to send them to concentration camps.

Piedmont Leaf Protest | Zinn Education Project

July 5, 1935: National Labor Relations Act Passed

The National Labor Relations Act was signed into law.

A Wichita Beacon article lists the ground rules for the game.

June 21, 1925: Black Baseball Team Beats Klan Players

The Wichita Monrovians bested a squad fielded by the white-supremacist Ku Klux Klan terrorist organization at the height of Jim Crow apartheid.

July 21, 1925: Scopes Trial Ruling

In the case of John T. Scopes v. the State of Tennessee, the defendant, Scopes, was found guilty and fined $100 for teaching about evolution — which was illegal in the state at the time.

A Dangerous Idea: The Scopes Trial, the Original Fight over Science in Schools

Book — Non-fiction. By Debbie Levy. 2025. 288 pages.
The story of John Scopes, a Tennessee teacher who was found guilty of teaching about evolution, and the nationwide debate that followed about what students should learn in school.

Aug. 25, 1925: Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters

The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was launched in New York.

Labor Matters

Teaching Activity. By Learning for Justice.
Introduces students to the role of the labor movement in securing contemporary benefits such as the 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, and workplace safety regulations.

Learning About the Unfairgrounds: A 4th-Grade Teacher Introduces Her Students to Executive Order 9066

Teaching Activity. By Katie Baydo-Reed. Rethinking Schools. 10 pages.
Students hold a mixer and a mock trial in preparation for reading literature about Japanese American incarceration.

Teaching the Hidden Story of Japanese Latin Americans During WWII

Teaching Activity. By Moé Yonamine. Rethinking Schools. 18 pages.
Poetry, photography, and text are used in this role play to teach about the seldom told history of Japanese Latin American incarceration during WWII.

Fred Korematsu Speaks Up

Book — Non-fiction. By Laura Atkins and Stan Yogi. Illustrated by Yutaka Houlette. 2017. 112 pages.
Story of Fred Koretmatsu, jailed for resisting incarceration by the U.S. government during WWII. He took his case to the U.S. Supreme Court twice.

Feb. 7, 1926: Carter G. Woodson Launched Negro History Week

Carter G. Woodson initiated the first celebration of Negro History Week which led to Black History Month.

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