Korean War

Uses analysis of primary source documents and small group discussion to help students gain a better understanding of the Korean War through the viewpoints of many different people. Students will learn about propaganda methods and types of propaganda.

This lesson is designed to give students a greater understanding of the Korean War through examining the experiences of a military chaplain, Capt. Emil J. Kapaun who was captured and later died from dysentery while being held as a POW.

Using the Truman Library Korean War Document collection, the students will read primary documents, analyze and evaluate them, synthesize a summary and place them on a timeline. The timeline forms the basis for other activities.

Cooperative learning activity containing small classroom groups and ending with entire class, student-led discussion. Primary sources and maps will form basis for discussion of Korean War.

Students will analyze the power of the Presidency in the U.S. Using a timeline of events of the Korean War (all events and people will be hidden in pseudonym during simulation), students will determine how the President exercises his authority.

Students will analyze results of the 1950 congressional elections to determine how/why the Democrats lost enough seats to cause President Truman to lose a working majority in Congress.