U5

The United States not only won WWII but also never faced direct military invasion or any devastation at home (after Pearl Harbor), unlike the rest of the industrialized world. Many unique horrors befell allied and enemy states alike, including the wholesale bombing of major cities, mass loss of civilian life, nuclear bomb attack, Holocaust, or other such wartime tragedies that left so many nations in physical, demographic, and economic ruin. Many Europeans and Japanese (and others) were left to survive in the rubble, sometimes struggling with difficulty to feed themselves. Belarus alone (a nation located between Russia and Germany) lost fully one-fourth of its entire population. The United States came out the biggest winner of the war, with a roaring economy, its farmland and factories unscathed, and controlling approximately 40% of the worlds GDP at its peak in 1960. Americans experienced unprecedented growth in the post-war years, leading to a booming middle class (and a literal baby boom of births), higher standards of living, new sprawling suburban areas with affordable housing, expanded consumer power, mass enrollment in affordable colleges and universities, and significant supports from the GI Bill for veterans. In the United States by the end of the 1950s, about 75% of households owned at least one automobile, a huge new consumer development and, arguably, a new element of the American dream. Mass car ownership resulted from consumer freedoms afforded by both post-war wealth and protection of workers freedom to grow unions and enjoy blue-collar jobs with high pay, benefits, and pensions. Those days seem long gone, and not all Americans benefited equally from these decades of plenty. The Civil Right Movement fought for freedoms and rights still denied African Americans, struggled against enforced segregation policies in the South, and some regions of the country would take more time to develop; however, the centrality of the automobile to American life would only grow, as would the highway systems needed for drivers to enjoy new freedoms to travel independently of railroads. And in this era, there was plenty of federal dollars to invest in building out this interstate highway infrastructure, which in turn provided more jobs and united the country to a greater degree. Task The main goal of this assignment is to begin to appreciate sudden post-war prosperity through the lens of the booming auto industry and investment in the 1950s Interstate Highway System, while also working on basic U.S. geography (knowing where places are on a map, like states, cities, and major natural features). This task will be, in effect, a Travelogue. The Interstate Highway System: The two interactive websites provided below show the highways and railroads in 1920, when far fewer people owned cars, and then in 1958, when the major interstate highway system appeared. While Americans would still have traveled very long distances mostly on trains in these two time periods (and by plane in the 50s), we will imagine and creatively describe four (4) road trips two in our Model T Fords of the 1920s and two in fabulous new cars of the 1950s. How to create your four travelogues: Open and study the interactive maps at the respective websites provided and also review a basic map of the United States so you can note the location of the various states, cities, and natural features of the country. (Many students either never mastered this basic geography or have forgotten much of it since last geography was required in K-12 classes.) You will write for four imaginary travelogues of road trips you plan, and write in a casual voice (all creativity encouraged), as though you are keeping a diary or writing letters to a friend or family member. Each link was placed incase its not accessible. * Interactive map of highways and railroads in 1920 ( ) * Interactive map of highways in 1958 ( ) Again, you will share four (4) separate pretend journeys, two in the 1920s and two in the 1950s, and the trips involve driving first from Georgia to Los Angeles and then from Georgia to New York City. Refer to the Sample Road Trips as an example of the travelogues you will create. To launch your four journeys, begin anywhere in the state of Georgia (perhaps where you live now, or you can just choose Atlanta). Trace out and then describe the road trip expedition by following the maps from your location in Georgia to Los Angeles, CA and then from Georgia to New York City, NY (or even Quebec, if you wish to be ambitious) for each era. The journeys will be based on highways available in 1920 and then in 1958, as per maps provided. What routes do you take? Do you take the fastest route or a more scenic journey? What states and sites do you see on the way? Writing in first person, you must share all of the following in your travelogue/letters: * Every highway on which you travel (e.g. Southern National or I75) * Every state through which you travel, one by one (e.g. Georgia to Alabama, onwards) * Highlight a few cities of your choosing in which to stop to visit or rest along the way * In addition, and importantly, on the journey to New York, you must pass through our capitol, Washington D.C., and on your journey to Los Angeles, share when you cross over the Mississippi River. Grading Criteria * Submission contains four road trips presented as letters or travelogues, following instructions, and including all highways used, states visited, a few cities, Washington DC (on the journey north), the Mississippi River (on the journey west), and a few sentences of commentary on what you learned or re-learned about U.S. geography or something you newly appreciated, learned, or otherwise gained from this exercise. * No work may utilize AI technology or writing apps. Part 2 In a minimum of 250 words, share what you learned while completing this task or what you found interesting. Focus on history, geography, and/or big ideas. Did you already know all the related geography? Did you newly realize the exact location of the capitol or newly appreciate the location of any city or the river? Could you easily tell how the new highway system demonstrated new post-war prosperity? Can you relate any aspect of the history or travelogues to our running theme of freedom? These questions are not to be answered one by one but are meant help you think through what you might like to share