American History Teachers’ Collaborative

Summer Institute Reflection Paper 2007

Kyle Sondgeroth

The primary source that I chose to reflect upon is Document #22 from the “Illinois At War: 1941-1945 packet. This particular document is a press release for weekly newspapers which was originally published February 22, 1943 by the Illinois State Council of Defense. The letterhead of this document states “Illinois Mobilizes for Victory: Defense News” in bold, capital letters. The letterhead also includes the address for both the Chicago and Springfield defense offices as well as the name of then-current governor Dwight H. Green.

In addition to the bold letterhead, there is another unique physical characteristic of this document. The first 4 paragraphs are typed in identical font size and line spacing. The final 2 paragraphs, however, exhibit a much smaller font and the spacing between the lines also seems to shrink. I found this interesting for a few reasons. My first assumption for this smaller font would be that the Illinois Council of Defense is simply trying to conserve paper. By keeping the formatting the same, the document would require to be printed on 2 pages rather than one. I am certain that paper, like many other wartime goods, was in huge demand and a statewide agency would not want to be seen as wasting too much paper on press releases. Another reason that I found this format to be interesting is that the Council of Defense does not choose to shrink the size of their letterhead in order to fit the announcement on one page. It appears that they keep the large “Illinois Mobilizes for Victory: Defense News” headline in a huge bold font while shrinking the actual news in the proceeding paragraphs. It is as if the letterhead, signifying that the news is here, is more important than the news itself! This is likely an intentional psychological ploy by the Illinois Council of Defense. A large, authoritative letterhead gives newspapers and the people of the state a reassuring feeling. It does not matter exactly what the news is, what matters is that there is a strong governmental agency out there delivering said news.

As stated before, the audience of this press release would have been any Illinois citizen reading the newspapers. More specifically, however, the true audience of this document is likely high school students living in large urban areas such as Chicago. The press release is written to inform high school students living in cities such as Chicago about working on downstate farms during the summer of 1943. The press release tells these students that the Council of Defense has recently published a 64 page booklet entitled Living and Working on a Farm which will help these city-dwelling youngsters adapt to life on the farm over a summer. The booklet which was published in conjunction with the University of Illinois College of Agriculture, covers a multitude of topics including “work, wages and living conditions on a farm, feeding of livestock, farm equipment and buildings, operation of farm machinery and related subjects.” Interestingly enough, there is no mention of a book for the farmers to read about how to handle young city kids coming to live on the farm. It is as if the Council assumes that the hardship will lie solely on the city kids adapting to farm life and not vice versa.

The authors of this document mention a few important ideas including the fact that this farm service was generally seen as a very patriotic thing to do for young city kids. I found the ease with which the document discussed this summer of farm labor to be of particular interest. Imagine asking a young 15, 16, or 17-year old to leave his or her home, travel to a very foreign area of the state, and perform hard labor tasks that were completely alien to them? As I read this I found no mention of how difficult this would truly be for these kids. It simply equates it to a patriotic event that every inner city adolescent should embark upon.

I also found it important that the author mentions that Illinois would be the first state to undertake this type of work program. Why is that? I think that the stark contrast of a state with a large amount of agricultural work to be done and a city of “untapped labor” in Chicago lies beneath this press release. Illinois is a unique state in that it has both a large rural landscape and a major metropolitan city. This document seems to be trying to interfuse the two in the name of patriotism and the war effort.

Finally I found it both interesting and important that the document states that “other sources are being tapped” but “student farm labor is believed a practical and effective method of alleviating the threatened farm labor shortage.” The document, however, does not mention what these other sources are. Quite frankly, I am not convinced that Illinois had any other alternatives to recruiting high school students. Judging by the date of the document (February, 1943) it is clear that the Council of Defense is thinking about the potential labor shortage far in advance of spring planting season. The article also states that “hundreds of school districts’ meetings with farmers are being held” which indicates that statewide, this labor shortage was a well-known problem. Illinois, it appears, was lucky enough to have a large city such as Chicago to draw student labor out of at the time of the war.

The information presented at this year’s American History Teachers’ Collaborative Summer Institute really helped me to place this document into its proper historical context. Hearing about life on the homefront during the second World War reminded me of the dedication and sacrifice that everyone made during this time period. It was said more than a few times that no one really thought at the time how great a sacrifice they were making. Americans living in the early 1940s simply took it upon themselves to do everything in their power to win the war. A very specific example of this willingness to sacrifice is the idea that young teenagers from large urban areas of Illinois would be willing to travel downstate to work on farms just to help out the war effort.

Professor Leff’s keynote speech on the contested visions of the homefront also places this document into its historical context. He discussed at length how both the men on the front lines and those here in America were making huge sacrifices. One of those sacrifices that Leff talked about was the fact that many young men put off going to college, marriage, or other lifetime goals to enter the military. This document makes me consider what “typical” teenage activities these young urban teenagers put off to help out the agrarian work that needed to be done on Illinois farms? Did some perhaps miss celebrating their sweet 16^th birthday because they were hauling manure? Did others miss playing in high school baseball leagues because they were picking sweet corn? Professor Leff’s speech and this document made me realize the range of people that sacrificed an awful lot to ensure an American victory in World War II. It is obvious that men on the front lines made the ultimate sacrifice. What should be noted, after further review of this document, is that many other people (some younger than 14 years old) were pressed into hard labor and came through when this country and state needed them the most.

I would use this document in my 4^th grade classroom to begin a discussion about the many sacrifices that war can bring about. Many students will certainly refer to the obvious sacrifices such as death, emotional damage, and structural destruction. I would use this document to further advance their thinking about the sacrifices of war; for example, asking the students to first begin listing the things that they really like to do over summer vacation. After this discussion, the conversation would then turn to a more serious nature. I would discuss with them how they would feel if they did not get to do these fun things because they were instead working on a hot farm all summer.

At the 4^th grade level, self-sacrifice can be a very new concept but an important one to learn. This document could be a great way to lead into a very real conversation of the sacrifices that everyone must make in order to win a war. My students would think historically about this piece because they would be reminded of why there was such an urgent need for labor on Illinois farms in 1943. The discussions would center on where all of the usual farm labor had gone in Illinois (either to war or to the factories) and how teenagers from large urban centers filled that void admirably. This document would serve to teach a very valuable lesson to 4^th grade students: at the time of war, everyone plays a part and all are willing to make a sacrifice. Whether that sacrifice is giving up your summer to work on a farm or the ultimate sacrifice of one’s life for their country, the second World War would not have been one without either valuable service.