Baseball: A Morale Booster During Wartime?

Students will analyze two letters written by Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War One (WWI) and World War Two (WWII) to begin to understand the American homefront during these two wars. Many changes occurred in American society during these wars. Recreational activities, specifically baseball, were seen as vital for morale because they allowed Americans to “take a break” from the weariness of war.

This activity can be used in units on World Wars I and II. For grades 7–12. Approximate time needed is 20–30 minutes.

Model document analysis techniques by asking students to begin the activity and individually respond to the following questions:

• What are the dates of these documents?
• Who are the documents written to?
• What event does each document describe?
• What is the author requesting in these documents?
• Do you believe the same person authored these documents? Why or why not?
• What is the tone of these documents?

Once students have examined the documents, answered the questions, and clicked on “When You’re Done,” they will be tasked with conducting research to find other ways morale was boosted for military troops and Americans on the homefront during both World Wars and to the present day. Guide them in creating visual representations, such as displays or scrapbooks, with the information they find to illustrate different morale builders.

Engage students in a class discussion about the importance of keeping morale high during wartime using the following questions:

• Do you think baseball was a morale builder for Americans during these wars? Why or why not?
• Do you think Roosevelt’s actions were necessary for the morale of the country? Why or why not?
• Do you think it is important for athletes, actors and/or musicians to help build morale during wartime? Why or why not?

As an extension activity, your class can learn how individuals and organizations boost the morale of our contemporary military by writing letters, sending care packages, or volunteering. Just a couple organizations with morale-boosting missions are:

• http://www.uso.org
• http://www.operationgratitude.com