The Authentic History Center: World War II
Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima
Eyewitness accounts of Hiroshima from War Times Journal
Hiroshima: The Harry Truman Diary and Papers
Dorothea Lange and the Relocation of the Japanese
Photographs of the location from famous photographer
Third Inaugural Address of Franklin D. Roosevelt
Fourth Inaugural Address of Franklin D. Roosevelt
Rutgers Oral History Archives of World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Cold War
Interviews with Rutgers University alumni and/or New Jersey residents who served on the home front and overseas during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Cold War
Proclamation 2680—"I Am an American Day," 1946 | The American Presidency Project
<p><em>Whereas</em> our numerous citizens of foreign birth have shown loyalty and fidelity to their new citizenship in the performance of all the tasks which helped to bring the final and complete victory over the enemies of the country which these citizens have made their own by naturalization;</p>
<p><em>Whereas</em> the nations of the world now look to the United States for leadership and for assistance, as they repair the devastation wrought by the war:</p>
<p><em>Whereas</em> our nation derives its chief strength to give leadership and assistance from the fact that its citizens, young and old, native-born and foreign-born, work together as one people; and</p>
Franklin D. Roosevelt: State of the Union Message to Congress
Although this speech comes from the end of World War II, FDR's "2nd Bill of RIghts" can be used by teachers to have students explore the Bill of RIghts. What rights should be included? What shouldn't? Can students see how this is connected with the Marshall Plan?
We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. "Necessitous men are not free men." People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made
This is the reason for the Marshall Plan
In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all regardless of station, race, or creed.
The March Toward World War II: The March of Time as Documentary and Propaganda
The March of Time is a newsreel series that was shown in movie theaters from 1935 to 1951. Part drama, part journalism, the radio show and newsreel, with its synergistic relationship with Life magazine, may have had unprecedented influence over its audience. The newsreel presented its makers' partly objective, pro-Americanist point of view in the documentary tradition established during the 1930s
White House Press Release Bombing of Hiroshima
Truman Diary, July 25, 1945
President Truman told his diary on July 25, 1945, that he had ordered the bomb used.
We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the
world. It may be the fire destruction prophesied in the Euphrates
Valley Era, after Noah and his fabulous Ark.
Hiroshima: Was It Necessary? - Article
Links to other articles and primary source archives
Eye-witness accounts of the bombing of Hiroshima
Eye-witness accounts of the bombing of Hiroshima, from the video HIROSHIMA WITNESS produced by Hiroshima Peace Cultural Center and NHK
Hiroshima: The Henry Stimson Diary and Papers (part 1)
Excerpts from Sec. of War Henry Stimson's diary and papers that have relevance to the atomic bombing of Japan from Yale University Library
Naval dispatch Pearl Harbor
Naval dispatch from the Commander in Chief Pacific (CINCPAC) announcing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941.
"Negro-Japanese Fifth Column Possible" 1942
Newspaper article warning San Francisco of attempts by Japanese to recruit African-Americans in their war effort against the United States
EyeWitness To World War Two
long, annotated list of primary sources with links.
Report of the Joint Congressional Investigation of the attack on Pearl Harbor
Lend-Lease Act (1941)
Passed on March 11, 1941, this act set up a system that would allow the United States to lend or lease war supplies to any nation deemed "vital to the defense of the United States."
Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Japan (1941)
On December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt delivered this "Day of Infamy Speech." Immediately afterward, Congress declared war, and the United States entered World War II.
Executive Order 8802: Prohibition of Discrimination in the Defense Industry (1941)
In June of 1941, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, banning discriminatory employment practices by Federal agencies and all unions and companies engaged in war-related work. The order also established the Fair Employment Practices Commission to enforce the new policy.
Surrender of Germany (1945)
This instrument of surrender was signed on May 7, 1945, at Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's headquarters in Rheims by Gen. Alfred Jodl, Chief of Staff of the German Army. At the same time, he signed three other surrender documents, one each for Great Britain, Russia, and France.
Manhattan Project Notebook (1945)
This notebook records an experiment of the Manhattan Project, the all-out, but highly secret, effort of the Federal Government to build an atomic bomb during World War II. Recorded here is the world's first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, achieved on December 2, 1942.
Surrender of Japan (1945)
Aboard the USS Missouri, this instrument of surrender was signed on September 2, 1945, by the Japanese envoys Foreign Minister Mamora Shigemitsu and Gen. Yoshijiro Umezu.
United Nations Charter (1945)
On June 26, 1945, in San Francisco, the United Nations was established. Article 111 of its charter indicated that "The present Charter, of which the Chinese, French, Russian, English, and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall remain deposited in the archives of the Government of the United States of America. Duly certified copies thereof shall be transmitted by that Government to the Governments of the other signatory states."
Exchange of Letters Between Churchill and Roosevelt on American Contributions for British Relief
World War II Poster Collection from Northwestern University Library
The Government and Geographic Information and Data Services Department at Northwestern University Library has a comprehensive collection of over 300 posters issued by U.S. Federal agencies from the onset of war through 1945.
Japanese American Relocation Digital Archive (JARDA)
Personal and official photographs, letters and diaries, transcribed oral histories, art. Be sure to check lesson plans
A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans and the Constitution
Interactive galleries that combine music, text and first-person accounts. Based on 800 artifacts in Smithsonian collection