Press Conference with President Wilson A classroom play by Team HOPE Cast List Woodrow Wilson () President of the United States Elijah Lovejoy (ANCH).... anchor of The History News Report Correspondent 1 (C1).......White House Reporter Correspondent 2 (C2).....White House Reporter Correspondent 3 (C3).....White House Reporter Correspondent 4 (C4).....White House Reporter Correspondent 5 (C5).....White House Reporter Correspondent 6 (C6).....White House Reporter Correspondent 7 (C7).....White House Reporter Correspondent 8 (C8).White House Reporter
TEACHER NOTES SETTING: A contemporary classroom. In this particular play, it is advisable to put President Wilson in front of the classroom, perhaps behind a podium. The class can be the press core and several students sprinkled throughout the class can be the reporters. At an actual presidential press conference, reporters raise their hand and the President calls on them. It is also customary for the reporter asking the question to stand up when asking a question. You may impose a similar requirement to add a touch of authenticity. A name plate in front of each cast member is highly recommended (or in this case, a press ID badge). A 5x8 index card folded in half works great for this purpose. COSTUMES: Although not necessary, any period costumes for the historical figures are a great addition. Even a simple hat or wig is excellent. MASKS: Masks are an easy addition that will add to the drama and make the entire event more fun for the students. First, go to www.google.com and click on image search. Type in the historical figure s name and find an image of the person. Copy and paste the picture in a Word document. You may need to crop and then enlarge the photo so you get a picture large enough to be used as a mask. Portraits obviously work best for this use. Print out the picture and paste it onto a cardboard backing. You can tape a plastic spoon or popsicle stick to be used as a handle. You may decide to make masks for the student correspondents as well, using pictures of television news personalities for the masks. Note: If there is a historical person you cannot find a picture for, don t despair! Almost any random period person s picture (as long as it not someone easily recognizable) would work as a mask. ROLES: Encourage students to act out the roles with as much energy as possible. Do not be too terribly concerned that the sex of the historical figure matching with the sex of the student. The teacher may decide to take a part in the play, role-modeling one of the historical figures, in this case Woodrow Wilson. It is recommended that five copies of the scripts are specifically set aside for each character in the play. For each character, highlight all their lines in order to facilitate a faster pace of dialogue. All other students should receive an unmarked copy of the play to read as the play is performed. ANCHOR AND REPORTERS: In order to facilitate the historical discussions that exist in the plays, actual famous journalist names have been used in the plays. Teachers should point out that these journalists come from different times in American history and do not necessarily reflect the period they report on. It is as if they can travel in time to deliver The History News Report. A teacher may also decide to substitute the names given in the script for student names if desired. A brief description of the journalists is as follows: Elijah Lovejoy (1802-1837) A minister and journalist for the St. Louis Observer and later editor of the abolitionist newspaper the Alton Observer of Alton, Illinois. In 1837, pro-slavery forces attacked his warehouse in order to destroy his printing press and he was murdered on the scene. DISCUSSION: Use the attached worksheets to facilitate discussion before and after the play. Students who are not directly involved in the play can attempt to write preliminary answers as the play is performed. The audience should be told that they will be the primarily responsible for the discussion questions at the end of the lesson.
Press Conference with President Wilson (A Report by HNR News) NOTE: All responses by historical figures reflect actual events and beliefs as closely as possible. CAST ABBREVIATIONS Woodrow Wilson.. Elijah Lovejoy...ANCH Correspondent 1......C1 Correspondent 2......C2 Correspondent 3......C3 Correspondent 4......C4 Correspondent 5......C5 Correspondent 6......C6 Correspondent 7..C7 Correspondent 8..C8 ANCH C1 C2 C3 Welcome to the History News Report, I am your anchor Elijah Lovejoy, reporting live from the White House in Washington, D.C. Today, April 6, 1917, President Wilson has just received word that Congress has voted overwhelmingly to support a declaration of war on Germany. The President is now approaching the microphone and after a brief statement will answer questions from reporters. My fellow Americans: I have just received word from Capitol Hill that the Senate voted 82-6 in favor of my declaration of war and the House voted 373 to 50 in the affirmative. This is a nation at war and I want to repeat something I said four days ago when I asked for this declaration: It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war. I will immediately ask for volunteers and at this time will not ask for a military draft. However, should volunteer enlistments not meet the required number of troops needed, we have a plan in place to create a Selective Service that will require all men aged 21-35 to register for the draft. Again, we will hold off on that plan until we see how many volunteers we receive. I will now entertain questions. Mr. President, when do expect American troops to actually arrive in France? We hope by early summer. Will that include military actions soon thereafter? Those are decisions still to be made, but Americans will be placed in battle as soon as it is possible to train and prepare them. Sir, what do you think is the deciding factor for us entering the war?
C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 Obviously the Zimmerman Telegram outraged us all. I mean, the Germans sent this telegram to try to convince Mexico to join the Central Powers and declare war on us! This is outrageous enough, but to have the Germans also promise American territories in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona in return for Mexico s declaration of war, I think that sent Americans decidedly into the pro-war camp. Is this why you changed your mind on joining the war? You ran for reelection in 1916 on the slogan He kept us out of War, but here we are, barely weeks into your second term and America is at war. I ran sincerely on that slogan. I had no intention of getting us into what I viewed as Europe s war. However, events have changed. Germany tried to get our neighbor to our south to attack us and they have threatened American soil! I would be abdicating my responsibility as Commander-in-Chief if I did not respond appropriately! Do you feel like the sinking of the Lusitania played any role in our declaration of war? It didn t have any immediate affects. That was 1915. But when the Germans sank the Lusitania off the coast of Ireland, it did create outrage in the United States. 128 Americans died when that passenger ship was so viciously sunk. Many Americans called for a declaration of war then, but I resisted it. I was able to get Kaiser Wilhelm to agree to end unrestricted submarine warfare. Weren t Americans also angered by the German reaction to the sinking? Absolutely. Their newspapers boasted of a joyful pride in our navy, schoolchildren were given a day off to celebrate, and Munich even had a commemorative medallion struck to honor the submariners who performed this pernicious act. Without doubt, this offended many American, myself included. So, to answer the original question, I think the Lusitania sinking created a pervasive anti- German attitude in the United States, whereas before Americans were much more neutral in their opinions on the Great War. I realize the Zimmerman Telegram certainly led directly to this declaration, but wouldn t the recent resumption of German unrestricted submarine warfare eventually have led to our involvement anyhow? It is likely. I told the Germans in 1915 that the United States believes strongly in the Freedom of the Seas and continued violations against neutral shipping and noncombatant passenger ships would not be tolerated. It is likely that the German s unrestricted submarine warfare would have eventually violated our rights to such an extent that war would have been inevitable. Mr. President, German Admiral Eduard von Capelle said in January that that we will not even come, because our submarines will sink them. Thus, America from a
military point of view means nothing, and again nothing, and for a third time, I say, nothing! How do you intend to protect American soldiers from the submarine threat? Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, is already working on a plan to counter the submarine threat. He is planning to supply the U.S. Navy with 110-foot antisubmarine vessels and Navy Admiral William S. Sims is organizing a convoy system. We believe both actions will protect our soldiers on their way to France. I m afraid that is all the time I have for questions right now. (President leaves as correspondents shout Mr. President, Mr. President attempting to get in one last question). ANCH So there you have it folks. President Wilson clearly laid out the reasons for war, which included the Zimmerman Telegram and German unrestricted submarine warfare. He also covered plans to protect American ships from the German U-boats led by Franklin D. Roosevelt. Afterward: Over one million American soldiers were sent over there in 1917 and 1918. Only 637 American soldiers would be lost to U-boat attacks crossing over to France. Bennett, William J., America: The Last Best Hope Volume II, Nelson Current, Nashville: 2007, p. 15-28.