This lesson shows students how broadly the Lend-Lease Act of
March 1941 empowered the federal government—particularly the
President—and asks students to investigate how FDR promoted the
program in speeches and then in photographs. This launchpad
focuses on the expansion of executive power involved in the
Lend-Lease program. About a century has passed since the events
at the center of this lesson-the Haymarket Affair, the Homestead
Strike, and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. In this
lesson, students use primary historical sources to explore some
of the questions raised by these events, questions that continue
to be relevant in debates about American society: Where do we
draw the line between acceptable business practices and
unacceptable working conditions? Can an industrial-and indeed a
post-industrial-economy succeed without taking advantage of
those who do the work? This lesson looks at Thomas Paine and at
some of the ideas presented in his pamphlet Common Sense, such
as national unity, natural rights